2403 Squadron serves the communities of Aldermaston, Tadley and the surrounding areas. The Squadron has a strong community ethos and promotes the behaviours and values of its parent service.
360 Air Cadets and over 80 adult volunteers from across the Thames Valley Air Cadets came together on Sunday, 22nd May to celebrate the Air Training corps (ATC) 75th Anniversary.
Parading through Windsor and past the Guildhall it was an incredible sight to see the Thames Valley Air Cadets march through the streets and onto the Parish Church in all their splendour. Continue reading →
On Sunday, 29 November 127 cadets and 22 staff arrived at RAF Brize Norton to take part in the annual Wing Ten Pin bowling competition.
With teams on the start line ready to roll Squadrons had the opportunity to enter two teams and also compete for the top male and female spot. As cadets took it turn to line up ready for their strikes perhaps more balls entered the gutters than made it to the centre pin! Continue reading →
Early notice for activities at Region Activities Day 2016 have been announced. The Region Activities Day will affect what happens on Wing Activities Day. Continue reading →
The finalists for the Thames Valley Wing Thrive Awards have now been announced. The Awards fall into the following categories and all nominations came from their peers.
Outstanding Civilian Instructor – The person who has made the most outstanding contribution over the past year. Ambassador – The individual or team who through the virtue of hard work, character and representation have raised the profile of the ATC. Valiant Volunteer – For consistent and extraordinary efforts in helping others, above and beyond the call of duty. Unsung Hero – The individual whose contribution often goes unnoticed but without it their Squadron would fail to deliver the effect it achieves. Top Team Award – awarded to the group (informal or formal) that has achieved the greatest positive impact. Continue reading →
East & West Sectors of Thames Valley Wing have been training together at Bramley Training Area in Hampshire to undertake a variety of “Are You On Target?” activities. Cadets travelled from across Berkshire to the local ACF Weekend Training Centre to boost their skills and to work with staff and cadets from another Sector and other Squadrons.
Based at the Berkshire ACF Weekend Training Centre almost 40 cadets and 12 staff have provided training in Heartstart, Fieldcraft Introduction, Fieldcraft Development, Fieldcraft Leadership, No 8 Rifle Training, NNAS Navigation Training, Camps and a development package for potential Cadet NCO’s. Continue reading →
Each January staff and staff cadets from across the wing gather at RAF Halton to attend the annual Wing Training Day. This provides the opportunity to find out the latest changes on subjects such as the ‘Duke of Edinburgh’s Award’ and syllabus training. Staff also reflect back on the previous year and look ahead to ensure that the cadet experience is been delivered to the best of the ability of squadrons and wing staff within Thames Valley. This year’s training day saw a visit by GpCapt Cole from RAF Brize Norton who provided an insight into the RAF as it currently stands and updates on RAF Brize Norton with the introduction of the Voyager fleet and upcoming arrival of the Atlas fleet. Continue reading →
On the evening of Saturday, 2nd November 2402 (Burghfield) and 2403 (Aldermaston) Squadron, jointly celebrated their 50th Birthday. The venue for the celebrations was the Holiday Inn on the outskirts of Reading and proved to be one of the best dinners held so far. Attending the evening as invited guests were members of both committees, representatives of Berkshire ACF alongside parents and cadets from both squadrons. The meal was rounded off with speeches and toasts, Mr Vice for the dinner been. Continue reading →
During the October half term 28 cadets and 8 staff from Thames Valley Wing headed to RAF Linton-on-Ouse for their autumn camp on an operational, RAF station. It was a busy week for the cadets as they got to experience activities both on and off base, experience what life is like on an RAF station and meet new people with 17 of the wings squadrons been represented at the camp. For many of the cadets this was their first week long camp and were kept very busy with lots of activities and chance to discover what happens on an RAF base. Continue reading →
Thames Valley Wing has, over the past few months, been running a series of ‘Self Defence and Conflict Management’ courses via TDSU that are available for cadets and staff; the most recent being on Saturday, 28th September. The courses are run by WO Miller of 1996 (Earley) Sqn who is a Master Level Self Defence Instructor with the Self Defence Federation, and his colleague WO Powditch of 2121 (Abingdon) Sqn. The courses are aimed at teaching cadets to manage conflict in confrontational situations and basic self-defence actions in a controlled environment. Continue reading →
Each year cadets and staff from across Thames Valley wing gather at Wing HQ to take part in the various competitions that make up the wing activities day. With an early start for many squadrons cadets arrive ready to compete in a range of events show casing the skills they have learnt whilst being in the Air Training Corps. The event shows a high level of standards across all disciplines and this year was no exception across all the entries and levels of participation by the cadets.
With over 200 cadets at WAD 2013 squadrons took part in a range of events including the following: Aircraft Recognition, Aviation Art, Drill, Media Skills, Aero modelling, Photography, Public speaking and website entries. Continue reading →