Contents

Foreward

By Flight Lieutenant D Manning

BSc(hons) RAFVR(T)

Officer Commanding

2272 (Chepstow) Sqn

As a member of the Air Training Corps you may find that with so much to learn you become a little confused at times and may have many questions you would like to as but without knowing who to ask.

This handbook is a revised version of one provided to me when I first became a cadet and should assist you during your time on the Squadron, whether you are going for your first class exam, or an nco who just needs a quick reminder of something.

This handbook does not pretend to provide you with all the information you need to know to pass your first class exam and does not replace the use of ACP31 (General Service Training publication).  But it should provide you with a first stop resource for information regarding your day to day cadet life whether on the Sqn or on activities.

D Manning

Flt/Lt

AIR TRAINING CORPS

The Air Training Corps is a youth organisation whose aims as declared in our Royal Warrant are:

1 To promote and encourage amongst young men and women a practical interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force.

2 To provide training which will be useful both in service and civilian life.

3 To foster the spirit of adventure and to develop the qualities of leadership and good citizenship.

The forerunner of the Air Training Corps was the Air Defence Cadet Corps, this organisation founded in 1938 by a body known as the Air League of the British Empire which was formed to publicize the vital importance to Britain of aircraft for communications, commerce and defence.

Air Commodore J.A.Chamier, who was later given a knighthood, may appropriately be called the father of the air cadet movement. He retired from the RAF in 1929 and devoted himself to aviation matters. He was appointed Secretary General of the Air League and later became the executive secretary of the committee formed under the chairmanship of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Salmond to establish the Air Defence Cadet Corps.

From the outset squadrons had to be fully self supporting and controlled by a local civilian committee. Officers were selected by the squadron committees and commissioned by the Air League. These officers had to pay for their own uniforms as did the cadets in many cases. Cadets paid 3d per week and the Air Ministry promised a capitation fee of 3s 6d for each proficient cadet.

There was considerable rivalry amongst towns wishing to be the first to form a squadron. The honour went to Leicester, but this was quickly capped by Watford who formed two squadrons. Thus the Air Defence Cadet corps came into being and with it began the friendly rivalry that still exists between squadrons throughout the British Isles. On the 16th October 1938 when the two Watford Squadrons were being inspected by Sir John Salmond, he read a telegram of congratulations and good wishes from King George VI. The doubters were now convinced that this was now a national effort, having received the approval of the King who had himself been an officer in the RAF in 1918. By the end of 1938, 41 squadrons had been formed and at the outbreak of war on the 3rd September 1939, 172 squadrons were in existence.

As was to be expected Air Ministry assistance to the Corps steadily increased as the war progressed, and it soon became apparent that the government ought to take over responsibility for its organisation. Thus the Air Training Corps was establi­shed in 1941 with King George VI as Air Commodore in Chief. Air Commodore Chamier was appointed the first Commandant while

Mr  J.P.Wolfenden (later Sir John) was appointed the Director of Pre entry Training.

Undoubtedly the justification for the Corps was educational and the air training it was to provide, and, as a leading educationist, Sir John Wolfenden was able to secure the widest poss­ible support. The Royal Warrant authorizing the formation of the new organization was dated 5th February 1941 and reads:

Whereas we deem it expedient to provide for our youth the means of preparing themselves for service in our Air Force or its reserves or Auxiliaries or in the Fleet Air Arm of our Navy there will be established a Corps to be entitled the Air Training Corps.”

The Corps motto “VENTURE ADVENTURE” devised by Air Commodore Chamier, was adopted for the ATC and incorporated into the ATC badge which together with the ATC ensign, was approved by the King. Officers were given commissions in the training branch of the RAFVR, and indeed everything was done to give this new voluntary and part time corps as such official standing as possible. Fortified by a nationwide appeal the launching of the ATC achieved tremendous success, several squadrons being formed in a few days. The honour of being the first of the new breed going to No 210 (Newport) Squadron.

In 1946 the ATC became part of Reserve command which gave the movement much material help. In 1947 a new Royal Warrant redefined the aims of the Corps to include training in citizen­ship, the promotion of sports and the fostering of a spirit of adventure. In practice the Corps had always sought to do this but the restatement of aims gave these aspects of training an added meaning. In 1955 important administrative changes were made, which recommended that the administration of Wings (which were established in 1948) and control and direction of the Corps should pass to a Commandant, who would be responsible directly to the Air Ministry. In May 1960 Headquarters Air Cadets was set up to implement this policy.

Although gliding in the Air Defence Cadet Corps commenced in 1939, it was not until 1942 that it became an official activity in the ATC. By 1945 the gliding organization had built up to 84 schools. There are now 27 volunteer gliding schools and the Air Cadets Central Gliding School.

In 1950 a flying scholarship scheme was introduced and some 250 scholarships are awarded each year to cadets. The scholarships are tenable at civilian flying schools and clubs and students complete 30 hours of dual and solo flying.

In 1958 the Corps was given its own fleet of 50 Chipmunk aircraft for air experience flying. There are 13 Air Experience Flights located on a geographical basis to the best advantage of ATC squadrons, all being commanded by a regular RAF officer (except one which is commanded by an RAFVR(T) officer) and staffed by RAFVR(T) pilots.

In 1962 the ATC came of age and, to mark the occasion, a banner was presented to the Corps by His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Air Commodore in Chief of the Air Training Corps, who had been appointed to this post on the death of His Majesty King George VI. The banner is paraded on special occasions only, being most frequently seen at Wing parades when the Air Officer Commanding is the reviewing officer.

In 1967 it was felt that the time had come to re—examine the structure of the Corps and if necessary to re—organize it and improve it. Consequently a committee appointed by the Ministry of Defence made a number of recommendations covering administration and training, the majority of which were approved by the Air Force soared The report of the committee (Morris Report) intro­duced several changes in organisation, including a reconstructed Air Cadet Council and the introduction of Regional HQs, and set the pattern for the corps as it is today.

A brief glance at the many and varied activities clearly shows that the Corps is keeping in mind the objects of its Royal Warrant that was redefined by this committee.

In October 1980 the first girls were allowed to join the Corps and after a two year trial period were officially incorporated so that authorised squadrons are now permitted to recruit up to one third of their total strength as girls.

As with the Air Defence Corps, the basic formation of the ATC is the squadron. The first fifty squadrons formed are permitted to display the letter ‘F” after their unit number in recognition of the fact that they were the Founder Squadrons. Today the squad­ron stands very much on its own feet, ordering its own life within the framework of the Corps. Wing HQ's administer a group of squadrons but the squadron is essentially a unit of the local community. A squadron may control detached flights in areas where there are enough cadets for a flight but insufficient to form a squadron. In 1983 there were 904 squadrons and 112 detached flights.

ATC units are financed on the broad principle that the Ministry of Defence meets the cost of the official training programme, whilst the cost of other recommended activities and social facilities are provided from non—public funds raised by civilian committees.

Responsibility for the administration and general conduct of a squadron is shared by its commanding officer and by its civilian committee. The squadron officers are volunteers commissioned in the RAFVR(T), work with the Corps part time and are not paid for their services except when on specified training duties away from squadron headquarters. The squadron civilian committee consists of a Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and Members all of whom are local citizens, with the squadron commander as an ex—officio” member. The committee generally looks after the welfare, finance, and local matters such as publicity, recruit­ing, site selection for the HO building, liaison with other local organisations and so on. The treasurer has an important task, which is to administer two types of fund. The first type concerns official funds, or “public” money for administration and training; the second type or “non public” money consists of locally raised funds for welfare, sports and similar purposes. It is the responsibility of the committee to raise, as well as administer,, the non—public funds.

Groups of squadrons, usually on a county basis, are formed into Wings, of which there are 40. Each wing is commanded by an RAFVR(T) officer of the rank of Wing Commander. Each wing HO having a small full—time staff for administration duties headed by a wing administration officer, and an establishment of RAFVR(T) staff officers.

Groups of wings on a geographical basis are formed into Regions. There are seven regions each commanded by a retired RAF officer who holds the rank of Group Captain. The regional HO has a small full time staff and is responsible for the training program and for liaison with other organisations within the region.

The organization of the ATC is closely linked with the RAF. The chain of command goes all the way up from squadrons to the Air Force board not only on the service side through HO Air Cadets, but also on the civilian committee side through the Air Cadet Council, and at a local level wings are affiliated to RAF stations for direct assistance in training. RAF stations, not necessarily the affiliated stations, also operate a parenting scheme which is set up for the distribution of RAF equipment, including uniforms to squadrons. Close relationship with the RAF is further maintained by squadrons attending camp for one week at an RAF stations each year.

The Air Training Corps has a history of which it can be justly proud, and every squadron has not only close affiliation with the Royal Air Force but also with its local community, an arrangement designed to help the squadron provide a lively and exiting programme of training for cadets.

THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

The history of the Royal Air Force dates back prior to its creation on 1st April 1918 by amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) to the establishment of a balloon school at Chatham in 1879, but military aviation in the United Kingdom started properly with the formation of the Royal Flying Corps in May 1912.

The initial formation of the R.F.C. consisted of two “Wings” a military wing and a naval wing under control of the War Office and the Navy respectively. All pilots were trained at the cent­ral flying school at Upavon and the aircraft used were unarmed and intended to support military and naval operations in a reconnaissance role only.

Because of the problems posed by the use of aircraft in support of naval operations the naval wing broke away from the RFC to form the Royal Naval Air Service in June 1914. The strengths of the two services by the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 being seven Squadrons of aircraft and one Squadron of balloons in the RFC and one Squadron of aircraft in the NAS

At the end of the war in November 1918 the RAF had 190 Squadrons and 290,000 officers and men. In less than two years this strength had dropped to 30 Squadrons and 25,000 officers and men, and it was then that Lord Trenchard (the father of the Royal Air Force) and Sir Winston Churchill (Secretary of State for War and Air) agreed that the force should be kept at about this operational strength and concentrate the available resour­ces on building a sound training organisation. It was from this aecision that the foundations of the professional airforce that we have today were laid with the opening of the Royal Air Force Cadet College at Cranwell (1920), the Apprentices School at RAF Halton (1922) and the RAP Staff College at Andover (1922).

Under the tutelage of Lord Trenchard the organisation of the RAF continued to be consolidated in quality, not quantity. Always kept in mind was the need for a capability for quick expansion to be “built in”. The need for this police was demonstrated towards the beginning of the Second World War when the worsening political situation in Europe led to such a large expansion that by 1936 it became necessary to introduce Bomber, Fighter, Coastal and Training Commands. One way in which this built in capability for expansion was created was by the formation of the Auxiliary Air Force in 1925.

In 1937 the Royal Navy regained independent control of ship— borne aircraft by taking over responsibility for the Fleet Air Arm — a cause they had been fighting for since 1918. The respon­sibility for land based maritime reconnaissance remaining with the RAP.

In the Second World War, as well as providing the air defence of this country, helping to keep the sea approaches open and mounting a strategic bomber offensive against Germany, the Royal Air Force fought in all theatres of war in support of land and sea operations. The first role of the RAF was again reconnaiss­ance, but the primary role was that envisaged in 1918 — strat­egic bombing. With radio navigation aids lending increased accuracy and aircraft carrying greater bomb loads, large indust­rial areas of Germany were laid waste. The German Air Force was compelled to concentrate on defending the Reich with such losses that the Allied landing in Normandy, on D Day 6th June, 1944 was practically unopposed from the air.

As in 1918 the cessation of hostilities again led to the contr­action of the Royal Air Force. From over 1,100,000 officers and men in 1945 to less than 100,000 by 1970. Wartime conscription was continued after the war in the form of National Service, but this ended in 1962 and the RAF is now an all regular force.

The Royal Air Force, like the Navy and the Army, is loyal to the Crown but is controlled by Parliament which harmonises with the principle that our armed forces are subordinate to the Civil Authority. Parliament votes the money needed to support the Air Force and, through the Air Force Act, lays down the law by which the Air Force is governed.

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet hold supreme responsibility for national defence. They exercise control of the armed forces through the Defence Council which is the main forum in which the broad issues of defence policy are considered in relation to the Government’s foreign, economic and home policies. The Secretary of State for Defence, appointed by the Prime Minister, is the chairman of the Defence Council.

Each of the three services is controlled by a board of senior officers, ie. Admiralty Board, Army Board and Air Force Board. The heads of the Service Boards are members of the Defence Council and each board controls its own Service in accordance with the decisions made by the Defence Council.

Each member of the Air Force Board is a senior officer or civil servant heading a specialist Branch concerned with a particular section of Royal Air Force work; all these Branches added together are called the ‘Air Force Department’ of the Ministry of Defence (MDD(Air)). The specialist Branches are themselves sub—divided into a number of Directorates headed by Director Generals and Directors and it is these MOD staffs who form the Headquarters of the Royal Air Force from which all policy direction to the rest of the Royal Air Force emanates. The head of one of these Directorates, an Air Vice Marshal who is Director General of RAF Training (DGT), looks after the policies concerning the Air Training Corps.

Outside the Ministry of Defence the directive of the Air Force Department are put into effect by:

a) RAF COMMANDS. Commands are either functional , ie. in charge of a number of units carrying out the same type of work, or geographical, ie. in charge of overall air force functions in a

particular part of the world. At present there are two functional Commands — Strike Command and Support Command, and one geographical RAF Germany.

b)  RAF GROUPS AND HEADQUARTERS. Sub—headquarters called Group, Air or Field Headquarters control specialist units e.g. those fly— in a particular class of aircraft such as fighters. However, sub—headquarters are established only in Strike Command where the expense is considered advisable and necessary; other Commands control their units directly.

c)  RAF UNITS AND STATIONS. Unit is the title applied to elements of the RAF which are established to cover a particular function, e.g. Maintenance Unit, Signals Unit. The basic operational unit is the squadron; squadrons are equipped with aircraft or missiles or they may be units of the RAF Regiment; and according to their size and role, squadrons may be sub—divided into two or more flights. The location of an individual unit or number of units is known as a Royal Air Force Station. Normally the administrat­ion of a Royal Air Force Station is undertaken by a separately established Station Staff which, too, is composed of squadrons.

Thus the framework of the Royal Air Force is:

PARLI AMENT

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

AIR FORCE DEPARTMENTS

COMMANDS

                          GROUPS             AIR or FIELD
                                                  HEADQUARTERS

UNITS

On RAF Stations organization can vary according to the needs of the units that it houses but the framework is common to all. The Station Commander is in overall control and he has a staff, normally arranged in three sections called wings, to provide supporting services so that units located at the station may function efficiently. The framework is as follows:

a)  Operations or Flying Wing

b)  Engineering Wing which provides engineering services for the whole station as well as any flying or technical units located there.

c)       Administrative Wing which provides the backing needed to enable everyone on the station to live and work effectively. This wing is therefore concerned with such things as accommod­ation, equipment, pay, catering and medical services.

Your Training

During your time as a cadet you will progress through a structured lesson system that intends to teach you all about Aviation subjects.

You start off as a "Second Class" Cadet, when you first join and will have roughly 3 months of training in all of the basics that you need to know in order for you to take part in day to day Cadet activities and gain the most from them.

Initially you learn subjects such as:

·  The History of the ATC

·  The History of the RAF

·  Map reading

·  Rifle skills

·  drill.

As a "First Class" cadets you can then start to take part in all of the activities that the Air Training Corps has to offer.

During your time on the Squadron you will continue to learn more in subjects including:

·  Aircraft Navigation

·  Principles of Flight.

·  Aircraft Handling

·  Airmanship

·  Advanced Map reading

And as you learn these we will let you sit some exams on Sqn and progress to Leading Cadet, Senior Cadet and then finally after a bit of hard work become a Staff Cadet with responsibilities that assist the staff in the day to day running of the Sqn, and a good bit of knowledge in some areas that you enjoy.

Additional Activities

As well as the educational side of cadet life there is a lot more that goes on, some of these things include:

Standard Bearing Practice

Model Making

Duke of Edinboroughs' Award Scheme

D Of E Expeditions

Drill Competitions

Orienteering

Gliding

Powered Flying

Visits to RAF Stations

Target Shooting

Sport (Athletics, Hockey, Netball, Rugby, Soccer, Swimming)

Absailing

Canoeing

Hill Walking

MFT (Field craft)

Orienteering

Rock Climbing

Computing

DISCIPLINE

Mention of the word “DISCIPLINE” perhaps conjures up in your minds something to be afraid of but it really means ‘Obedience to Laws or Orders”

You have already been subjected to discipline throughout your life from parents and at school, in the Air Training Corps there is also a need for a more formal and recognisable discipline.

Parliament makes laws to protect our persons, our homes etc., and if they are obeyed, we all benefit from them.

Local Councils make bylaws, which if obeyed, give further benefit to the people living in that particular area.

The Services have laws or rules which are approved by Parliament; these ensure first, loyalty to Queen and Country, secondly, the safety of large bodies of people working together, thirdly, efficiency, and fourthly, comfort and well—being.

The Air Training Corps is governed by Regulations and Standing Orders to achieve the same objectives.

Your Squadron is governed also by Orders made by the Commanding Officer.

The smartness and efficiency and good name of the Air Training Corps and your Squadron depends upon your cheerful and unhesitating “Obedience to Orders”.

Some people have to be placed in charge in order to. direct the actions of others to complete their training and tasks, these people are your Officers and cadet Nco’s, they as part of your training will teach you the virtues of self discipline so that you can progress within the ATC to the cadet NCO ranks.

SECURITY

Introduction

1. From the moment a cadet enrolls he has a responsibility to the RAF to guard its secrets to the best of his ability.

2. Many cadets know something about the RAF which other countries would like to know. It may be only a very small piece of information, but the manner in which he safeguards his information is a test of his trustworthiness. There are a few people in Great Britain who give away information deliberately. They are traitors. There are, unfortunately, many more who give away information unknowingly or through lack of thought. These are not traitors in the same sense but they do just as much harm. The first thing a cadet must do is learn the meaning of Security, because the security of the RAF is his responsibility, and a trust he must never betray.

The Meaning of Security

3. in war, both sides make use of direct and indirect attack. Direct attack is a shooting war using guns, rockets, aircraft, etc. Indirect attack, although rarely as spectacular, can be equally destructive. It includes the collection of information by agents, the destruction of materials by sabotage, the lowering of the morale of the fighting Services and the will of the general public by the use of propaganda.

4. Indirect attack goes on all the time and many examples of it can be seen happening in the world every day. Security is the name given to the defence against this indirect attack and it is as important, in some cases more so, as the defence against direct attack. The report issued in 1962 by a committee, under the Chairmanship of Lord Radcliffe, inquiring into the security procedures in the public Services said:

“The biggest single threat to Security at the present time is probably a general lack of conviction that any substantial threat exists”.

5. The threat is enormous, indirect attack goes on all the time, and every cadet must play his part in helping to maintain the security of the RAF, and indeed his country.

Squadron Security

6. Every cadet is responsible for the security of his squadron, detached flight or section. Security is a matter of common sense. Every cadet must play his part in looking after the unit’s equipment and buildings, for example. Each unit has a lot of equipment, either its own or on loan, which may be valuable. Even when it is not very valuable, it must be remembered that items cost money to replace, whether from unit resources or ultimately the taxpayer. Every cadet, therefore, must ensure that anything belonging to or on loan to his unit is protected against loss, theft or damage.

7. Certain items need special care. Many units possess weapons, usually rifles, and for obvious reasons these must be looked after particularly well; and there are special rules for this.

8.    Some handbooks or training manuals have a security classification, e.g. “Restric­ted”. This classification is applied to information and material which it would be undesirable in the interests of the Nation to reveal to any unauthorized person.

9.     Special action must therefore be taken to prevent those who are not authorized from having access to “Restricted” matter.

Security at RAF Stations

10.    At RAF station officers and airmen, because of the work they do, are aware of the need to safeguard their information and equipment. All stations have a Security Officer whose job it is to maintain a high standard of security of information, material and personnel. However, his job is possible only if all members of the station contribute to achieving this high standard. When a cadet visits a station he becomes, in effect, a member of that station and has his part to play in achieving this high standard.

11.    The best rule a cadet should remember is based on the “need to know” principle. When a cadet visits an RAF station, sooner or later, he is bound to hear or see something which a foreign power would like to know. Before talking about it he should ask himself “does the other person ‘need to know’?”. The answer is usually “no” but of course common sense should prevail. Should a cadet see or hear anything which he thinks might be a threat to the security of that station, he should report the matter to his own officer or a regular officer of the station.

12.    All Government information is subject to the provisions of the Official Secrets Act of 1911 as amended by the Official Secrets Acts of 1920 and 1939. These acts apply to everybody whether they are in military or civilian life, it is, however, necessary to classify, le grade information and material according to its security importance. We have seen the description of matters classified as RESTRICTED (para 9). The other classifications are:

a.        CONFIDENTIAL-applied to information and material which, if revealed to

any unauthorized person, would prejudice the interests of the Nation.

b.        SECRET—applied to information and material which, if revealed to any

unauthorized person, would cause serious injury to the interests of the Nation.

c. TOP SECRET-applied to information and material which, if revealed to any

unauthorized person, would cause exceptionally grave damage to the interests of the Nation.

13.        It follows, therefore, that If a cadet sees anything lying about that is classified Secret or Top Secret, he should report it at once and take steps to ensure that no authorized person has access to it. On visits to RAF stations, cadets might see in crew rooms various training books classified Restricted or Confidential. They are there for the use of those who “need to know” and they will be locked up when the room is not in use. If a cadet has cause to learn about matters that are classified he should keep them to himself and the Service and should not discuss them with outsiders.

National Security

14.    To every country, information about a possible enemy is of the greatest importance. There are several countries in the world who think that Great Britain is an enemy. Some of these countries have a lot of highly trained specialists collecting Information about the Royal Air Force. The work of defending Royal Air Force

DRILL

Drill is included in the training of all military forces because it promotes team spirit, mental alertness, self control, steadfastness and ready obedience to orders; qualities of great value in any military organisation.

In addition, drill is essential for the orderly cadets from place to place, and, its smart execution of great pride to your Squadron.

It should be the aim of all cadets to attain a high drill, deportment and personal appearance.

To get the best results, your drill instructors and parade commanders will insist on:

         A       Immediate obedience to orders.
         S        Smartness of appearance.
         C       Steadiness on parade.
         D       Silence on parade.

One of the requirements for promotion to First Class Cadet is that you have attained a standard that will enable you to parade with the Squadron on all duties.

Dress regulations — Inspection details.

BERET               The beret is to be worn so that the band is horizontal round the head,25mm above the eyebrows, loose material down to the right so that the badge is clearly displ­ayed in a position vertically above the left eye.

JERSEY NO.2 HD            Round or ‘V’ neck pattern. The jersey should be clean and of a reasonable fit.

SHIRT WORKING            The collar ironed and worn out—side the jersey, top button undone, no tie.

TROUSERS NO.2            Trousers are to be worn with supporting belt (not seen) ,they are to be clean and pressed.

FOOT WEAR       Boots or Shoes, black, laced and worn with black socks. To be polished, laced straight across and neatly fastened.

BRASSARD        Worn on the right upper arm, identification badge located centrally 6mm from the top with the distinguishing badge immediately be low.  Other badges Classification, Bandsman, Marksman or NRA Cadet One Hun­dred to be correctly spaced.

OTHER BADGES Rank badges on epaulettes, staff cadet lanyard worn around the left shoulder, buttoned centrally on the bottom line of the patch and when this is worn no other classification badge is to be worn on the brassard.  Flying scholarship, cadet navigators and gliding badges are to be worn on the left patch.

STABLE BELT     The stable belt is not to be worn over the jersey. It can be worn under the jersey and will only be seen when in shirt sleeve order.

SHIRT SLEEVE ORDER    In summer, shirt sleeve order may be worn for which the inspection details are

Top button of the work shirt undone — sleeves rolled up neatly above the elbows.

No tie unless wearing a wedgewood blue shirt. Rank tapes on epaulettes Brassard with appropriate badges Is worn. Staff cadet lanyard is worn buttoned to the left breast pocket of the shirt. Flying, gliding and D of E badges are not worn. Stable belt may be worn — private purchase only.

CLEANLINESS    The hands, face, ears and neck are to be clean.  Finger nails clipped and clean.

HAIR                 The hair of the head is to be clean and cut to Queens Regulation length.

SHAVING           Personnel who need to shave should be properly shaved, beards and whiskers are not to be worn.  If a moustache is worn,  the upper lip is to be entirely unshaven

Uniform Care

Ironing

Okay, we all know the easiest way here is to ask our Mothers! But they’re not always going to be there to do it for you so now is a good time to wake up and learn how to iron for yourself!

Remember – “Ironing is simple”. A plate of metal (the Iron) gets hot, you place it on your clothes and move it around  and the creases disappear. Well, okay, it’s not that simple - but almost.

Shirts

Iron shirts with your iron set to medium - not hot as this can damage the material.  Shirts are easy to iron and take no time at all when you know how. One Method is to:

1. Iron the inside of the collar
2. Place one of the shoulders into the end of the ironing board so that the yoke lies along it and iron that.
3. Take your shirt off the board and place one of the sides on so that the neck is at the end of the board.
4. Place the back of the shirt on the board next (you will have to do this in two parts)
5. Now place the other front panel on the board and iron that.
6. Undo the epaulettes and iron them
7. Now the hard part. Sleeves. Place the sleeve along the length of the ironing board. Use a good water sprayer and soak the crease - not too much though. Place the iron at the cuff end of the sleeve while pulling the crease to keep it tight. Press firmly on the iron and steadily move up to the shoulder end of the sleeve. Repeat for the other sleeve and you should have a perfect pair of creases.

Trousers

iron trousers on hot making sure you place a plain cotton cloth between your trousers and the iron to prevent them shining

1. Place front crease of one leg onto the ironing board.
2. Pull both ends of the crease and make sure no material is ruffled up underneath.
3. Spray the crease with your water sprayer.
4. Place a plain (preferably white) cotton cloth over the crease and spray this too.
5. Now place your iron on the cloth over the crease and press firmly, and slowly move the iron up to the crease taking care not to go off the cloth and onto your trousers. Repeat as many times as necessary to do the entire crease.
6. Repeat the process in the following order: next front crease, then rear creases.

Head-dress

Cadets all around the world are required to wear some form of head-dress, in the majority of cases, it is the Beret. There will be times when a Peak Cap is also worn

Berets

The Beret can be worn in many ways, the way we wear it is the Classic way with the beret badge above your left eye and all the spare material pulled down over your right ear

Obtaining this shape and keeping your beret in shape is easy. Just follow these simple steps:-

• Immerse the Beret alternately in hot/cold water until thoroughly soaked, taking care not to wet the band.
• Place the beret on the head and mould it to the desired shape.
• Leave your beret to dry naturally.

Finally, when wearing your beret, the band should be level, two finger widths above the eyebrows. The badge should be vertical, not pulled forward so that you can't see it.

Peak Caps

Peak caps are commonly worn by CWO’s, Standard Bearers and members of Air Cadet's bands.

Polishing

All you need to clean the peak is standard furniture polish and a good lint free cloth. Using a yellow duster can be a bad decision as you will get yellow bits of fluff all over the base of the peak.

Cleaning

To clean the material, use sticky tape wrapped around your fingers (sticky side out of course) and gently roll your hand over the material to pick up any dirt or fluff.

Slashing

This refers to the cutting of the stitching at the base of the peak so that it can lowered in front of the face so that it is almost vertical! This makes NCOs look imposing, but it effectively amounts to vandalising service property (most parent Air Forces supply uniform free to their Air Cadets).  Even if the Peaked Cap is your own property, you should double check with the Sqn Warrant Officer before making any unauthorised modifications to it.

Shoe Polishing

Preparation: (not to be used on a daily basis – just for a complete make over)

• Remove any previous attempts to polish your shoes by using a shoe brush or scraping the polish off with the edge of an old cassette case, but be careful not to damage the leather.
• Dip your brush in Kiwi Black and polish the whole of the shoe. Brush off the polish with a soft brush or cloth. Repeat for the toecap only

Shining: (daily use)

• Fold your cloth and wrap it around your index-finger so that the cloth under it is smooth - this will avoid smears and scratches later
• Dab the cloth in some clean water, ensuring that the water soaks into the cloth
• Place a small amount of polish onto the wet part of the cloth and work the polish into the leather in a circular motion working in a regular pattern around the toecap
• You may need to put just a touch more water on the cloth if it feels like it is starting to grate.
• Once all the polish has been rubbed in, repeat the process.
• A good shine on a new pair of shoes should take anywhere between 30 and 60 minutes

Caring for your shine

• All you need to do now is to make sure nobody scuffs them, stands on them or spills anything on them.
• Keep out of reach of little peoples sticky hands
• Keep a cloth over them to keep off dust. Some people pull socks over but you risk scratching your toecaps that way.
• If you manage to keep them scuff free and shiny, all you will need to do before you go to cadets is just give them a quick polish using the technique above.
• To get rid of any swirls of polish on your toecaps, run them under the cold tap while rubbing the toecap with pure cotton wool.

Things you will need:-

• 1 x tin of Kiwi Black Parade Gloss
• 2 x shoe brushes
• 1 x good quality cloth