Twelve weeks later and we are at the end of an extra-long first term. The Squadron has been able to take advantage of the extra time to fit in two camps – both Gliding and Basic (more on that shortly) – and prepare our new Basic cadets for the biggest of our annual parades – ANZAC Day. This will be held on Monday 25th April in town, and all Cadets are expected to attend (or supply a reasonable excuse). We are particularly conscious of drill standards as this year’s ANZAC Day parade will be followed by a second, one-off parade in which we present the mount for an old AA gun that has been languishing at HQ for a while to the Returned and Services’ Association.
The holiday break will in fact be a very busy period for 27 SQN, as in addition to the ANZAC Day parades, we have numerous duties relating to the Airshow being held over the Easter weekend prior. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the Airshow has asked us to provide Gold Pass security, patrolling the fences in front of the grandstands. Needless to say, uniform will be required for visibility, and further details can be obtained by downloading the permission slip off our Facebook page (go to “Events”, then “Gold Pass Security” and click the link in the “Info”). On Sunday Proficiency or above Cadets are required for re-enactments – this involves dressing in old military uniforms and roleplaying. Again, for more details see the relevant event on the Facebook page. Finally, good luck to all those going on courses, as we have NCOs going on both the Junior and Senior Leaders promotional courses being held at Woodbourne over the holidays. If successful, the LACs will be eligible for promotion to Corporal, and the Corporals for promotion to Sergeant. In addition, Under Officer Mason will be staffing the Senior Leaders course, so all the best to him as well.
Over the past weekend (Saturday 9th-Sunday 10th April) we held the annual Basic Camp at our HQ on RNZAF Base Woodbourne, and all indications are that this was a resounding success. The camp had a strong drill focus, in anticipation of the upcoming ANZAC Day parade, but a team competition including touch rugby, leadership, drill and a night exercise (a firm favourite of Cadets – there’s something special about not being able to tell who that shadowy figure is sneaking between bushes) was also held, alongside lessons for the Basic Cadets on how to maintain their uniforms and keep a tidy standard of dress. As always, the bulk of photos will be available soon on our Facebook page, or, for those that stand out especially, viewable on our photo wall at HQ sometime next term.
Looking ahead to Term 2, we hope to make it even busier than the first Term. With just the Basics to do their TOETS, rifle shooting kicks off in May, and will alternate between the indoor RSA range (for parade night shoots) and the outdoor range at Woodbourne (for weekend shoots). A reminder to Cadets that a shooting badge is up for grabs, so get ready to work on your marksmanship! With the arrival of colder weather, lessons will begin to move indoors, with less drill and more theory such as Aviation Studies, and as usual Terms 2 and 3 will be in jerseys – do not forget them! However, those more adventure-inclined need not worry – lessons in navigation (especially night navigation!) and more planned camps mean there will be some cold time in the outdoors.
So we look forward to seeing you at the Easter weekend and ANZAC Day activities, and wish you all the best for the holidays. Come back next Term refreshed and ready to take on all that 27 SQN has to offer!
