Vernon’s Royal Canadian Air Cadets - 223 Red Lion Squadron is excited to begin a new year, welcoming 20 new Cadets and bringing the squadron up above 50 members.
The Royal Canadian Air Cadets is a program for Canadian youth 12-18 with a wide range of training available. It is supported by local community, sponsors, the Canadian Armed Forces and Air Cadet Leagues of Canada.
The program goal is to strengthen Canadian communities by investing in youth and developing community leaders.
Youth with a wide variety of interests find Air Cadets valuable for their personal growth and development. Cadet Organization help develop skills that will help youth transition into adulthood, from good citizenship, leadership, and a focus on physical fitness, Cadets have experiences that you don’t find anywhere else.
Air Cadets focus on aviation-related activities including flying, gliding and studies in aerospace, as well as other activities throughout the year, such as effective speaking program, marksmanship, biathlon, media, music, first aid and opportunities to enjoy field training exercises.
Participation in these activities give Cadets an opportunity to compete in numerous competitions, travel, win awards and obtain certifications that will stand out in higher education or employment applications, and might give a kick-start to their future careers.
Cadets who stay in the program for five years may earn up to 12 high school credits, possibly more, if they graduate the Duke of Edinburgh’s program, as well as volunteer community service hours.
Any new interested youth are welcome to contact the squadron at any time and come in for an exploratory session. The program is for free to join, and activities are led by the officers of the Canadian Armed Forces - Cadet Instructor Cadre. A minimal fee is requested to support for extra curriculum activities, if this is a concern, we can discuss options.
A great example for achievements at the Vernon Air Cadet program is local Warrant Officer first-class (WO1) Jaeden Rossner.
He represented Vernon Air Cadets 223 Red Lion Squadron in Quebec at the Air Cadet National Effective Speaking Competition and won a Gold Award in June 2022.
WO1 Rossner now has moved on to his next chapter of life, after he graduated high school, but still is an active member at the Vernon squadron.
Senior Cadet correspondent Flight Cpl. Emmelia Brown had a chance to meet with him to gain some insights as to what he thought of the program and the competitions.
Rossner was a member of the Effective Speaking program for two years and truly enjoyed participating in various speaking events. Unfortunately, this year’s competitions were held online but in other circumstances he would have been able to travel across B.C. and Canada to participate in them in person.
He found it really interesting to listen to other participants’ prepared speeches and adored the fact that no one’s speech was the same as others: “Everything everyone says is unique to the person, developing a wonderful diversity in topics being discussed,” said Rossner.
As an experienced award-winning cadet, Rossner suggests everybody to partake in the Air Cadets Effective Speaking program.
“Even if you find it scary to talk in front of people, the program is there to help you grow,” he said. “Through the program, skills based on communication, confidence, quick-wittiness, decision-making, and so much more are indirectly taught to all. The program has honestly changed me for better.”