The Estevan Wylie-Mitchell Air Cadet Squadron No. 30, wrapped up their 74th consecutive year of operations in mid-May with the staging of their annual cadet review in their hall located on the Estevan Exhibition grounds.
The squadron’s commanding officer, Captain Danielle Fleury, said the program got underway in early September of 2014 with 32 cadets registered.
The fall season got underway on a positive note when the Wylie-Mitchell biathlon team finished first in zone competition but were prevented from trying to add a provincial title when the Saskatchewan meet was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
The local air cadets then placed third in the zone marksmanship competition that was held in Regina, which earned them a place in the provincial competition, also held in the Queen City. The local team, however, was not able to come back with any medals at that level.
The next traditional activity within the air cadet program was the effective speaking competition that involved all of the Wylie-Mitchell members. The top six from the squadron were asked to make their presentations in front of a panel of judges. The top two, Sgt. Matthew Cinnamon and Flt. Cpl. Janna Cinnamon advanced to the zone competition.
The next fall activity was a camp out at the Estevan Wildlife Federation compound south of the city where the cadets learned the art of building fires and shelters and how to administer first aid. Their meals consisted of traditional military field rations. The cadets learned several more survival skills using minimal equipment.
A sports day that included cadets from Oxbow and Carlyle was held during the winter and featured bowling, floor hockey, ultimate Frisbee and other sports. There were about 60 cadets registered for the day-long event.
The three squadrons also arranged an air rifle and archery competition later in the year and then the Wylie-Mitchell cadets played host to the Oxbow Bow Valley air cadets for an intrasquad day where cadets split up into teams to test their knowledge of survival skills, drills, aviation and physical fitness.
As the cadet year advanced, squadron members went to the Estevan Regional Airport for familiarization flights in a Cessna and also attended a survival camp out in Moosomin with four other squadrons and 108 cadets and officers.
“We have many cadets going to summer camps this year. This includes sports and fitness camps, survival, basic aviation, general training, staff and air rifle marksmanship camps,” said Capt. Fleury. “We also provided several volunteer hours within the community such as canvassing for the Canadian Cancer Society and Christmas decorating at St. Joseph’s Hospital and making Christmas cards for long-term care residents. We also helped the Salvation Army with the annual Teddy Bear Toss at a Bruins game and volunteered for the Salvation Army’s Christmas Kettles and also participated in the annual Remembrance Day ceremony. One of our cadets recited a poem. Cadets took up the collection, participated in the wreath-laying ceremony and colour party presentations,” said Fleury.
The annual cadet review was held on May 12 with Lori Carr as the guest reviewing officer. Carr was a Wylie-Mitchell cadet and commanding officer and she is now involved in the program on the provincial level as the area director.
“Next year is a big one. We will be celebrating our 75th anniversary. Anyone between the ages of 12 and 19 may join in September and participate in all of our great programs. We parade (meet) every Tuesday night from 6:30 to 9:15 at the Wylie-Mitchell Hall. There is no registration fee and no uniform costs. Anyone wanting more information is invited to contact me at Danielle.fleury@hotmail.com or check our Facebook page #30 Wylie-Mitchell Air Cadets,” she said.
