Royal Air Force Air Cadets
| Royal Air Force Air Cadets | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Branch | Royal Air Force |
| Type | Volunteer Military Youth Organisation |
| Headquarters | RAF Cranwell |
| Patron | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Commanders | |
| Honorary Air Commodore-in-Chief | HRH The Duchess of Cambridge |
| Commandant Air Cadets | Air Commodore Dawn McCafferty |
The Air Cadet Organisation (ACO), is the youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force.[1] The organisation is headed by a former serving RAF officer, [Commandant Air Cadets] who is engaged on a Full-Time Reserve Service (FTRS) contract. The current commandant is Air Commodore Dawn McCafferty. As of 1 April 2014, the ACO has a strength of 53,360 cadets and cadet force adult volunteers.[2] Wef: 1 Oct 17, the ACO will become known as the "RAF Air Cadets" (RAFAC).
Units
The ACO is made up of:
- Headquarters Air Cadets at RAF Cranwell
- Two National Air Cadet Adventure Training Centres
- 1009 Air Training Corps Squadrons in the UK and overseas
- 199 RAF contingents of the Combined Cadet Force
Parade nights
Cadets normally meet once or twice a week; these are called parade nights. Each squadron/detached flight/CCF unit parade on different nights. They have a building for meetings and some squadrons or detached flights are based on active RAF bases. Activities range widely, from shooting to drill.
See also
- Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch)
- Air Training Corps
- Combined Cadet Force
- Air Experience Flight
- Volunteer Gliding Squadrons
References
- ↑ Air Cadets - Who We Are, raf.mod.uk, Accessed 7 December 2014
- ↑ gov.uk MoD - reserves and cadet strengths, table 8a and 8b, page 17-18. April 2014.
External links
- Royal Air Force Air Cadets official website (raf.mod.uk)