Welcome back 75 Squadron!
Message from CO:
Hi everyone, I hope that you enjoyed a restful, safe and fun summer. We are excited to be back and welcome you to the 2021-22 return of our activities. This newsletter marks the return of our regular weekly announcements as we prepare our launch and keep you informed on updates. As CO, one of my roles is to ensure that information is shared with our cadets, their parents/guardians and our community and this is the primary method of communication we use.
Any day now, we are anticipating receiving updated directions from the highest levels regarding the conditions for a return to activity, that will set the rules for in-person and virtual activities. This directive will likely be evergreen as the pandemic situation evolves and we will be need to be able to quickly update our means of delivery for the safety of all our participants. Stay tuned as we will share more information when this directive is released.
Summer Promotions: Over the summer, the staff team was hard at work to push a system error up our own chain of command that was blocking promotions to Sergeant. As a result, we were able to retroactively promote the following individuals:
- Sgt Barkhouse, L
- Sgt Gandhi, K
- Sgt Jani, A
- Sgt Joseph, M
- Sgt Mohan, M
- Sgt Murphy, T
- Sgt Oromo, B
- Sgt Patel, A
- Sgt Seppi, R
- Sgt Shahnawaz, E
- Sgt Winsor, K
Congratulations on your promotion!!
Registration for new youth members: If you know any 12-15 year old youth interested to join 75 Squadron, our registration process opened September 1st. How to register:
- Parents/guardians use this link to register on any device, by choosing 75 Barrhaven Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron;
- Submitted forms will be received by Squadron staff, who will verify the information, and contact parents/guardians for proof of Canadian Citizenship and to present their health care cards.
- Once registered, an email will be sent with instructions on how the new cadet will be assigned to a group, and introduced to their supervising adult – a Level Officer, who will be their primary point of contact.
In addition, the following resources are available:
Online Registration Tool for Cadets – this page has information for parents that can support parents through the process for successful completion of the registration.
Online Registration FAQs for Parents – This page will grow as we receive more feedback from user’s experiences.
An information and onboarding session for parents/guardians and new cadets will scheduled in October, date TBD. Be sure to sign-up for announcements at this link, and follow @75Squadron on Facebook or Instagram for information updates.
Fall Restart – Recalling all cadets: This month, 75 Squadron will begin its recall of all our cadet members, starting with cadets in Level 5, who will receive instructions to prepare the launch of our training year, briefings and refreshers to help us accommodate a safe return and to amplify a fun, welcoming atmosphere for all. Here’s what you need to do to prepare:
- Uniforms: Time to take that uniform out of the closet, wash it, and try it on. I bet you’ve grown so take a note of what doesn’t fit. We haven’t restarted uniform exchanges yet, but we will soon have information about this for you in our next announcements. Don’t have a uniform yet? Don’t worry, those of you in level 2+ that don’t have a uniform will have priority for being kitted new uniforms. Pro-Tip – go to 75 Squadron’s Supply page for info about uniforms.
- Member Information: While only new cadets have to fill out the request for membership forms, returning cadets every fall have to validate their information to make sure the Squadron has the right address, and also update their health information if there has been any changes. 75 Squadron’s Admin Staff and Level Officers will be in contact with each cadet member to make sure everyone’s file is up to date.
Pro-Tip: When contacted, collaborate quickly to get your file sorted. All cadet units across Canada uses a Protected B data management system to register cadet participation and attendance to activities, including for summer training and special activities. Only cadets “in the green” are allowed to participate outside of Thursday activities.
Get excited! While we don’t know yet how the year will unfold, and how the pandemic will impact our activities, we want you to know that we are working hard to make sure it will be worthwhile for everyone. Worst case scenario, we have virtual cadets from time to time – this counts as time in toward your promotion and will set you up for when we return in person. There’s a chance we return to limited numbers in-person. That’s good – we’ll make the best of it, and that may mean that our members come in on a rotational basis. Regardless of what activity it is, if it is in-person we’ll make sure you have all the information on how that would work. Best case scenario is everyone returns in-person, likely with safety precautions. We will make sure that everyone receives information on how that would work, what safety precautions must be followed, and how they will be enforced.
The staff and sponsoring committee want you all to know that regardless, we will make the best of the situation, 75 Squadron and all its cadets will have fun, will meet new people, connect with old friends and make some new ones, will learn new skills and show off some old ones, and will for sure have opportunities that other youth can only dream of.
75 – WE THRIVE!