A group of Air Force Cadets got an immersive experience on a Royal Canadian Air Force base March 3 to 5, travelling from Saint John for part of their March break from school to visit 14 Wing Greenwood.
Shacking up in summer Cadet camp trailers, Mess meal hall dining – admittedly, in an unexpected switch to boxed lunches, breakfasts and dinners; and lots of lining up to go in and out of tour areas, on and off of their bus, and being counted….
“I love doing tours like this,” said 14 Wing Greenwood’s appointed Cadet tour organizer, Sergeant Cory Gallant. “These kids are Air Cadets in Saint John, so they don’t have a lot of exposure to air force stuff – just Gagetown army, really. What a great way to have a good March break!”
Gallant organized a full day of March 4 tour stops, including search and rescue, air traffic control, aircraft maintenance, heavy equipment, transport, airfield maintenance and readiness and deployment training workspaces. 161 C.K. Beveridge Air Cadets also had the opportunity for an evening private tour of the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum.
Greeting them in 413 (Transport and Rescue) Squadron’s briefing room after their group’s thorough clearance through Checkpoint Charlie, Captain Katelyn MacDonald encouraged Cadets to “ask all the questions you want.
“Everyone is super excited to have you here today.”
413 personnel showed off their Kingfisher and Cormorant aircraft, and toured the Cadets through the SAR shop, showing off parachute packing and all the specialty equipment they use. The Cadets climbed all the stairs to visit the air traffic control tower, and then descended all the stairs to cross the lot and visit 14 Air Maintenance Squadron’s workshops and the hangar floor. Readiness Training Flight hosted a “show and tell” afternoon session, describing the regular training military personnel take to stay current for day-to-day and deployment tasks. At 14 Mission Support Squadron’s Transport & Electrical & Mechanical Engineering Flight, Cadets crawled in and out of every piece of equipment in the shop, including visiting Military Police road and off-road vehicles; and then had a hands-on demo on how to pack the pallets of military equipment for shipping – with the chance to watch a loading demo from the deck of a cargo lift.
Traffic technician Master Corporal Ryder Smith told Cadets he couldn’t ask for a better job.
“If you’re looking to travel the world, this is a great trade: our job is packing and strapping – for road, rail, air or sea. When the plane leaves, we get to go with it, open it up, and get everything out.”
