Air Training Corps

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The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a cadet organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is a voluntary youth group which is affiliated to and supported by the Royal Air Force, however the cadets and majority of staff are civilians. It is not a recruiting organisation, although a number of its members do go on to join the RAF or other services.

Contents

Aims and Motto

The Aims of the Air Training Corps are:

To promote and encourage among young people a practical interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force.
To provide training which will be useful in the Services and civilian life.
To foster the spirit of adventure and develop qualities of leadership and good citizenship.

The Air Training Corps Motto is "Venture Adventure".

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh serves as honorary Air Commodore-in-Chief.

Organisation

Within the Corps there are four levels of command. From top down they are: Corps, Region, Wing and Squadron. The Squadrons are the focal point for the majority of members of the Corps.

National level

The ATC is the larger part of the Air Cadet Organisation (ACO), along with the RAF sections of the Combined Cadet Force. It is divided geographically into six regions, each of which are sub-divided into wings. There are currently 36 Wings, most named after the one or two counties that they operate in. Wings are further sub-divided into squadrons.

Headquarters Air Cadets (HQAC), based at RAF Cranwell, controls the organisation; there are subordinate HQs at Region and Wing levels staffed by officers of the RAF Reserve and civil servants. A regular RAF Air Commodore serves as Commandant Air Cadets. The Current Commandant Air Cadets is Air Commodore David Harrison. The ACO forms one of the four functional pillars of the Royal Air Force Training Group Defence Agency (TGDA), which is responsible for the recruitment and selection of all Royal Air Force personnel and for the policy and delivery of Royal Air Force non-operational training (including Flying Training). The Chief Executive of the TGDA also fufills the role of Air Officer Commanding Training Group, which includes the Air Cadet Organisation. The current AOC Training Group is Air Vice-Marshal John Ponsonby.

Two Air Cadet National Adventure Training Centres are controlled by HQAC, at Llanbedr, Wales and Windermere, England. These provide a range of adventure training courses and accommodation for squadron and wing expeditions. HQAC also control 28 Volunteer Gliding Squadrons around the UK, through the Air Cadet Central Gliding School at RAF Syerston.

Local level

ATC Squadrons are established in most large towns in the UK and there are also units in Cyprus, Germany and the Channel Islands. In recent years, there have always been approximately 900 squadrons. The first 50 squadrons formed have their squadron numbers followed by an F to show they are founder squadrons.

In towns not large enough to sustain a squadron of 30 cadets, a Detached Flight (DF) may be formed. This operates much like any other unit, but is technically a component part of a nearby larger squadron. The establishment of Officers and cadet NCOs (Non-Commissioned Officer) is dependant on the size of the Squadron or DF.

Each squadron is commanded by an officer holding a commission in the RAF VR(T). The commanding officer (or CO) has a good deal of autonomy in running the unit but also carries heavy responsibilities. Additionally where a unit has other members of staff the CO allocates their duties and also provides recommendation on appointment, retention and promotion of those staff.

This basic structure has many permutations - varying numbers of cadets and staff, accommodation and facilities. A typical Detached Flight consists of the Officer Commanding and a minimum of fifteen cadets and often housed in rented accommodation. At the other extreme a large Squadron can consist of 120 plus cadets, 4 commissioned officers, 2 non-commissioned officers and a half dozen Civilian Instructors.

Membership

Cadets

Young people can join the ATC at any time between the ages of 13 and 3 months, and 18. Cadets can stay in the corps up until age 20 but must have reached the rank of Cadet Sergeant by 18 to be eligible for this. Those who stay on beyond 18 are termed Instructor Cadets. All cadets are issued with uniform and must pay a small amount in subscriptions, usually about £5 per month. The subscription money covers parts of the activities undertaken by the Cadets for example white water rafting, shooting, flying or camping, as well as the upkeep of the squadron, These things are also subsidised by the RAF.

The cadets of a squadron all join at the rank of Cadet, however, they can be promoted by the CO to the status of NCOs. The NCO ranks within the ATC mirror those of the RAF and are Cadet Corporal, Cadet Sergeant, Cadet Flight Sergeant and Cadet Warrant Officer. It is common within the ATC to abbreviate these ranks by dropping the prefix "Cadet". The rank of Cadet Warrant Officer is the only rank to require a promotion interview by the Officer Commanding of the wing (Wing Commander) or his deputy; promotion to the lower ranks is in the power of the squadron commander. All cadets who are over the age of 18 have the prefix "Instructor cadet". Instructor Cadets must be of the rank Sergeant or above. These NCOs now wear a rank slide with the insignia 'INSTRUCTOR CADET' written below their rank, although many still wear the old insignia: a white band attached to the rank slide. An instructor cadet has extra responsibilities over other under 18 year olds which include a duty of care to the younger Cadets and NCOs.

Cadet Warrant Officer (CWO)

Flight Sergeant (FS)

Sergeant (Sgt)

Corporal (Cpl)

Not all cadets who join the ATC can expect to receive promotion. However all cadets can progress through the training system and, by passing exams (usually taken every 6 months), achieve increasing levels of qualification. The qualification levels are Second Class Cadet (commonly known as a 'probationer', or 'basic'), First Class Cadet, Leading Cadet, Senior Cadet and Staff Cadet. For each of these qualifications cadets study a variety of subjects including Airmanship, Navigation, First Aid, Communications, Principles of Flight, Airframes and Propulsion. These subjects are studied using ACPs. Each successive qualification allows a cadet greater participation. For example, cadets must be First Class before they can take part in some activities such as UK annual camps or air experience flying. Cadets who have achieved the Staff Cadet qualification wear a distinguishing yellow lanyard on their uniforms and are then authorised to teach lessons.

Cadets can qualify for various BTEC awards through the training that is carried out at their squadrons.

Adult Staff

The staff who run the ATC at unit level come in 3 types: commissioned officers, adult SNCOs (Sgt, FS, WO) and civilian instructors. Officers are commissioned into the Training Branch of the RAF Volunteer Reserve, giving them the postnominal letters RAF VR(T). Unless an officer has previous service, he or she is commissioned as a Pilot Officer, being promoted to Flying Officer after two years. After 9 years commissioned service, the rank of Flight Lieutenant is bestowed. Squadrons are usually commanded by Flight Lieutenants, who are also found as Wing and Regional staff officers along with Squadron Leaders and Wing Commanders.

Wing Commander (Wg Cdr)
Squadron Leader (Sqn Ldr)
Flight Lieutenant (Flt Lt)
Flying Officer (Fg Off)
Pilot Officer (Plt Off)

Adults may also be appointed as Adult SNCOs, although these ranks are within the ATC and so therefore these are not members of the RAF reserve. Adult NCOs are uniformed in the same way as their RAF counterparts with two exceptions: a small gilt ATC badge is worn on the rank badge and Warrant Officers (unless they have previous regular warranted service) wear a different rank badge.

Adult Warrant Officer AWO)
Adult Flight Sergeant (AFS)
Adult Sergeant (ASgt)

Civilian Instructors, known as CIs, play an important role in training cadets. Unlike Adult NCOs and Officers, CIs do not wear uniform and are do not form part of the chain of command on the squadron.

Civilian Committees

For each level of command there an associated Civilian Committee. There is a minimum of 5 members to any "Civ Com" and there must be a chairperson, tresurer, secretary as well as the C.O and someone to take "minutes". The Civ Com are responsible for overseeing the initial unit formation and direction. The committees, consisting of respected members of the community often including parents of cadets and retired staff, also manage finances (in particular fund raising) but do not have any executive authority.

The ATC is a charitable organisation. The Royal Air Force provides funds for a few of the key activities such as flying training. These finances are known as 'Public Funds'. The great range of other activities offered by the ATC however are financed from the 'Non-Public Fund'. Here the Civilian Committee comes into their own in their tirless effort to seek the necessary financial assistance which allows these other activities to take place.

History

The ATC was founded by Royal Warrant signed by King George VI on 5 February 1941 in response to a shortage of pilots. It was formed out of the Air Defence Cadet Corps by Air Commodore Adrian Chamier. It proved very popular during the war, as cadets who passed their proficiency training in the ATC could choose which service they wished to join when they were conscripted; they were also excused several weeks of basic training should they join the RAF.

After the war membership declined but the ATC was kept going, the emphasis changing from a pre-service training organisation to a broader based youth organisation.

Activities

Within the framework of the training programme ATC cadets have the opportunity of taking part in many activities. On most Squadrons the only compulsory activities in the ATC year are attendance at various church parades, usually ATC Sunday (to celebrate the founding of the Air Training Corps on 5 February 1941, see below) and Remembrance Sunday. Many wings also insist that attending Wing Parade is compulsory.

Parade nights

Every Squadron parades at least once, usually twice a week during the evening. Parade nights always begin and end with a parade. First parade is usually used as an opportunity for uniform inspection and to instruct cadets on the evening's activities, while final parade is usually used as an opportunity to inform cadets of upcoming events that they may wish (or may be required) to take part in.

Flying

Cadets can take part in regular flights in the Grob Tutor at one of 12 Air Experience Flights (AEFs) around the UK. These flights typically last 30 minutes; as part of a structured syllabus of training it is usual for the cadet to be offered the chance of flying the aircraft or of experiencing aerobatics. The instructors are all qualified service pilots, usually serving or retired RAF officers. Prior to the introduction of the Tutor, AEFs were equipped with Bulldogs as a temporary measure following the retirement of the Chipmunk in 1996. The Chipmunk was introduced in 1957 and during its service flew many thousands of cadets. Prior to the Chipmunk and established AEFs, cadet flying was a more ad-hoc affair, although during the 1940s and 1950s, Airspeed Oxfords and Avro Ansons were used specifically to fly cadets. Cadets were most often used to manually pump the landing gear up or down when flying in the ansons.

Gliding

Cadets can also take part in air experience flights at an ATC Volunteer Gliding Squadron(VGS). Gliding initially consists of three one day courses, GIC 1,2 & 3. Each GIC consists of learning about controlling the aircraft in one of the three axis of flight. GIC 1 is pitch, GIC 2 is roll and GIC 3 is yaw, with the opportunity to experience stalled flight if the cadet wishes. A VGS will either fly the winch launched Grob Viking glider or the Grob Vigilant self-launched motorglider.

At age 16 onwards, cadets can apply for gliding scholarships through their squadron staff. If selected, the cadet will receive up to 40 instructional launches on the Viking pure glider, or up to 8 hours of tuition on the powered Vigilant motorglider. Cadets who successfully complete either of these programmes will be awarded blue wings. Cadets who show the required aptitude and ability will go on to perform a solo flight and be authorised to wear silver wings on their uniform. Further training is available to a select few cadets who show potential to progress onto Advanced Gliding Training (AGT) where on completion they are awarded gold wings. Usually these cadets will be enrolled as Flight Staff Cadets (FSCs) and further training to instructor categories is possible.

An FSC can achieve a Grade 2 award, which recognises them as a competent solo pilot, a Grade 1 award, allowing them to carry passengers in the air and perform the basic teaching tasks involved in the GIC courses. Ultimately an FSC can achieve a C category instructors rating. A 'C cat' is an instructor who is qualified to teach the Gliding Scholarship course.

Once a cadet reaches 20 years of age, he can no longer be an FSC and must become a Civilian (Gliding) Instructor, CGI, (although an FSC has this option at age 18) or a commissioned officer. Once either of these adult statuses has been gained, progression onto 'B cat' and 'A cat' is possible. An A cat is able to send first solos, and B cat can send subsequent solos. Both can perform SCT (Staff Continuation Training) to keep other members of staff well trained and current in their flying categories.

Marksmanship

Cadets have the opportunity of firing a variety of rifles on firing ranges. Cadets first train with and fire either the Lee Enfield No.8 .22 rifle or .177 air rifles. They can then progress to the L98-A1 CGP, a manually operated variant of the 5.56 mm SA80. The 7.62 mm Parker Hale L81A2 Cadet Target Rifle is also used at long ranges for competition shooting. Although safety has always been the main concern when shooting, with everything done by the book, recent years have seen the introduction of a wider range of training courses for staff involved in shooting to improve quality and safety even further. There are many competitions, from postal smallbore competitions to the yearly Inter-Service Cadet Rifle Meet at Bisley, the home of UK shooting.

Drill

All ATC squadrons practice drill as a means of distilling discipline and teamwork. Drill is also used in formal parades, for moving around military bases and moving cadets in a smart and orderly fashion to show how well disciplined the cadets are. There are also drill competitions comprising of inter wing competitions up to national competitions. Air cadet drill is taken from the manual Air Cadet Publication 19 (ACP19) which is based on the RAF drill manual.

Annual and Overseas Camps

The highlight of the cadet's calendar is annual camp - a week away at an RAF station. Annual camps are organised for all squadrons so that every cadet who wishes to take part and who has achieved at least the First Class qualification may attend. Cadets usually stay in RAF barrack blocks and eat in the station's mess facilities. The itinerary is always packed with typical ATC activities such as air experience flying, shooting, adventure training and of course drill. Cadets will also have the opportunity to visit various sections of the station and meet the people who work there.

For older and more experience cadets who have achieved the Leading Cadet qualification the corps also offers overseas camps. These are more expensive than UK camps as the cost of flights has to be paid for, and are generally more relaxed and seen as a reward for hard working and long serving cadets. Since the end of the cold war, and the closure of RAF stations in Germany, the number of overseas camp opportunities has decreased. As of 2005 the destinations for overseas camps were:

Akrotiri on Cyprus. A two week camp over the Easter school holiday period.
RAF Gibraltar in Gibraltar.
RAF Rheindahlenen in Germany

Sport

Sport plays a key part in the activities of every squadron. Seven sports are played competitively between squadrons. Cadets who show talent can be selected to represent their Wing, Region or the Corps in competitive matches; these cadets win wing, regional or corps 'Blues'. The main sports played are:

Rugby Union
Hockey
Netball
Association Football
Swimming
Athletics
Cross-country running

Other sports are also played, sometimes in matches between squadrons, including Volleyball, 5-a-side football, table tennis, etc. Cadets also use various sports to take part in the physical recreation section of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

Duke of Edinburgh's Award

The Air Training Corps is the single largest operating authority of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award system and celebrates its 50th year of providing this opportunity to its cadets in 2006.

Communications

An extensive range of communication training is offered where appropriatly skilled instructors and equipment are available. This can range from handheld radio operating procedures to networked digital communication and even incompases publishing online (such as this Wiki). The Provisional Radio Operator Certificate has been incorporated in the compulsory curriculum since 2000. However lack of local resources often hampers the delivery.

Cadets are encouraged to pursue this training across a range of mediums and technology. Once a sufficiently broad spectrum of skills have been mastered and validated by the Wing Communications Officer the cadet is awarded the Communicator Badge to be worn on the brassard. Communication training provides valuable practical lessons in information handling and management, develops interpersonal skills and meets one of the Corps prime objectives: 'providing training useful in both civilian and military life'.

Community Volunteering

Cadets often volunteer to help at various national and local events. For their services a small payment is usually offered to their squadron's funds. Typical examples of such work includes car parking duties at events and delivering copies of Gateway Magazine to RAF married quarters.

The largest example of cadets involved in volunteer work is at the Royal International Air Tattoo, an annual air display held at RAF Fairford. Each year several hundred air cadets volunteer to stay on the base in temporary accommodation. During the course of the event they help with duties such as selling programmes, crowd control and clearing litter.

Band

Members of the band have special badges.

A drummer badge is a silver drum, displayed in the middle of the brassard.

A piper badge is some pipes, again displayed in the middle of the brassard.

A trumpeter badge is two crossed trumpets, displayed in the middle of the brassard.

An instrumentalist badge, ie. someone not in the above categories, has a lyre

Band members are also entitled to wear Airman's No.1 SD uniform for band events.

Uniform

Cadets and staff of the ATC wear uniform similar to RAF uniform. This is supplied to each cadet when they join by the supply squadron at the local RAF station. Items are then replaced if the cadet grows out of them. Blue uniform consists of:

Black leather parade shoes, which are expected to be clean and regularly polished. (These are the only item of kit not officially issued, cadets are usually expected to provide their own footwear.)
RAF trousers, pressed with sharp creases at the front and back of each trouser leg running all the way up to the waistband. RAF skirts and optional slacks for females.
Blue belt with a brass buckle, with highly polished buckle (males only). (Cadets may also privately purchase RAF Stable or Purse Belts)
RAF working blue shirt with the top button left undone. Coller ironed flat from the back, and then folded on natural crease.
RAF Wedgwood blue dress shirt. Worn with a tie (tied in a Windsor knot), for formal inspections and parades.
RAF jumper, with Duke of Edinburgh's Award badge and/or flying proficiency badges ('wings') sewn onto it if awarded.
Cadets wear a brassard on the right arm, and there should be no creases in it. The brassard is used to show badges depicting their level of qualification (first class, leading, etc), their squadron number, and awards for achievements such as marksmanship. An Air Training Corps badge is also worn.
Beret with ATC cap badge. The ATC cap badge is in silver metal and depicts a falcon surrounded by the words 'Air Training Corps'. Staff wear the capbadge appropriate to them, i.e. the RAF Officer, Warrant Officer or Other Ranks badge. Officers often wear a peak cap.
Staff Cadets wear a yellow lanyard around their left shoulder, instead of the usual classification badge on the brassard. This is replaced by a red lanyard if the cadet completes the Junior Leaders course.
Members of ATC Bands and Cadet Warrant Officers are entitled to wear No.1 SD Uniform when occaisson calls for it.

"Green" uniform comprises:

DPM smock. Soldier '95 pattern
DPM shirt. Soldier '95
DPM trousers. Soldier '95
Beret with ATC cap badge. The ATC cap badge is in silver metal and depicts a falcon surrounded by the words 'Air Training Corps'.
Green belt (not supplied. Expected to be bought by cadets).
Black leather boots are required, but again, are not supplied as standard.

External links

[The Air Cadet Organisation]

Links to many Region, Wing and Squadron websites may be found on the links page of this, the official ATC website.

Regions and Wings

A few Squadron websites:

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