Well done to 1368's CWO D who became the latest NCO inaugurated into the illustrious "Gnorman Knights of the Domino Pizza order" for his work over the last 6 months, esp. in admin and cadet coordination. He gets to wear the Gnorman the Gnome bucket hat till the next illustrious cadet leader steps forward with amazing NCO-ness. He got the NCO selfie treatment on 7 May 2025. A leader is necessary when a group of people have to achieve an objective. A leader, therefore, is expected to use a team to achieve results or get things done. Many leaders can get things done but some seem to do it quicker and with less fuss and frustration. The ability of the Corps to develop leaders is one of its core strengths. Since joining 1368 CWO D has demonstrated willingness and dedication to getting things done and has been a great asset to the squadron.

Cadet of the month for April 2025 was Cdt H. This is also a team win for cadet team that sorted uniform and packed him off to RAF Lossiemouth camp on a 10 hour coach journey but also for his demonstration that it doesn't hurt to throw yourself into things if they come up, esp. blues camps and high jump. Well done. 

3 Cadets and 1 Staff from 1368 attended a Gold practice expedition at Capel Curig. Really nice to see some smiles in the face of adversity. and friendships with other squadron cadets over what was an unusually wet week even for Wales.  From a 1368 perspective it also means we have enough cadets who've completed a practice to form an assessed expedition, hence July exped ambition a step closer.

Monday saw the Silver actual team (aka the Abominable Gnormans) present on their Silver Exped (RIP the Pink Inflatable Flamingo). Great for younger cadets to hear what older ones get up to, and also the sense of comradery and teamwork that comes from our expeditions when done well (we start with IET with newbies partly for this reason, also team dynamics and leadership). Wrt air loss of Flamingo, I'm thinking what Sqn might need is a good course in the Entry Level Award (ELA) in Health & Safety, and Hazard Awareness 😉 Silver actual expeds now signed off meaning some cadets very close to awards:  Good news: Cdt K's Bronze & Cdt M's Silver both approved last week (badges/certificates pending).

Monday's parade saw a carnival atmosphere generated in local community as our mid's undertook Blue Badge assessments with Wing band master Fg Off D. It's one of the hardest badges due to the mixed skills needed to be able to march and play 3 songs at same time. 9 passes (2 bell lyre, 7 drums), a brilliant initial haul for one night of assessments that demonstrates the further strengthening of our overall pool of musician cadets, a step change in bell lyre playing which bodes well for Wing Music Competition. Apparently, the cadets generated waves heard as far as Chase Meadow Community centre.

Alas, 1368 only got 2nd in Wing Athletics competition on Sat 10 May 2025 bringing our 3 year winning streak to an end. Stunning performance of 1368 Sqn boys to win the Boys overall trophy though, given that we had very few junior men this year. Massive haul of individual medals, and great to see the look on our newer cadet's faces when they realize they are good enough to win Gold medals.  Congratulations to 492 Sqn who overpowered us with a much larger team with more girls. A well deserved win from a motivated team that brought everything to the table. Great to see competition heat up with some really big teams, and massive thanks to older 1368 cadets who went out of the way to try and give us a chance to fill gaps in older age categories. 

DofE scheme is an important Pillar in 1368's training programme with a large cohort going through Silver's and Gold's at the moment. Monday saw the 6 of our Bronze level cohort who were down get their Bronze certificates and badges for their Brassards. The Squadron expects all cadets to achieve their Bronze Award within first 1-2 years with Squadron. It runs it's own DofE expeditions. The DofE Scheme isn't just about expeditions. There are also Skills, Volunteering, Physical sections where the scheme requires them to do an hour a week on average over an extended period of time and get better. Many of the activities we do at 1368 Sqn cadets can be used for these sections and since they spend 5hrs a week with us, Royal Air Force Air Cadets is a great place to get the awards. The DofE Scheme offers complementary value to both organisations and the individuals who achieve their Awards. Well done.