As the Christmas period approaches we are surrounded by a deep crust of snow which may well stay with many of us over the festive season. According to the met office this has been the coldest start to the winter for 45 years.
As always this period of time is always very busy with most of the units arranging their end of year presentation evenings or general festive celebrations.
It is a good time to take a review of the year gone by, celebrate those successes which many have participated in and take stock of areas where change is required to meet the new era which we will be entering as we move forward into 2011. I am sure each squadron will have many significant achievements to celebrate based on their own performances throughout the year and would congratulate you on the hard work done by all your staff and cadets over the past 12 months.
As part of the Cadet 150 year of celebration there have been a number of excellent opportunities for participation and one which will remain high on the list was the Parading of the Corps Banner at the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo by 2367 (Banchory) Squadron. The positive comments received from so many with regards that single event were numerous. That however was only one of a number of events which have taken place over the year where positive feedback regarding the cadets and the Wing overall have been received. The effort which goes into supporting the Balmoral Run and other similar activities are examples of high profile local events which generates good feedback and which helps us ensure the public profile of the ATC remains high.
The ongoing work which you all do tirelessly with your local communities encourages new recruits to consider a cadet career within the ATC. Many of you carry out excellent fund raising and community based activities with the good work that you do often generating requests to repeat, extend or duplicate these activities on a regular basis.
Our sports and swimming teams have done well with ANESW being awarded a number of Region Blues and some being selected to represent Region at Corps Level.
We have had cadets travel as far afield as Lesotho, Israel and Canada and all our Overseas and UK Camp spaces were filled to capacity with reserve lists in place. 107 (Aberdeen) Squadron took the lead in co-ordinating an entry into the Nijmegen Marches – the first time I can recall a Wing entry in that event since becoming involved in the organisation – although I am sure some of you have longer memories than I have. As well as those mentioned above there were a number of cadets that attended various training camps and courses and I am sure that they will all benefit greatly from the experience gained which will remain with them as a memory of their time within the ATC.
I am always delighted to be asked to consider nominations for IACE, Best Cadet and CWO promotions as these enable me to meet some of the best cadets within the Wing, while during my visits to the units it is always good to speak to younger cadets who are enthusiastic and excited about the opportunities which are available to them. Please continue to encourage these new cadets to take part in as many opportunities as possible as they may well turn out to be life changing experiences which they might never have thought would have been possible without being part of the organisation
Suffice to say that none of the above would be possible without the tireless efforts of all the staff on the units along with the support of their family and friends who are very often not involved with the organisation themselves. This support, along with that of the civilian committees is paramount in ensuring the ongoing success of the units and the Wing overall. Well done to you all.
As we move into 2011 we are conscious that there will be major changes not only within the Wing and Region but also within the Corps. The expansion and renaming of our Wing to that of North East Scotland Wing is an unexpected event which this time last year would never have been considered. However change is good, change is positive, and I am very excited and honoured to be leading the Wing during this time. I can only thank you all in advance for your ongoing support which will be critical during the next few months.
I would like to finish by saying a heartfelt thank you to every one of you for your efforts over the course of this past year and wish you all the very best for a very festive Christmas and hoping that you all enjoy a Very Good New Year.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
