102 (Aberdeen Airport) Squadron Air Training Corps

04/09/2024

Lights, Camera, Action! 🎬

Last month, we shared the news that placed 3rd in the Media competition at the North Scotland Wing Field Day 📸 This year, our entry contained a news report style video which detailed how successful the Squadron had been in terms of social media, recruitment and outreach over the past 12 months.

We are happy to say that the video is now available on our YouTube channel to watch! ➡️ https://youtu.be/mIVvvO2YT3s?feature=shared ⬅️

A big shout out to the NCO team for their creativity in making the video, as you can see from the behind the scenes photos everyone had a great time!

North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC

02/09/2024

It’s the final countdown 🎶

It’s almost time to welcome our next group of interested recruits as part of Intake 03/24 this evening! We are excited to share all the amazing opportunities that being part of and the Royal Air Force Air Cadets can bring.

Haven’t register for our last intake of the year yet? There’s still time, just fill in our form! ➡️ https://forms.office.com/e/fJaSUfe7mb?origin=lprLink

See you tonight! ✈️

Dyce News
Meldrum Academy
Northfield Academy: Official

31/08/2024

Over the past couple of months, our Squadron Drill Instructors, Warrant Officer Cooper and Sergeant Barclay have assisted in the training of the Wing’s Continuity Drill team to compete at the Regional competition for the first time. It’s great to see the all of the hard work from both the Cadets and Staff have paid off resulting in 1st place! 🥇Well done! 🥳

Success all round! 🤩

Today, Cadets from around North Scotland Wing travelled to MoD Caledonia in Roysth for the annual Scotland and Northern Ireland Region Field Day. All 5 Wings battled against each other in a range of competitions which included Foot, Banner, and Continuity Drill, Media, Aircraft Recognition and Photography - along with the addition of a new Air Rifle competition and the Region First Aid being held at RFD for the first time.

After a day of fierce competition, it was time for everyone to gather for the presentations where the results were finally announced….

Drill - 2367 (Banchory), 2nd place

Drill IC - FS Gunn 2367 Sqn, joint 1st

Continuity Drill - 1st place

Banner Drill - 2489 (Bridge of Don), 4th place

Banner Bearer - Cpl Murray 2489 Sqn, 4th place

Aircraft Recognition - Cpl Williamson 161 (First Highland), 2nd in the Open category

First Aid - 2367 Sqn, 1st place

Air Rifle Team - 1297 (Stonehaven), 1st place

Air Rifle Individual - Sgt Taylor 1297 Sqn, 2nd place & CWO Braidwood 1297 Sqn, 1st place

Massive well done to all of you for your hard work, it’s great to see such a strong performance from the Wing! 🏆 A big thank you must also go to the Staff for their roles in the lead up for today’s competitions 👏🏻

Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Commandant Air Cadets

30/08/2024

✈️

Being a member of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets can provide opportunities like no other and with the vast range of activities on offer it’s not hard to see why!

From day one you can get involved by gaining vital life skills in First Aid or Leadership, representing your Squadron in a range of Sports competitions or learning to blend into your environment during Fieldcraft. By taking advantage of everything on offer as an Air Cadet, soon you could be working towards your first solo, visiting RAF stations up and down the country or even going overseas! 🌍

With so much on offer, there really is something for everyone to enjoy! Want to see how you can get involved as part of ?

Our final intake for the year will be on Monday 2nd September (this Monday!) from 19:30 - 21:30. If you are between 12-17 and in S1 and above, we would love to hear from you! Fill in the form to register your interest ➡️ https://forms.office.com/e/fJaSUfe7mb?origin=lprLink



North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC
Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Highland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association
Dyce News
Meldrum Academy
Northfield Academy: Official

26/08/2024

Armed Forces Day 2024 🫡

Our busy month of June culminated in the annual Aberdeen Armed Forces Day event on 29th June which saw 8 Cadets and a member of Staff from join a number of local units parade through Aberdeen City Centre alongside service personnel, veterans, reservists and other Cadet organisations.

We also had Cadet Warrant Officer Warnock and Flight Lieutenant Whitford on the dais in front of Marischal College where this year’s salute was taken by Dr. David Cameron as the Lord Lieutenant for Aberdeen City, joined by Mr. Jim Glennie as one of the last surviving veterans from the D-Day landings 80 years ago. The march past also marked CWO Warnock’s first public duty as the Lord Lieutenant's Cadet for Aberdeen City!

Well done to all of you for taking part and a big thank you to everyone who came out to show support for our Armed Forces! 👏👏

19/08/2024

T-minus 14 days! ✈️

It's only two more weeks until we open our doors for Intake 03/24. You’ll have the chance to speak to our Cadets and Staff all things Royal Air Force Air Cadets to learn about the amazing opportunities that being an Air Cadet can offer - you may struggle to find something that haven’t yet done!

Don’t miss out on our final Intake of the year, click the link to register your interest ➡️ https://forms.office.com/e/fJaSUfe7mb?origin=lprLink

Dyce News
Meldrum Academy
Northfield Academy: Official
North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC

16/08/2024

How time flies! 🕰️

A great memory from the archives that we just had to share of receiving a tour of an United States Navy P8 Poseidon whilst visiting RAF Lossiemouth for some flying ✈️

5 years on, the RAF now have their own fleet of P8s residing at Lossiemouth and we still speak about this day on Squadron courtesy of Patrol Squadron FOUR SEVEN (VP-47)!

09/08/2024

Ready for a new adventure? ✈️

Are you;

✅ 12-17 years old?
✅ In S1 or above?
✅ Ready to learn new skills, make friends across the country, all whilst having fun?

We are pleased to say that our next intake night for Intake 03/24 will be Monday 2nd September! Come along to speak to our Cadets and Staff to find out what being part of and the Royal Air Force Air Cadets can do for you.

From flying and gliding to leadership, camps across the country, and opportunities to earn extra qualifications there really is something for everyone. This will be our last Intake for 2024 so make sure you don’t miss out!

Click the link to register your interest ➡️ https://forms.office.com/e/fJaSUfe7mb?origin=lprLink

Dyce News
Meldrum Academy
Northfield Academy: Official
North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC

07/08/2024

Camp season has arrived! ☀️🚌

It is time for to once again participate in a range of summer camps and activities across the country. First up was Cadet Wills joining others from across North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC (including Cadets from our colleagues up at 102 Lerwick Detached Flight - ATC!) to attend a week-long camp at RAF Boulmer.

Throughout the week, the Cadets got to visit a range of sections around the station including 19 Squadron - home of the Control and Reporting Centre for the RAF, 20 Squadron - the RAF’s Operational Conversion Unit, and the fire station! 🚒 Cadet Wills also had the opportunity to explore the local area through visits to Alnwick Castle, the RNLI and RAF Spadeadam. At the end of the week, the flights battled against each other in a drill competition judged by the Station Warrant Officer.

On reflection of his first camp, Cdt Wills said “What I enjoyed about camp was speaking to RAF Personnel to learn about life in the RAF, along with the fire section visit as I want to join the fire service myself. I really enjoyed sitting in the fire engine and getting to try all of the equipment.” Great to see our Cadets enjoying one of many opportunities on offer within the organisation! 🤩

06/08/2024

And the results are in… 📨

Best of luck to everyone at and the rest of the young people in Scotland who are receiving their SQA exam results today!

You have put in countless hours of hard work and it is finally time to see it all pay off. No matter the results in that text message, there is always another route towards whatever you choose to do in life. All of the Staff are always here to support and guide you the best we can, whether that is at the Squadron or over email - even if it’s just to celebrate!

The very best of luck 🍀

02/08/2024

🏆 MacRobert Parade 2024 🏆

You may remember us mentioning back in January (and a few more times since then!) that are one of the Runners-Up for the 2023 MacRobert Efficiency Trophy which highlights the top performing Squadrons in North Scotland Wing. As a result of being included in the Top 3, on Saturday 15th June we joined fellow Runners-Up 865 (Portlethen) Air Cadets and Winners 161 - 1st Highland Squadron Air Cadets in the prestigious MacRobert Parade, held annually at Douneside House in Aboyne.

Douneside House has an extensive history with the military, owned by the MacRobert Trust which was created by Lady MacRobert who lost her sons who were serving within the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. This location has graciously been the location for the MacRobert Parade for many years, accompanied by the bronze sculpture of a Stirling Bomber that looks over the area to represent the MacRobert’s Reply aircraft that the family donated to the RAF.

All 3 units paraded on the grounds of the house, where they were inspected by a number of VIPs who joined us for the day, including Group Captain Khan - Regional Commandant for Scotland and Northern Ireland, Wing Commander Montgomery - Officer Commanding 6 Squadron, Wing Commander Copsey - OC North Scotland Wing, and Squadron Leader Latham-Scott - North Scotland's Wing Executive Officer. The parade then carried out a march past in front of Douneside House where our VIPs took the salute, led by Gp Cpt Khan.

Well done to all of you who took part in the parade, as well as a massive thank you to all of the Cadets, Staff, Parents and everyone who have helped the Squadron get to where it is today to show that is a force to be reckoned with 👏💪

Thank you to CI Donald from 1297 (Stonehaven) Squadron for taking photographs of the day!

North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC
Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Highland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association
Douneside House and Health Club, Royal Deeside

31/07/2024

Time to Celebrate! 🎉

We are continuing the recap of our busy month of June with the North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC Field Day which was on Saturday 8th June, held annually at RAF Lossiemouth. The Squadron entered competitions in Drill, Banner Drill, Media, Aircraft Recognition and Photography in the hopes of emerging victorious against other Units across the Wing.

The competition was fierce, but the weather was even fiercer! After managing a practice in the morning, the conditions unfortunately halted the Wing Parade. Therefore, everyone gathered inside to witness the Awards which saw Cadet Warrant Officer Becca Warnock presented with her trophy for Best Cadet in Wing after winning the title back in February 🏆

In Drill, our team put in a commendable performance once again, with many competing for the first time, led by CWO Warnock. The Banner team battled the strong wind and rain to put on an extremely impressive performance which resulted in a close 2nd place in the competition 🤩 - with a special mention to FS McLenan for placing 2nd in the Banner Bearer competition in his first year competing as banner bearer, along with having to face the conditions of the day! 👏🏻👏🏻

We also placed 3rd in the Media competition with our entry containing a News Report style pitch created by the Cadets which detailed everything the Squadron had done throughout the year in terms of our social media, recruitment and outreach (available on our YouTube channel very soon!)

Once again, it was a successful day of gaining experience, and doing both and themselves proud. A HUGE well done to all of you for your hard work in the months leading up to the competitions - we cannot wait to be back next year to give this year’s winners a run for their money! 🥳

17/07/2024

Up, Up and Away! ✈️

On Friday, 4 Cadets from travelled down to 12 AEF at Leuchars Station for some flying. Corporals Johnston, McLenan, Scott, and Cadet McDonald took to the skies which allowed them to put into practice all the synthetic training completed on the Squadron recently along with giving them some great views of the Fife area!

Big thank you to Warrant Officer Cooper for driving them down, it looks like you all had a fantastic time!

15/07/2024

It’s not just the Cadets that get to have all the fun! 🤩

Recently, the Squadron learnt the news that our Officer Commanding, Kieran Whitford has received a promotion to Flight Lieutenant! 🥳🥳 Since taking over the role as OC in September 2018, Flt Lt Whitford has been the leading force behind many of the unit’s successes, including bringing up our numbers to over 30 for the first time in many years, winning the 2022 Marshall Trophy for the Most Improved Squadron in the whole of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets and being one of two Runners-Up in this year’s North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC MacRobert Wing Efficiency Trophy. It is safe to say that without the leadership and enthusiasm (and humour!) from Flt Lt Whitford, the Squadron would not be where it is today.

This is the result of many, many hours of hard work and dedication from Kieran in his role, most of which is behind the scenes. However, this does not stop him from getting stuck in on a multitude of parade nights and weekend activities, whether that be running leadership courses, assisting on shooting weekends or being up before the sun to take Cadets gliding! Our Wing Staff Officer, Squadron Leader Greig formally presented Flt Lt Whitford with his well-deserved promotion a few weeks back.

A massive congratulations on your promotion, Sir, from all of ! 👏🏻👏🏻

12/07/2024

Golden Memories! 🌟

Last Friday, Sergeant Megan Barclay travelled to Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh to attend the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award Celebrations. DofE aims to support young people in learning new skills as well as building confidence and resilience. Each level entails volunteering, physical and skill development over 3, 6, or 12 months along with an expedition ranging from 2-4 days depending on the level - with an extra week long residential for Gold.

Getting to Gold has been a long journey for Megan, after finishing her Bronze and Silver Awards as a Cadet on the Squadron, it was a wait over the pandemic to get a final tick in the box of an expedition. Last summer, Sgt Barclay attended the Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets sailing expedition with Ocean Youth Trust Scotland where the group spent 10 days travelling over 540 nautical miles from Oban to Hartlepool! ⛵️ As a result of completing her Gold, Megan was invited to attend the Palace to celebrate alongside other Gold Award holders from across Scotland, listening to inspiring speeches from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and presenter and former Royal Marine, JJ Chalmers.

Congratulations Sgt Barclay for completing your Award! 🥳👏🏻 It’s fantastic to see another Gold DofE on the Squadron, and with lots of progress being made, we’re sure it won’t be long before more of follow in your footsteps!

North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC
Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Highland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association
DofE Scotland

09/07/2024

Stick a Crown on it! 👑

Whilst we had the pleasure of hosting the Lord Lieutenant for Aberdeen City, he was also able to present a well-deserved promotion for Laurence McLenan to the rank of Flight Sergeant.

FS McLenan plays a vital role as part of the Squadron’s SNCO team, including leading the delivery of First Aid on the unit as 2IC and the recent hard work of taking on the role of Squadron Banner Bearer to place an extremely close 2nd at the Field Day last month.

A massive well done to FS McLenan for moving up another step on the NCO Ladder, we cannot wait to see how you get on in your new role! 👏🏻👏🏻

08/07/2024

Two members of were lucky enough to take part in this year’s Longest Day event held at 661 VGS. After an early wake up call of 3am on the Saturday morning, Cadets Joshi and Qureshi took to the skies over Kirknewton ✈️ The early start was well worth it and they had a great time! Big thank you to 661 for giving our Cadets the great opportunity!

08/07/2024

Cadet Warrant Officer Becca Warnock has spent the past week at 661 VGS completing her Silver Gliding Scholarship, and we can happily reveal she has completed the course resulting in her going solo and achieving Silver Wings!! 🥳 Huge congratulations Becca from all of !! 👏🏻👏🏻

07/07/2024

Excellent Night for an Excellent Cadet! 🌟

have been extremely busy over the course of June and we can finally share everything we have been up to!

On Wednesday 12th June, we were delighted to welcome the Lord Lieutenant for Aberdeen City, Dr. David Cameron, along with the Lady Provost to for the evening. The purpose behind the visit was to present Cadet Warrant Officer Becca Warnock with her Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet Certificate as the King’s representative for the City.

Since joining in August 2018, CWO Warnock has committed to a variety of activities within the organisation. Most notably, Becca completed the Air Cadet Junior Leaders course in 2023, deemed as one of the most prestigious courses in the Corps to provide her with expertise in leadership and fieldcraft. CWO Warnock constantly represents herself exceptionally in appearance and manner, competing at National level in hockey, banner drill and first aid, alongside playing a vital role to win the Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets Media competition in 2022. These experiences have pushed Becca to expand her skills to mentor others, completing her Gold First Aid Instructor course to become IC First Aid on the Squadron. She also shows keen interest in aviation, carrying out an Air League flying scholarship and currently undertaking a gliding scholarship. As a result of these achievements, Becca was named Top Cadet for North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC this year 🏆

She continues to give back to the community by volunteering and hosting annual fundraisers benefiting the Squadron and national charities. CWO Warnock is an enthusiastic and professional member of the RAF Air Cadets, with her naturally humorous character paired with her high-quality leadership skills developing her into a confident and knowledgeable young leader, ideal for the role as Lord Lieutenant's Cadet for Aberdeen City.

Starting the role on Armed Forces Day, CWO Warnock will now accompany the Lord Lieutenant at a number of Civic and Royal duties across the city. Her first role was to show our guests around the Squadron to discuss the brilliant work that the Cadets and Staff do. A big thank you to our guests for joining us for the evening, and a massive congratulations to Becca on her appointment 🥳 👏🏻 - we cannot wait to see what the role brings for you over the next 12 months!

Lord Provost of Aberdeen

05/07/2024

Massive congratulations to the North Scotland Wing team for bringing home the Inter-Wing athletics trophy!! 🏆 Well done to Cadet Warrant Officer Warnock and Cadet Jakomulski who represented as part of the Wing contingent 👏🏻👏🏻

19/05/2024

On your marks… 🏃‍♂️

Today, 11 Cadets from joined 13 other Squadrons from across the Wing for the first ever North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC Athletics competition, held at Aberdeen Sports Village.

Throughout the day, our Cadets ran, threw, and jumped their way to achieving an impressive haul of medals, with a great amount of Golds for good measure! 🥇 Morale was high throughout the day as the Cadets supported each other from the sidelines, and we were even joined by ex-Cadet Flight Sergeant Oliver MacRae who came along for the day to cheer on the Squadron! All the morale boosting certainly paid off with our Class A team placing 3rd overall, along with Cadet Warrant Officer Warnock achieving 3rd in the Class E category and the Squadron placing joint 2nd in Class E 🥳

Massive well done to all of you for your incredible efforts today, it’s great to see you all representing the Squadron fantastically as always 👏🏻👏🏻 Best of luck to the Cadets who are progressing onto the Inter-Wing competition in a few weeks’ time!

13/05/2024

On a Roll! 🤩

are constantly continuing to make great progress through the varying areas of the Progressive Training syllabus, meaning we once again have been able to present our Cadets with badges as a result of their hard work!

Leadership has been a strong focus within the Squadron over the past few months, resulting in Cadets Gauld and Wills earning their Blue Leadership badges after passing two assessments demonstrating the basics of leadership - along with Corporal Scott being awarded his Bronze Leadership following the North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC JNCO course last year.

There has also been more shooting success on the unit, with us finally able to award the badges from our February range weekend! Corporal Johnston and Cadet Jakomulski both earnt their Blue Marksmans, and Cadet Shinde getting his Advanced Marksman for the Air Rifle too.

Finally, Blue Radio badges were awarded to Cadets Gauld, Jakomulski, Ne Shevate, Ni Shevate and Shinde after completing their practical assessments.

Well done to you all for your continued hard work and dedication, it is clearly paying off!! 🥳

02/05/2024

Round 2, here we go! 🙌🏻

Recently, participated in Round 2 of the Air Rifle Postal Competition. After a fantastic Round 1 in February, our ‘A’ team of Cadet Warrant Officer Warnock, Corporal Bruce and Cadet Grant, and ‘B’ team of Cadets Jakomulski, Shinde and Ne Shevate once again demonstrated their skills in prone and kneeling in the hopes of a high score against other teams across the Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

Well done to all of you for another fantastic Round! Keep an eye out for Round 3 soon 👀

Once again, thank you to 877 (Inverurie) Squadron for use of their range, and thank you to Fg Off Montgomery and Sgt McBeath from Banchory Air Cadets who came along for the day to assist after gaining their Air Rifle RCO qualifications recently!

📸 Sgt McBeath, 2367 Sqn

North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC
Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets

29/04/2024

Congratulations to Cadet Azlan Qureshi for completing the RAFAC Bronze Cyber and CyberFirst Adventurer courses! Cdt Qureshi spent the weekend learning all things cyber such as how to stay safe online, data games and code cracking to earn him the Bronze Cyber badge!

Great to see more of progressing through the various areas of the training syllabus, well done! 👏🏻👏🏻

A busy couple of days at the Sqn with us hosting a Joint Service training weekend covering the RAFAC Bronze Cyber and Bronze Cyber 1st Adventurer Courses. A total of 34 cadets were trained and 2 members of staff became authorised trainers over the whole weekend.
We welcomed ACF cadet's from the Forres Detatchment, Moray Company, 1 Highlanders (Royal Regiment of Scotland) as well as cadets from 102, 107, 161, 423, 446, 865, 875 and of course our very own 1068 Squadron.
Well done to everyone and we hope to see you all again soon on other events.

28/04/2024

Ready, Set, Go! 🏁

Yesterday saw 5 Cadets and a CFAV from attend Day 1 of the Balmoral Road Races held on the Balmoral Estate.

This is an annual event in the North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC calendar, with the contingent spending the day using their radio skills to communicate with the network, carrying out marshalling duties and doing the all important task of providing much needed morale and encouragement to the over 5,000 runners who competed yesterday 🎽

It was great to see so much enthusiasm and even the sun made an appearance! Well done to you all for representing the Squadron brilliantly as always 👏🏻

24/04/2024

Taking you a stage further in your foot drill… 🫡

During the Easter Holidays, was in attendance at the first ever Scotland & Northern Ireland Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets STEM Drill Camp held at the Gordon Barracks in Aberdeen.

Corporal Murray Johnston spent the week on the Drill Module, undertaking the Drill Training Instruction Course which aims to provide Cadets with the relevant knowledge and confidence to lead drill training on their unit by being assessed on their ability to teach a lesson to students.

During the camp, Cpl Johnston also had the opportunity to experience other types of drill such as pacesticking, banner, continuity, and arms drill - safe to say there were some very sore arms afterwards! The week finally culminated in the Cadets competing against each other to showcase their foot drill skills as well as a continuity arms drill sequence, judged by the Region Warrant Officer, WO Taylor.

Congratulations Murray for completing the course!! 👏🏻 It looks like a brilliant week, and as one of our ICs for Training Flight we look forward to seeing how you continue to develop your skill set and get involved in training on the Squadron!

A big thank you to all of the Staff who made the week possible, including our own Sgt Barclay who was part of the Drill module’s directing staff in her capacity as a Drill Instructor!

Thank you to Sgt M Davie from 865 (Portlethen) Squadron for some of the selection of photos from the week!

North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC
Highland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association

23/04/2024

We would like to wish the best of luck to all of who are sitting their National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher exams over the next few weeks! 🍀

All of your hard work and dedication has paid off - it’s time to go into that exam hall with a positive mindset and smash it! 💪

22/04/2024

Come on in 👋

It’s almost time for to open our doors and welcome Intake 02/24!

Interested in flying fast jets through the mountains like Cadet Dolas? Keen to learn all about how aircraft’s work before flying one yourself?

And for those who would rather leave the Maverick-like adventures to someone else, there’s still lots of opportunities to have as a member of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets such as First Aid, Leadership, Shooting, Radio, Adventure Training and so much more!

There’s still time to register your interest for tonight, send us a message or email [email protected] to save missing out on our last intake before summer. We welcome secondary school students from 12-17!

We look forward to welcoming you all tonight ✈️

Dyce News
Highland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association
North Scotland Wing Air Training Corps, RAFAC

18/04/2024

After welcoming Sgt Barclay from 107 Aberdeen Squadron - Air Training Corps to on Monday, our own Sgt Barclay visited 107 Squadron last night to carry out the Blue Synthetic training with their Cadets.

Always great to see local units working together! 👏🏻✈️

17/04/2024

Raffle Prize Draw for the Caravan Weekend Away in Silver Sands, Lossiemouth! 😍🏖