Cadets Selected for Prestigious Flying Scholarships

Four Cadets from Durham/Northumberland Wing have been selected by North Region for the Air Cadet Pilot Scheme 2017! Congratulations to CWO Richardson of 1114 Gosforth Squadron - Air Cadets, CWO McAree and Sgt Newton of 861 (Wideopen) Squadron ATC, and Cpl McGowan of 2344 (Longbenton) Air Cadet Squadron! We are looking forward to seeing some photos of your progress over the next few months! Well done also to FS King of 1932 Blackhall ATC Squadron and Cdt Scott of 2344 (Longbenton) Air Cadet Squadron who have been selected as reserves - fingers crossed you get a place! Here's a photo of one of our Cadets from 1507 (Chester-le-Street) Squadron who completed his Flying Scholarship last year...

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DNW Smash Their D of E Record!

Air Cadets from across Durham/Northumberland Wing area achieved an outstanding 234 Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards in 2016, breaking all previous records. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a key element of the Air Cadet offer, and every young person in the organisation is encouraged to enrol and take part. From Volunteering with their local Brownie pack, to learning new skills such as Aeromodelling, Website design and Music, the Cadets can participate in a hugely wide range of activities. Cadets in the 35 Squadrons across the Durham/Northumberland area can register for the Bronze Award as soon as they are in Year 9 at school, and many then progress on to the Silver and Gold Awards, culminating in a visit to St...

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Morpeth Air Cadet Leader Retires After 20 Years

Morpeth Air Cadet Leader Retires After 20 Years A Northumberland Air Cadet Officer is retiring after notching up 20 years continuous service with Durham/Northumberland Wing ATC. Flight Lieutenant Bob Donothey joined 242 (Cramlington) Squadron in 1996 as a Civilian Instructor, and 4 years later was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch). He took over as Officer Commanding 404 (Morpeth) Squadron in February 2002 – a position which he has held for 14 years. In that time, Bob has ably led the Squadron through significant development, ensuring that his Cadets and Staff have had access to exciting opportunities and challenging training. Those opportunities offered to the Cadets by Bob and his team included overseas trips to Crete, where...

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Nijmegen Training Begins!

Cadets from across Durham/Northumberland Wing gathered at Albemarle Barracks last weekend to undertake the first of the training and selection events for Nijmegen 2017! This year was the first time for over a decade that the Wing had entered Cadets for the 4-day Marches in Holland, and the event proved so successful that the aim is to enter a team in the 2017 event made up solely of DNW Cadets. Cadets and Staff undertook a lengthy march on the old airfield site, and started the important process of teambuilding which is an essential element of any successful effort! The candidates will need to attend monthly training weekends between now and next summer to prepare for this challenging task.

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DNW Cadets join ACF on Camp

Over the summer, Air Cadets and Sea Cadets from across the region have had the opportunity to attend annual camp with Durham and Northumbria ACFs. A group of Air Cadets from Durham/Northumberland Wing travelled to Otterburn training area to join Northumbria ACF on their annual camp. They were allocated a place in one of the four training groups based on their fieldcraft experience. Northumbria ACF Cadets are cap badged to a number of regiments, so the blue beret was just one among many different headdresses. The Air Cadets were made more than welcome by all personnel and were treated as an integral part of the team, led by County Commandant, Colonel David Middleton MBE TD. Every cadet spent at least two nights...

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Tall Ships Blyth 2016

Over the weekend, Cadets and Staff from across the Wing took part in the Tall Ships event at Blyth. The Wing Media trailer and marquees provided the backdrop for Cadets and Staff to tell visitors to the event about our organisation, and encourage some of them to join us! Cadets and Staff attended from Squadrons local to Blyth, including 1000 Blyth Squadron, 2522 Bedlington Squadron, 242 (Cramlington) Squadron and 1110 Ashington Squadron, as well as from further afield, including 131 (City of Newcastle upon Tyne) Squadron, 36 (Hetton-Le-Hole) Squadron, 346 (Tynemouth) Squadron, 1507 (Chester-le-Street) Squadron, 1509 (Blaydon) Squadron, and 1151 (Wallsend) Squadron. Well done to everyone - you put on a great display and were great ambassadors for our Wing!

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DNW Cadets Aim for Gold!

Air Cadets from across the Durham/Northumberland Wing area have completed the expedition section of their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award this week. The 18 Cadets and Staff, aged between 16 and 23, spent four days in the Cheviot Hills, completing a journey that they had planned themselves, taking them from Wooler on the northern side of the hills, to Alwinton in the south. They were entirely self-sufficient throughout, carrying all their own equipment and food, camping out in tents, and even collecting and purifying their drinking water en route! Most of the Cadets, who were drawn from Squadrons as far apart geographically as Ashington and Newton Aycliffe, had already completed the Bronze and Silver levels of the Award, and so...

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First DNW Cadet at Cyber Camp!

18 year old Cadet Sergeant Alexander Taylor is the first cadet in Durham/Northumberland Wing and one of the first cadets in the Air Cadet Organisation to gain the new Gold Cyber Comms Badge! Over a week long course, Sergeant Taylor, who was already a qualified silver communicator, had the chance to experience lessons in online security, network protection, including against cyber attacks. He also learnt about the history of cyber warfare and how easy it can be to access digital information and exploit it. The course took place at No. 1 Radio School at Royal Air Force Cosford. On completing the course, Sergeant Taylor was awarded the ACO's newest accolade, the Gold Cyber Badge. Alexander was also given a goodie bag full of...

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Intrepid Air Cadets Complete Arduous Nijmegen Marches

A team of six Cadets and one Instructor from Durham/Northumberland Wing Air Cadets have overcome a series of challenges to complete the prestigious Nijmegen Marches in Holland. The journey started over 16 months ago, when DNW set themselves the challenge of recruiting and training the first Nijmegen Marching team for over 30 years. A training regime was set up, and Cadets from across the Wing volunteered to take up the challenge. As the weeks and months went on, it became clear who the front runners were and a team started to gel. Fitness was increasing, that famous team spirit was rife and a team of ten was eventually selected for a qualifying march at RAF Cosford. Despite their best efforts,...

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DNW Cadets are On Target Again!

Cadets from Durham Northumberland Wing have yet again hit the target at the prestigious Inter-Services Cadet Rifle Meeting held at Bisley this year. The 30 Cadets, representing 9 Squadrons from across the Wing, travelled to Bisley in Surrey with the aim of achieving a Cadet 100 and bringing back some silverware. They took part in an intensive 5 days of training before embarking on the Wing Fullbore Target Rifle Competition on day 6, and then the main programme of competition shoots at distances of between 300 and 600 yards. The news that a record 8 Cadets had achieved the Cadet 100 badge was received with great excitement, and to top it all off, 1027 (Jarrow) Squadron were named as the runner up ATC...

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