The 232 Bighorn Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets held their 74th Annual Ceremonial Review at the club’s hangar on Sunday, May 29. Photo by Dan Walton
Learning to fly is one of the many opportunities teenagers can take advantage of through the Royal Canadian Air Cadets program, but to reach that level, recruits have to demonstrate a shrewd understanding of procedures.
Many cadets from 232 Bighorn Squadron are aspiring pilots, and they took themselves one step closer to defying gravity on Sunday, May 29 after the most crucial inspection of the year, the Annual Ceremonial Review.
The Reviewing Officer this year was Mayor Ron Hovanes, and the Air Cadet League Inspector was Penny Doern.
LAC Logan Thompson from Oliver, 14, signed up for cadets last fall along with his brother. He feels confident that his marching and presentations were well-rehearsed during last weekend’s review, which he hopes will get him promoted to corporal. Over the next several years, Thompson plans to fasttrack his pilot licence through the program.
“It’s not a pipe dream,” said Mayor Hovanes, citing local resident Ron Worth, who launched his career in aviation as a local cadet in the 1940s, eventually becoming a pilot for Air Canada.
“It started right here.”
In years past, the cadet program’s constant weekend use of gliders for one to two months of the year caused an individual to issue a complaint. That led Mayor Hovanes to ponder the alternative.
“Would you rather have them hanging out on the street corner, or taking advantage of this valuable opportunity in their backyard, all paid for by the Department of National Defence. You’re not going to find that opportunity anywhere else.”
In his address to the cadets, Hovanes spoke about the value of applying hard work in any environment, particularly as the Age of Information makes it challenging to set goals that don’t offer instant gratification. He related that sense of dedication back to the opportunity to become a professional pilot, and acknowledged that memorizing the drills is not an easy feat, telling the cadets they deserve to be proud of their accomplishments.
Hovanes felt a little outshined by his address, having followed a speech by LAC Anna Mardian, whose words painted an inspiring picture of her personal growth since joining cadets in the fall.
“I can’t compete with that talent,” Hovanes said. “She was very good.”
Mardian said that she was nervous about beginning the cadets program after signing up, but her tensions were eased immediately after the first meeting. She shared the feelings of excitement that came from learning about rifles and getting to fire one, and she especially enjoys the opportunities cadets are given to support community initiatives. She believes that all cadets have the potential to be leaders, and said the values learned in the program will reverberate through their entire lives.
Mardian signed up with her younger brother, LAC Garret Mardian, who are from Osoyoos. They were both enticed to join cadets by their father’s encouragement, and Garret had always been interested in wrapping his head around military drills and procedures.
“I thought it would be easy but it turned out to actually be a little complicated,” he said.
Garret plans on remaining a cadet until he becomes too old at 19, and just like many of his counterparts, he also plans on earning his pilot’s licence as a cadet. Although he already knew some of the squadron through school, Garret made many new friends in the program, and said one of his favourite group activities is learning how to survive off the grid.
“We’re all nerds,” he confesses. “I mean that in a goodish way.”
In closing remarks, ACLC Inspector Doern said the day’s presentation made obvious the squadron’s dedication and commitment. Knowing that many cadets will be spending much of their summer at camp learning about the outdoors, she hopes to see the cadets return in the fall to brainstorm and share with one another what they learned.
By Dan Walton
