Beyond the Ranks - Air Cadets

(...)

Welcome back to Love the North podcast. I am your host, Michael Richardson. I'm a local author.(...) Currently I'm working on a project involving transcribing my grandfather's memoirs from his experiences during World War II. So I thought, what a better way to delve into that whole world than to find maybe some veterans here in Sudbury or people that are involved in those kind of activities. And here's some stories from a different perspective.(...) We're also going to be looking into how we can help our veterans, how we can support the next generation, which would be the local cadet squadrons, which I think are very underutilized in this city and would do a great service to the community if we can bring that word out there and get some more people involved.(...) Joining me tonight are Jeff Cartman and Graham Bromley, they're from the Anavetz Society, which we have spoken about previously. We've just scratched the surface on, and I think we're going to dig a little bit deeper into that. But Jeff is also a civilian instructor with the local air cadet squadron, which is where my background started. I was an air cadet when I was a kid as well, and it was a fantastic experience. And we're just going to share our experiences with that and hopefully try to entice some people to come and check it out. Now, off the top, a big event is coming just around the corner. June the 9th will be the annual inspection or the final parade for the local cadet squadron. This will take place at the Sudbury Armory on the evening of June the 9th.

But definitely feel free to come down and check this out. It is quite a display, and it gives the kids...(...) This is the big show for the year. They can demonstrate everything that they've learned, and they're putting it into practice. And hopefully we'll all be there to see this. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining me tonight.

(...)

So, Jeff, to start with you, you're currently involved with the local cadet squadron. Which squadron is that? 200 Wolf.(...) This was my squadron, and I aged out in 85. Wow. And apparently you just can't get rid of old cadets.

(...)

(Laughter) That's good. That's good, though.(...) So, with the air cadets, I remember when I was a kid, one of the main things that enticed me to that was the potential of getting my pilot's license. Is that still something that is featured or offered, and how does that work? The kids still have the opportunity to go through the glider program, that is the brass ring, as well as the power option.(...) This year we were lucky enough to have one kid who was right on top of his marks, and he found out last week that he got his power scholarship. So, yes, it is still available. That's exciting. It costs him absolutely nothing but three or four hours a week, and then some training during the week as a secondary timeframe.

(...)

But monetarily, he gets paid for the gig still. Nice. Is it still done largely in one summer course? Six-week program. Nice. So he goes to whichever training facility?

(...)

Most of the paperwork is still based out of Trenton. They have one power center, I believe, there.

(...)

A bunch of places, old through Ontario, make application to be able to sponsor the cadet program, so there's compensation for them.

(...)

So he could go anywhere from London to Trenton. North Bay Submarine had a program at one point.

(...)

So he's excited because his paperwork shows as being in Trenton right now.

(...)

So wherever he ends up, that will be exciting for him for that six weeks. Absolutely. And it is a crash course.

(...)

The training through the course of the year becomes a prep course. Right.(...) And then for six weeks, you are hammered because you're alongside 30 other cadets that have also made that great.

(...)

And getting to that point,

(...)

you get to wear a set of wings when you're done and walk out with a little bit of pride on your chest. A little bit. Okay. Yeah. Absolutely. We always looked up to the kids that were the pilots. It was like something in a movie. They were the top gun, if you will.(...) It was something really exciting. Myself, I took the--and I don't know if this course is still offered-- the air crew survival training course. This was a basic search and rescue course.(...) I wish it had been longer. It was only a three-week course at the time. I don't know if it is still-- I believe it's still a three-week course. Did they still do that in Algonquin Park? They may have moved it. Okay. But again, you took the courses just about the same time as me, so everybody has moved a little bit. Yeah. It was truly a life-altering experience, and I can't encourage people enough to pay serious attention and take a serious look at this. I mean, the opportunities are immense.

(...)

Now, as you had said,(...) most of this, like the basic uniform, the training courses, that's all funded by--

(...)

That's through D&D. Okay.

(...)

There is, again, no charge to the kids, which if you push that little piece in there, I'll deny it, because I swear when a piece of kit goes missing on a kid, I scare the bejesus out of them until it's like $79 for that tie. Don't lose it. Yes.

(...)

Yeah. I worked in supply for a year as well. I remember that speech from our officer every time.

(...)

But now to do some of the extracurricular activities. Now, cadets, they meet once a week for their weekly parade, I believe. Yes, sir. Is there still an activity night separate from that?(...) There are programs that are put out to the kids, so if they want to be involved with the band, say, or the flight training through the course of the year, that would be on a separate night. Okay. There is a band's course that runs on the weekends because that's a little more intense as opposed to the whole court for the ground schools. Right.

(...)

We have a--it's not a range team anymore.

(...)

Myathlon?

(...)

Myathlon, it's a shooting team. Okay. That there is competition through the course of the year as well.

(...)

And again, so on the weekends, we try not to tie up too much time. I can imagine there must-- There's still got to be a little bit of life for the kids at the end of the day. Absolutely. But with the range team, I imagine there's all kinds of safety training and everything else. Before they can handle the air rifles, yes.

(...)

D&D is really hunkered down on the use of the rifle rifles.

(...)

So those are--we'd need more people in the squadron to dedicate that time. Oh, okay.(...) So I believe the focus is more on the air rifles. And then if we had more people to work with that, then we would probably transition into the rifles. Gotcha. Now they could be civilian volunteers to help in that regard. Is that correct? To an extent. Okay. Because they still have to be trained in the safety procedures with the cadet movement. Okay. And that has to be to D&D standards.

(...)

Now if there were a parent or an adult that wanted to become an officer and help out with the cadet's water, can you tell me a little bit about that?(...) Come into the office. Okay. I double-dog dared you.

(...)

You won't leave in civilian clothing. Honestly, most of the parents that come in when they're dropping their children off have a vested interest to make sure that we're not grooming them to be a militant kind of kid.

(...)

It takes very little time for them to not leave and then become vested in the program or invested.

(...)

I aged old in 1985.

(...)

This is 2026. My son went through the program.

(...)

He had his glider's license before he had his driver's license.

(...)

That's amazing. He has a power license a year later.

(...)

He is my personal success story because now he's flying for WestJet. Wow.

(...)

We're trying to wrangle some time out of him for next year to see if he is...

(...)

I don't know if I'm speaking out of turn or not, but there is a possibility that he may be asked to be the reviewing officer next year. Oh, wow. So if that comes to fruition, he's got a year's advance on trying to book the time off. That's fantastic. What an honor. He makes my chest bigger every time. Yeah, I can imagine. He is what I would consider one of the squadron's success stories.(...) The last couple of years pre and then post COVID,

(...)

the North suffered an awful lot with the brass ring or the brass ring program. Really?

(...)

We have to stand over and above the kids in the South.(...) There still seems to be a lot more money down South.

(...)

Programs are being canceled in the North just because it costs too much to get up here now.(...) So this ties into your program, unfortunately.

(...)

And we keep pushing to have more kids in our programs are trying to rebuild our squadrons and corps so that we can bring those programs back.

(...)

And I don't know if there's any fear in the general populace or even if they're aware of it. If that concern of, I don't want my kids to join the military. I don't think I felt any pressure whatsoever to move on to that when I was in cadets. I don't know if you did. And I know for a fact that that is not the intention of the organization.(...) No, there's always going to be brow beaters.

(...)

My friend and I both aged out about the same time. He went to Victoria. He retired last year as a Petty Officer, second class.

(...)

He went to the Navy right away. He was one of two bagpapers in the Sudbury area that was,(...) he went to Edinburgh.

(...)

For the tattoo? No, he was on course. He was one of two air cadets in Canada because that is an army program. Wow,(...) he stood out I guess.

(...)

I brag about him as well because he's another one of these success groups. I believe it. I think he came from 200 Air. I believe it.

(...)

The best story he ever told me is that he was on a ship, his first ship. He was deployed down south around the home of the ship. He was coming into port and at one point somebody found out that he was a bagpaper and his pipes were on board. He said, "The cold this morning to be piping a ship into port." He said, "If I can't ever do that again, I'll be happy."

(...)

What an honor though. Honest, I would have loved to have been there to see that. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely.

(...)

If we stick on that topic of funding, both of you gentlemen are involved in ANA Vets.

(...)

I know from my previous conversation with Graham that this is to help support veterans and first responder veterans and a wide gambit.

(...)

I understand from when we were speaking earlier that in the south where the membership might be a little bit more robust,(...) they're able to help even the cadet squadrons.

(...)

So in Sudbury, the membership as Graham and I had discussed is only about 36 members right now. Possibly, yeah. But if those numbers... At 37. Yes, at 37 once I joined,(...) which will be soon. If we can get more people out for that,(...) veterans of any first responders, any military discipline, even the cadet corps, if you've spent three years or more in the cadets, you're qualified to join ANA Vets. It's a worthwhile organization. They could apply to help these cadet squadrons to help our next generation, the children basically in society.

(...)

If you can get past that stigma of it's a paramilitary organization,(...) the military aspect of it is there to give these kids exposure to discipline in a form that they may not have seen before. To give them a direction and to get them up and moving and by God to get your pilot's license if necessary. So... Self-esteem. Yeah, absolutely. Self-respect. We come out to the final inspection June 9th and you will see, however many kids are in the squadron now,(...) beaming in a way that you won't see anywhere else. These kids are proud and they have every reason to be. And if we could get the ranks swollen in ANA Vets, then we can help these cadets and we can move forward and really put Sudbury back on the map. If I understand correctly, ANA Vets is directly linked to helping the people on Manitoulin Island establish... Last year we, along with Elliot Lee and the Manitoulin ANA Vets, donated some more money to get a needle and of course started on the island. That's fantastic. They didn't have one.

(...)

They had a secret in court and it was doing quite well.

(...)

And anyway, it was brought up so if we had to get the younger ones involved, you know, to get them to go to the chicken at Sastre or just start off between 9 and 12 at Jerry and Missy and another broadcast. They got them started. But they didn't have the funding. So we brought it up and said, "Okay, we'll give it a shot." We're a non-profit organization so what do we get? Comes in, goes up and that happened. For us, that was a good cause. Give them a start up to me. That's fantastic. It wasn't a start agreement, it doesn't matter. If Sargri, like, if ours builds up, sure enough, there's going to be...

(...)

We don't want to put it down. Absolutely. Absolutely. That's fantastic. And now,(...) physical fitness, let's focus on that because everybody, myself included, except I think my day has come and gone.

(...)

Physical fitness is a big thing that can help with a lot of the mental illness that is out there and just again to add to their self-esteem. The Air Cadets offers physical training on a yearly basis, is that correct?(...) Yes. The program allows for a set period of time through the course of the year where we have sports nights. We push for a physical component.(...) I'm usually in the office doing the supply stuff, so I can't really tell you an awful lot other than when the kids come up to pick up the equipment and meters, sticks and tapes for setting up the praise fire. But I know that we set up, through the course of the year,(...) there's at least one night a month where we're dedicating at least a period or two just to some kind of a fitness thing. Wow.

(...)

Keep the brain enhanced, keep the mind and the body moving in some kind of shape.

(...)

With that,(...) I mean, Remembrance Day comes.

(...)

We have,(...) it's a little over a mile and large just from the armory down to the arena. And the cadets participate in that as well? I've been doing that forever. Wow. And for me that stops, I think I'll just have to turn in my paperwork. Amen.

(...)

To me, that is a very small price to pay for the privilege of walking a mile and a half, whether it's warm, wet or cold.

(...)

I was in band when I was in cadets and trying to play a trumpet at minus one is not the most pleasant thing, but it is. But it was definitely an honor. And the best part about it was at the end of band night, we'd always, the whole squadron would show up pretty much and we would play dodgeball. And that was the most epic game every Thursday I could look forward to. And I didn't care. I'd take that ball in the head just about every time, but it was so much fun.(...) And it was something that we didn't do at school because it might be dangerous or something like that. But we got to do that in cadets. That was just another of the experiences. And the camaraderie that's been in a small. Absolutely. You know, the other teams just trying to win. They're not trying to hurt you. But.

(...)

Well,(...) gentlemen, I can't thank you enough for being here tonight. This has been an absolute treat for me. A very good experience. I hope it has been for you as well.(...) Thank you very much for having us. Yes, I would very much hope that we can have you back. Maybe even possibly. I know there's hoops to jump through to do it, but it would be great to have one of the cadets come in and give us their. Side of the story anyone else from the organization absolutely is welcome at any time. I want this to be an ongoing thing. I'm going to make every effort, like I said, to come to the final parades, both for the sea cadets and the air cadets. And I'll maybe be recording while I'm there if that's allowable.

(...)

But I'll look into that. There's any issues there. Perfect. Promoting the program that again is the best kept secret in the country. And that second word needs to be changed. Yeah, it is. We're going to try everything that we can do to change that. And I just hope that the viewers are enjoying this content. If you do, please feel free to subscribe. There will be more.

(...)

Thank you again for joining us tonight. Gentlemen, Jeff Graham, as always, thank you so much. And I look forward to more. Thank you very much. Thank you so much.

(Music)

(...)