Fun, Friends and Flying

On behalf of the Department of National Defence, the Air Cadet League, the sponsors and staff of 699 Jasper Place Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, welcome to the Air Cadet program.

 

Brief History

The Air Cadet Program is one of Canada’s premier youth organizations.  It began in 1941 when a group of civilian volunteers set up a country-wide voluntaryorganization to help stimulate an interest in flying and aviation. Many cadets eventually entered wartime service with the RCAF. 

  

Following the end of the Second World War, the Air Cadet program remained in place.  Today in Alberta there are approximately 2,500 young people between the ages of 12 and 19 enrolled in 44 Squadrons and working with the Alberta Provincial Committee of the Air Cadet League of Canada.  Its role changed to meet the changing needs of society and its young people. The aims of the Air Cadet program are:

  

• To develop the attributes of good citizenship and leadership;

 

• To promote physical fitness; and

 

• To stimulate the interest of youth in aviation and aeronautical activities of the Canadian Forces.

 

Many cadets chose to pursue their interest in aviation through a career in the Armed Forces or through post-secondary study leading to a position in Canada’s aviation industry.

 

Everything we do in Air Cadets can be summed up in the motto of the program:

 

  

To Learn, To Serve, To Advance

699 Jasper Place Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron

 

699 Jasper Place Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron (RCACS) has been actively training youth and being a contributing member of the west Edmonton community since November 19^th 1959.  That is when 395 RCACS was parading over 200 cadets and so a new squadron, 699 Jasper Place, was created by moving one whole squadron (complete with staff) to the west end of Edmonton.  The Squadron initially paraded at Jasper Place Composite High School.

699 Jasper Place RCACS has a strong and vibrant program which offers much more than just the basic Air Cadet program. In addition to the regular Wednesday night training program that all cadets participate in, 699 Jasper Place RCACS provides a variety of optional activities running most nights of the week and on the occasional weekend.  699 RCACS has a band, a biathlon team, a marksmanship team, offers the Duke of Edinburgh Award program and an Effective Speaking program.  For those who are interested in the opportunity to obtain their glider or power pilot's license, 699 has Ground School on Sunday night's to instruct them and prepare them for the written test. Their standings on these written tests, as well as their involvement in other aspects of the squadron and community go a long way toward their chances of being awarded a glider or power scholarship.  The Squadron also provides opportunities for the cadets to fly in a glider and/or small powered aircraft.

All of this is possible due to a strong program provided by a very committed squadron staff, the Air Cadet League of Canada and a very committed sponsoring committee, made up of parent volunteers, that all work closely together to achieve a common goal.

The Pink Panthers

In the early 1970’s, cadets from 699 RCACS were a regular sight at the Abbotsford International Air Show in Abbotsford, British Columbia.  The cadets were responsible for marshalling the visiting private aircraft.  During the three days of the air show, the cadets marshalled in excess of 800 visiting aircraft.  The “dress of the day” was orange United States Air Force surplus flight suits.  The orange colour made the cadets highly visible to the pilots as the aircraft were directed to the parking area and marshalled into their parking spots.

Over time the orange flight suits ceased to be available and the remaining suits deteriorated to the point where they were no longer usable.  A supply of Canadian Forces surplus white coveralls were purchased with the intention of dying them orange.  The plan almost worked.  The dye job fell somewhat short of expectations and while some of the coveralls came out a shade of peach, the vast majority came out pink.  All the coveralls appeared very pink in bright sunlight.  There was no time to rectify the problem before the cadets departed for Abbotsford, so pink became the new “dress of the day”.

It was an easy and natural step to make the association with the Pink Panther character of movie and cartoon fame and so put a positive outlook on the situation.  Permission was sought and received from the movie studio who owned the copyright to use the cartoon character as a mascot for Squadron purposes. 

 

The Partnership

 

The Royal Canadian Air Cadet Program is a unique partnership between the Canadian Air Force and the Air Cadet League of Canada.  This partnership can be found at all levels of the program: at the national level, the provincial level and, most importantly, at the community / Squadron level.

   

699 Squadron is officially sponsored by branch 255 Royal Canadian Legion. The sponsors form a Sponsoring Committee that assists in the operation of the squadron. The Sponsoring Committee is responsible for, among other things, fund raising, securing facilities for the squadron to do its training and administration, assisting in finding suitable adults to enroll as officers and civilian instructors and to assist in recruiting cadets.  The Sponsoring Committee’s funds make possible supplemental optional activities and programs such as citizenship trips that are not funded by the Canadian Forces.

 

The squadron is staffed by a group of officers, civilian instructors and volunteers under the direction of the Commanding Officer (CO).  The CO is responsible for the control and welfare and training of the cadets and for supervising the operation of the squadron and the implementation of the training program.  The CO and her team organize the training program according to nationally set standards and plan and implement various training activities during the week and on weekends.

  

At the provincial and national level, the Canadian Forces and the Air Cadet League work cooperatively to provide the necessary structure, guidance and resources to support the squadrons at the local level.  This includes provision of uniforms and training for officers and cadets, aircraft and gliders for the gliding program as well as administrative support for squadrons and sponsoring committees.

  

Without this partnership, the Air Cadet program would not be as successful as it is today.