Over the first weekend in March, 395 (Stafford) Squadron, ran a multi activity camp at RAF Wittering. The camp, which was supported by staff from Staffordshire Wing, No 2 Welsh Wing, Greater Manchester Wing, Bedfordshire and Cambridge Wing and 633 Aerospace Ground School at RAF Cosford, provided high level training to cadets from seven squadrons from across the four wings.
The cadets were streamed according to their chosen training with Recruit Training, Shooting, Fieldcraft, Space, ESports and Aviation all on offer. A total of 69 Cadets (Including Instructor Cadets) attended the camp obtaining the following badges;
- 7 Blue Shot L144
- 4 Bronze Shot L144
- 5 Blue Wings Ground School
- 4 Bronze Wings
- 14 Blue Drones
- 7 Silver Space
- 19 Blue Fieldcraft
Sgt Daz Vallis 395 (Stafford) Sqn/Staffs Wing Fieldcraft Instructor, commented:
“Camps like this provide a great opportunity for cadets to work with their peers from across the organisation gaining qualifications, but more importantly making new friends and memories that will last a lifetime. This is the second year that 395 have run this camp and to bring cadets and staff from 3 different regions, 4 different wings and 7 different squadrons together takes a considerable amount of work but hearing the laughter and seeing the smiles on the cadets faces at the end make it all worthwhile. The facilities and support provided by the Cadet Training Centre and RAF Wittering Personnel was second to none and without that support we could not run a camp like this. Hopefully we will be back in 2027.”
The cadets enjoyed the experience of the camp, and the chance to gain new qualifications. Here is what a few of them said after attending the camp.
Cdt Arrieta 2331 (St Ives) Sqn ATC
“RAF Wittering was a great first camp for me, I enjoyed doing blue fieldcraft and enjoyed socialising with other squadrons. I really recommend going on this camp the next chance there is.”
Cpl Matthews 2331 (St Ives) Sqn ATC
“Going to Wittering this weekend was one of the best experiences I’ve had through cadets despite how short it was. Participating in Silver Space with like minded people allowed me to better develop my knowledge and enjoy the time spent completing it. The wide variety of people and their stories also made the camp a very social place with lots of regions interacting with each other making the camp a great first experience for those younger cadets.”
Cpl Miller-Warburton 95 (Crewe) Sqn ATC
“Wittering was very good, it gave me thew opportunity to gain my bronze wings and blue drones qualification, making me eligible for NASC this year. This was one of my favourite camps so far and I made plenty of new friends and had the chance to reconnect with some old friends (from last years camp), the accommodation was great and overall the camp really exceeded expectations.”
