Funding Cutbacks in Cadets Canada

An old photo of me and fellow Cadet friends with our winter Cadet parkas, a soon to be extinct uniform part.

With budget cuts across the board, the Cadets are once again affected. Now, cadets are only going to receive ONLY one uniform, and that is it. No more PT gear (gray cadet gear such as shirts and shorts), no more running shoes and most surprisingly, no more parkas. The last one really surprised me. Sea, Air and Army cadets throughout Canada operate all year around, and they are losing so much. The organization is run out of love for the program, and many volunteers as well. I know for a fact that my old squadron and it's sponsoring committee has some of the greatest volunteers out there, and now, after all of their hard work, they can no longer warm their cadets because Harper wants to spend millions of dollars on his election ads instead of parkas for Cadets across Canada.

While the effects of the cuts are actually from the Department of Defense (DND) they are indeed cut from the reduced DND funding from the government, which, could have vocalized its support for the Cadets program; a youth program which indeed creates amazing new generations of aspiring Canadians.

Both myself, as well as many other fellow retired Cadets are saddened by the recent years' decline in many fields of the cadet program, and wish that the next generation will be able to experience those amazing adventures we were able to experience. I encourage you to write to your MP if you live in Canada, and help support Cadets Canada.

After being involved with it for more than 7 years in my life, I still make connections through the program, and will always be, inside, a proud cadet.

Carry on.

Cadets - My Journey

This past week, I saw my old cadet squadron's annual parade, and then my friends sea cadet annual.   Looking back, I feel so amazed with what I accomplished with joining Air Cadets. I am happy and grateful for all seven and a half years, all of the good times with the memories they brought, and the bad times that helped me grow as a person.

It was a hard decision to leave cadets, especially early (long story) but it was something that I had to do. All the friends made, adventures that were had and goals achieved, it was a remarkable journey that I wish everyone I know could experience, especially the sense of comradery.

There are a few things I wish I could do over, but at the same time, I am proud of the path I made, and skills I've learned. With their motto of "To learn, To serve and to Advance" I think that I really did get all three pieces of the pie!

Probably the largest achievement that I had while in the program was achieving my goal of my PPL (Private Pilots License) but probably the most important thing I did was earn the respect of not only my entire squadron, but all of the people I had met throughout the entire cadet experience.

Where I will be heading next is still unclear, but the roads I have already traveled have revealed a path leading to great people, adventures and dreams that I could only hope to imagine.

What is the government doing?! More on the ACGP / Power pilot problems from Harper

Just a quick update: A recent document that appeared on the "Save Air Cadet Gliding" web site revealed e-mails between cadets and officers. According to the Officer staff, this year, the program will be experimenting with giving 5 cadets per flight center their "recreational pilot permit" instead of giving them their full fledged private pilots license. They want to get ten times more cadets flying, but at the cost of the countries best scholarship. I wont be surprised if this "experiment" goes well, that they will scrap the power pilot scholarship all together, and replace it with this cheaper, easier permit option. These seem to be VERY dark days for the Air Cadet flying programs, as Steven Harper spends money on purchasing ads for things that aren't even passed by parliament yet, instead of giving the millions of dollars to support Air Cadet flying. Way to go, money pants :^P

Air Cadet Gliding Program Dead?

Flying out at CFB Borden

Scary Article

A few weeks ago, I received an e-mail from my local Cadet Gliding Center that was concerned about the topic of budget cuts to the Air Cadet Gliding Program (ACGP) To my sad realization  it appears that those realizations are coming true. While not confirmed yet, many do believe (including myself) that the current government is stupid enough to go through with these cuts, if not destroying the gliding program all together. Check out the multiple support groups that are everywhere, including on facebook here.