The Canadian Cadet Program will resume training on Sept. 12, and new recruits are invited to stop by and give the program a try. As one of Canada’s largest youth organizations, the Cadet Program offers an experience found nowhere else.
“The Cadet Program is for anybody from the ages of 12 to 18,” explained the commanding officer of #40 Snowbird Squadron, Capt. Clyde Garrett.
The program is organized into three elements: land, sea, and air. Applicants can choose for themselves which element they wish to join, and each element comes with its own unique opportunities.
Regardless of the element, the program seeks to prepare cadets for their next stage of life and teaches the core values of good citizenship. “We focus on citizenship, leadership, general cadet knowledge, physical fitness, good community service, and things like that,” said Capt. Garrett.
Each element also has specialized training in its area of focus. For the 28 cadets currently enlisted in the air cadet program, this means the focus is on aerospace.
“So, for us being air cadets, we focus on aviation activities. We go out flying either in gliders or powered aircraft, and focus on air-related studies like airports, airplanes, and aircraft engines…,” said Capt. Garrett.
Training nights are held on a set day of the week depending on the element, and they follow the same structure. The night starts off with drill practice, and then classes are held in adjacent classrooms.
“We also do classes on physical fitness, citizenship, leadership classes, instructional techniques, public speaking classes, and things like that,” explained Capt. Garrett.
Enrolment comes with several unique opportunities, starting with self-discipline, valuable life skills, and the chance to meet lifelong friends. Each element also has a selection of more advanced courses.
“For air cadets specifically, once you reach the age of 16, we have a glider pilot scholarship program,” said Capt. Garrett. “Once (cadets) turn 17, they can go through the process to get their powered pilot’s license as well.”
There are courses unrelated to flying as well, and these include leadership and aircrew survival.
There’s a new cadet correspondence course with a focus on media relations. “Cadets can learn about media and social media, photography, and they can become their own reporters in the cadet program,” said Capt. Garrett.
Each element also offers its own scholarship program to help selected cadets pursue their career.
Sea cadets train on Mondays, air cadets on Tuesdays, and army cadets train on Thursdays. All cadets meet at 6:30 p.m. on their respective night, and training ends at 9 p.m.
Training is typically held at the D.V. Currie VC Armoury in Moose Jaw, but due to current renovations, cadets from all three elements are currently meeting at the 15 Wing Community Recreation Centre. Regular training should resume at the armoury by the end of September, but this depends on construction.
Cadets have a formal dress uniform and a field training uniform. The field training uniform is the regular weekly uniform, and the dress uniform is reserved for special occasions. For air cadets specifically, the dress requirement on the first night is the field training uniform.
To sign up for the cadet program, registration works the same for all three elements. New applicants can attend any training night respective to the element they wish to join, and from there they can ask questions with no pressure to join.
“They can come and see us any Tuesday night… between 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.,” explained Capt. Garrett. “They just need to bring a copy of their birth certificate and their health card, and we can provide them with the application papers.”
There is also an online registration tool at https://registration.cadets.gc.ca/get-started.html.
The Canadian Cadet Program is one of the largest youth organizations in Canada, and thanks to a partnership with the Department of National Defense (DND), the program is offered free of charge.
“We have no registration fees. There is no cost for the uniform… it’s almost a free program,” confirmed Capt. Garrett. “There is no cost to join our program and there’s no up-front fee that anybody has to pay.”
To help offset costs and provide new opportunities such as field trips, cadets are asked to assist in fundraising events such as poppy sales or bottle drives. Proceeds from these fundraisers help keep costs as low as possible.
For more information, air cadets can be reached at 306-692-7707 or 40air@cadets.gc.ca; sea cadets can be reached at 306-690-3801 or 99sea@cadets.gc.ca; and army cadets can be reached at 1856army@cadets.gc.ca.
Cadet training is held at the D.V. Currie Armoury located at 1215 Main Street North.
Until renovations on the armoury are completed, the temporary meeting place is the 15 Wing Community Recreation Centre, located just off Ninth Avenue Southwest at the air base.
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