The Newsletter of 1344 (Cardiff) Squadron

Jan- Jun 2014

Nearly Quarter To Two

The Newsletter of 1344 Sqn 2

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CI Megan SawfordChief Editor

Welcome ContentsWelcome to 1344’s newsletter and as always, we extend our heartfelt thank you to our readers, who make all the hard work worthwhile. We strive to produce a professional newsletter on a regular basis to keep the squadron family informed and to praise the achievements of our cadets.

3. D-Day Parade3. Promotions4. New Flight Sim4. Recent Stories5. Recent Stories5. Drill and Banner6. Squadron Band6. Field Craft6. Shooting7. DofE7. Flying and Gliding8. News Page9. Fundraising11. Upcoming Events13. Goodbyes14. Jargon Buster14. Recruitment Info14. Other Media

DisclaimerNearly Quarter To Two is not an official publication and the views expressed in this newsletter, unless stated otherwise, do not reflect MOD, RAF or ATC policy and are the views of the individual authors. Nor, are any of the above parties responsible for the content of external web-sites that we do not con-trol, but chose to link to.

This issue marks the departure of our former editor Sgt Catrin Sawford and welcomes our new one. Many new sections have been added including regular features about drill and ban-ner, band, field-craft, shooting and DofE. Also new is our news, fundraising and upcoming events sections, which are set to feature in every new issue. For potential recruits or readers who may not know certain terms, a jargon buster has been added to make sense of ATC phrases!

Please keep your feedback coming, spread the word and most of all enjoy!

Cdt FS Matthew ArgyleChief Photographer

CI Dan Brown our Media AdvisorPlt Off Lydia Watson our Graphical Consultant

3 Nearly Quarter to Two

D-Day Parade

To mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 1944 we held a special parade night on June 6th, which was full of activit-ies. The evening began with a parade and service to mark the sacrifice of those men that landed on the Normandy beaches. This included Cadet Western (pictured above) very smartly carrying the squadron banner, the playing of “Last Post” and a two minute si-lence to remember the

suffering and loss of Allied Forces seventy years ago. The cadets then enjoyed a seminar delivered by the squadron’s military history expert WO (ATC) Tony Williams covering all of the aspects of the land-ings and then were quizzed on some of the more obscure as-pects of the landings. Our OC, Flt Lt Peter Fisher (pictured left), said the evening was bril-liant, “insightful” and “thought provoking.”

PromotionsCongratulations to the following cadets on their recent promotions.

The Newsletter of 1344 Sqn 4

FS Argyle Ford Greenslade Melhuish

Thank you very much to Cpl Ford, O'Hare, Mar-tinez, Patricolo, Fry, Ellaway and Lloyd who did 1344 proud at Pentwyn Fun day (pictured be-low, top). We handed out over 50 flyers, which should help bring in some new recruits in the near future.Our cadets were also out in force (pictured be-low, bottom) on the 14th June with the band, flight sim team and recruitment stand on dis-play. The staff, organisers and public were very grateful and impressed with our contribution. Well done to everyone who went.

Poppy Planting Wing AthleticsOur poppies are already starting to flower and should be in full bloom sometime in the next few months. They can be seen at the main entrance to the sqn building. Thank you to all the cadets who helped plant them. Good effort!

Well done to everyone who represented 1344 at Wing athletics, especially those who will be representing No. 1 Welsh at RAF Cosford.

Twelve of our cadets were on hand to help with the opening of 614 (County of Glamorgan) Sqn at the Ty Llewellyn Re-serves Centre on June 25th. As said by Wg Cdr Pudney; every-one worked very hard and the effort is very much appreci-ated!

Welsh Hearts

Opening of 614 Sqn

Pentwyn and Lis-vaneFun Days

Sgt Bond Sgt JonesCpl Cpl Cpl

As a May Day Fundraising event, Welsh Hearts was rais-ing money to help combat heart disease on Whitchurch common. Our cadets were of course present to help out in any way possible. O’Hare and Elwood were even brave enough to dress up in costumes. Good effort lads!

Fundraiser

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New Flight Simu-latorOur new Big Flight Simulator (The SIm-

rod) Mk 4 is now up and running. We had it’s official operational opening on the 25th of May, with Cdt Tainton doing the honours in cutting the ribbon. Sgt Argyle and Cdt Lloyd (winners of the logo and motto competitions respect-ively) took the Nimrod up for its first flight as a prize for winning our com-petitions (see article below).Cdt Tainton also had one of the first flights as a thank you for all his volun-teering as a public flight sim instructor, particularly at Armed Forces Day in 2012 and 2013.

A Big Thank YouNQTT would like to take this opportun-ity to thank Mr John Brown, designer of the new sim and CI Dan Brown for the many days they have spend working on the construction of the Mk 4 since Jul 13. The squadron is incredible lucky to have both of them and the Flight Sim will enable us to train and entertain ca-dets for many years to come!

Putting the Mk 4 to UseThe flight sim will be unveiled to parents at presentation evening in August. After this it will train our cadets to fly. Also it will train beavers, school pupils and other or-ganisations, as part of our fundrais-ing initiative.Hopefully, we’ll be taking it for an-other 48 hour around the world flight in addition to other flying challenges.

Trwy Gwreichion I’r NefoeddPer Scintillae Ad Astra

Through Sparks to the Stars

Air Rec CompThis aircraft was spotted by the cadets on their ba-sic nav exped near Newport in April. Can you identify it? (the ID is hidden so you can’t find it on Google). The first 1344 cadet to bring CI Brown the correct answer wins £1 credit in the tuck shop. (Sgt Argyle, as an NQTT editor is exempt).

Motto and Logo CompBefore the opening of the Mk 4, as mentioned above, there were two competitions; to write a motto and to design a logo for it. Cdt Lloyd’s winning design (pictured above) was originally drawn and then digitally touched up into the final version. Sgt Argyle was the winner of many motto entries and presented his idea in Welsh, Latin and English! All three were incorporated in the motto. Both cadets won remote control vehicles and were the first to co-pilot for the opera-tional opening of the new sim.

The Newsletter of 1344 Sqn 6

Drill is a big part of squadron life and in addi-tion to regular squadron practices there will be courses and additional opportunities for cadets to improve their skills. Approximately every three months, there are basic, intermediate and advanced level courses, which are non-res-idential.

The Cambrian Patrol team have been practicing hard over four weekends, but unfortunately we didn’t have enough cadets to enter a full junior and senior team for the Patrol.

There are basic, intermediate and advanced training week-ends planned for this summer. The wing field craft officer also has a staff and CWO training weekend to enable them to be qualified to teach field craft. Cambrian Patrol Training will resume in October in the form of a half term, which is a weeklong camp.

1344’s shooting team have achieved much in the last 6 months. On the L81 rifle, the team came first in the Air Cadet target rifle meeting (with Sgt Jones 1st and FS Nunan placing 2nd individually), won the Com-mandants cup and were the top qualifying team at ISCRIM. On the .22 target rifle, the team won the Whistler, WJ Taylor and Punch Trophies.

FS Chris Nunan was part of the team representing Brit-ish under 19s in South Africa in April, who won both their matches. Sgt Lottie Phillips Davies has been selec-ted as an atheling, representing the British cadet rifle team in Canada this August. Sgt Jones is representing the UK cadet rifle team in Jersey this August.

Congratulations to Sgt Peace on his appoint-ment as Wing Band Officer. The cadets have been practicing hard on a weekly basis and have also been performing at various events. We wish them the very best of luck for their competition for Wing Field Training Day.

Residential ceremonial and weapons drill courses are held twice in a year as well as training on squadron in the near future.A team will be put together for weapons and cere-monial drill to work with the band in performing at public events.

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This is just a selection of what’s happened across the RAF (blue) and Wider News. (black). Click the underlined words for more info.

Malaysian Airlines flight MH30 missing.

D- Day 70 th anniversary

Snowdonia14 Peaks Challenge

RAF man achieves 6000 flying hours

14 New Chinooks

Red Arrows launch 3D cockpit film at Science Museum

UAV flies over UK

Afghanistan Tour ends.

Russia invadesUkraine

Congratulations to the following for their completion of DofE.

CI Gareth Cocks - Gold

Sgt Jones – Bronze

Cpl Dascombe – Bronze

Sgt Jones and Cpl Dascombe will be receiving their badges and certificates very soon.

CI Cocks will be going to Buck-ingham Palace to receive his award from the Duke of Edin-burgh; Prince Phillip.

Near completion is a stage that many of 1344’s ca-dets are approaching. In partic-ular CI Watson, Cdts Melhuish, Patricolo and Tainton have only a few sections left to complete, which they are expected to do as soon as possible.

For more information on DofE click here or ask CI Brown.

A small number of our cadets have been on AEFs this year, but not as many as we would like as the ATC’s aircraft have been grounded due to technical issues.

The Newsletter of 1344 Sqn 8

EasyFundraising SearchIf you search online using easy search, 0.5 p is donated to your chosen cause for every link you follow. It may not sound like much, but it all adds up. Click hereto go to our easy search page.

EasyFundraisingIf you shop online, many of the retailers you visit will donate money to us each time you shop at no extra cost to you. All you have to do is sign up and then get shopping online with thou-sands of retailers. There are even some special offers and discounts which will increase the amount you raise. You don’t need to give any payment de-tails, just remember to visit the shop through easy fundraising or download a toolbar to remind you.

SubsSubs payments are mandatory as they cover a cadets’ insurance, building maintenance and lower activity costs. Make sure you are paying your £10 per cadets or if there is more than one cadet in a household, £10 per family. If you have any issues with subs payments please contact us.

Squadron GiftsWe have a variety of 1344 squadron themed items available for sale through our tuck shop, including pens and drawstring bags. They make great mementoes for anyone associated with 1344.

The 100 ClubThe 100 club is a monthly prize draw open to anyone age 16+ and associated with our squad-ron. This includes cadets, their families and our Civilian Com-mittee (CivComm).

For £5 per entry each month, you stand the chance of winning up to £60 (with two smaller prizes also available). You can enter each draw as many times as you like.

If we have 100 entrants in a draw, the prize pool increases to £250 with a first prize of £150!

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Bag PackingCadets who attend supermarket bag packs will earn money for their personal CCS (Cadet Credit Scheme) and squadron funds.

1344 relies on additional sup-

port money from various fun-

draising projects to help us

provide our cadets with as many

opportunities and facilities as

possible. The ten fundraising

channels shown on this page are

ways you can help to raise us

money, that are easy or involve

small changes to the things you

already do.

There are more ways to fun-

draise coming soon, so watch

this space…

ChocoholicsTwice a year, at Easter and Christmas, we receive cata-logues, from which you can or-der lots of tasty chocolates and sweets. These can be used as gifts or just for yourself. We get some of the commission from each sale made, as well as gift points used to obtain some items we can use as raffle prizes.

Virtual Flying NightsComing soon to 1344. We are looking to offer families and friends of our members the chance to come and learn how to fly using our flight simulat-ors including our new big flight simulator, Simrod (Mk4).

Trained cadet NCOs, staff and cadets will be on hand to guide you through an evening of learning how to take off, fly and land various aircraft.

Keep an eye on our media out-lets for more details. We are also looking at offering this to other organisations.

Scout PostFor cards at Christmas time, stamps are sold from the end of October by Squadron members and at outlets in Splott, Butetown and Cardiff Bay. We then sort and deliver the post to earn 20 p per stamp sold. 10 p of this goes to the cadets CCS (Cadet Credit Scheme). The ca-dets can then spend this on ex-tra activities that require a small payment, such as camps.

We can raise up to £2000 through scout post if we get a good response but we also need help to sort and deliver in late November and early December. For more details please go to our website.

Milk Carton TopsGive them to us! Rather than making new ones, a local milk producer has found it more cost effective to sterilise and re-use existing tops that they purchase from us. They must be the standard blue, green and red tops.

The Newsletter of 1344 Sqn 10

Few events in the year are compulsory (Dining In, Remembrance Sunday and Presentation Evening) but cadets are encouraged to at-tend as many activities as possible, to get the most out of a cadet ca-reer.

This is a selection of the opportunities on offer in the coming months.France TripOur squadron is lucky enough to be travelling overseas for the fifth time in the last six years. Previously, we have journeyed to the Atlas Mountains, Morocco (2009), The Aosta Valley in Italy (2010), skiing in the Pyrenees (2011) and adventurous activities in the south of Spain (2012).

This year, our camp is at Ar-des, about 25 miles from Calais. Our adventurous activities are to include kayaking, canoeing, raft building, high ropes, climb-ing and archery, as well as a visit to a local aquarium and chocolate factory. Find out what happens in the next Nearly Quarter to Two issue.

Edinburgh TripAs well as our France trip we are also, for the second time, travelling up to Scotland for the Edinburgh tattoo. After arrival on the Thursday, our cadets and staff will be watching the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. On Friday, they will be visiting Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh festival and, in the evening, 112 (Glasgow) squadron. Over the week-end there will be a tour of Scottish Parliament, a canal boat trip to the Falkirk Wheel and a guided ghost tour of Old Edinburgh town. On the way back the coach will stopping in the Lake District for a carvery meal.

Armed Forces Day

Our cadets will be showing their support for Armed Forces Day on the Saturday 28th June again this year. They will be part of a marching parade in Cardiff city centre, which starts and finishes at the castle, followed by a Drumhead service. Also, in Bute Park will be filled with displays by the armed services and their supporters. No. 1 Welsh Wing’s recruitment stand will be present with cadets from all three Cardiff Sqns offering virtual flights.

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Wing Field Training DayWFTD is an annual event in which various squadrons in the Wing (No.1 Welsh) compete against each other in a variety of activities. Activities include first aid, leadership/initiative exer-cises, shooting, drill and banner (sometimes held on a separate day), photography, field cooking and aircraft modelling.

This year, it will be held on Sun 29th July. NQTT would like to wish the best of luck to all ca-dets who are competing.

SSAFA MarshallingAs a regular charitable event, many of our cadets are now familiar with the set up required to mar-shal Bute Park’s fun runs. The upcoming ones will we held on two Wednesdays; 25th June and the 23rd July. This is a chance to practice using the ra-dio skills and make ourselves known to the public.

RIAT The Royal International Air Tattoo is the air show that takes place annual in RAF Fairford. The show itself will be from the 17th until the 19th of Jul this year, however we will have cadets going ahead of time to help set up. This is a great opportunity to meet other cadets from squadrons across the corps. As well as the amazing aerobatics displays, including those of the RAF’s Red Arrows. The Air Commandant is expected to be in attendance, so perhaps some of our cadets will have an oppor-tunity to meet her!

The Newsletter of 1344 Sqn 12

Jargon BusterSqn – SquadronParade night – Mon/Fri training eveNCO – non-commissioned officerS/JNCO – senior/junior NCODofE – Duke of Edinburgh AwardExped - expeditionWFTD – Wing Field Training DayCiv Com – Civilian CommitteeOC – Officer Commanding

CI Abbot has unfortunately stood down as our sqn adjutant in order to have time for her other activit-ies, including volunteering for the Beavers.

She started her service in the ATC as a CivComm member at Llandaff squadron. Following Steve Ab-bott’s transfer to 1344 squadron, Angela followed a year later and became a CI in July 2004.

GoodbyesCI Angela Abbott

At this time Angela volunteered to help in a variety of activities, including field cooking, dance sessions and assisting at sports events, once in freezing cold conditions. As one of the few regularly attending CIs Angela then took on the role of squadron adjutant.

In addition to her role at sqn, An-gela attended annual camps such as Waddington and Boscombe Down. In the summer of 2010 Angela came with us on our over-seas trip to Italy, which she thor-oughly enjoyed.

Angela was always very helpful to staff and cadets on a nightly basis and her company will be missed, as well as her services as adjut-ant. We wish her the very best of luck in the future and hope to see her at sqn again soon.

Sgt Sawford has left us to pursue other ventures, but hopes to re-join the ATC later as a CI. Sgt Sawford served at 1344 for 4.5 years and her contribution to the squadron has been immense. Ca-trin’s achievements include win-ning the Lightning Trophy for fun-draising two years in a row, win-ning the Cpls cup, placing third in Corps level fanfare and

representing No. 1 Welsh Wing in the Regional band competition.

Her other areas of expertise included assisting on leadership courses and her role as Chief Editor for NQTT.

Catrin was a fantastic NCO and often got stuck in to activities that weren’t her strong suit in or-der to support the squadron, such as Wing swimming. Her sponsored singing performances to raise money for Harriet Wright and Red Nose Day were “amaz-ing”. She certainly won’t be for-gotten and her contribution has helped the squadron greatly. Thank you Catrin and best of luck with your future endeavours.

Sgt Catrin Sawford

Cadet Ranks:Cdt - CadetCpl – CorporalSgt –SergeantFS – Flight SergeantCWO – Cadet Warrant Officer

Adult Ranks:CI – Civilian Instructor (unranked staff)WO (ATC) – Warrant Officer (staff NCO)Plt Off – Pilot Officer (1st off rank)Flt Lt – Flight Lieutenant (3rd)

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Other Media

Recruitment InformationIf you are interested in joining us, please come along on a parade night.

Parade Night TimesMon and Fri 18:40 – 21:20

Arrive via front gates on Whitchurch Rd, ex-plain to guard your visiting reason and they will phone for one of us to escort you to sqn.

We are also accessible via the following types of media. We are most active on Face-book and also Twitter.

Click on the links below to go to the respective pages or here to go to our website.

Both parents and potential cadets are wel-come. There are no obligations to join; the first night is only a visit.

It is recommended that potential cadets come in black trousers, socks and shoes and a white shirt or their school uniform. The CO will meet with you for a chat and then new recruits are welcome to stay for the nights’ activities.

If you have any questions, please email OC.1344@aircadets.org or phone the squadron during parade times on 029 2023 6559.