ATC Summer Camp 2006 - RAF Lyneham

    Well, what can I say about summer camp? Actually, I could write more here than I've ever written, and take up too much space on the one page!

    What I will say, however, is that everyone who attended this year's summer camp had an absolutely fantastic time! For £45 the cadets got access to an RAF base for a fantastic experience and a great time. Below you can see a list of activities the cadets (and staff) had the chance to take part in, however there were other activities that I myself did not attend.

    Here is a list of most of the things the cadets got for their money. To find out about others you'll have to speak to the cadets that attended this year, or attend yourself!

(For a complete set of 117 photos, e-mail the squadron webmaster here)

    Along with all those activities, guess what else the cadets got for their £45?

Some money refunded!

    So there you have it, an entirely fun time had by all, and for less than £45! If you're still not convinced, why not watch one of the two camp videos below?

    Advice to all cadets in the corps: Take the opportunity to go to summer camp!

 

Lyneham summer camp (more for the adults): Click here!

Lyneham memories (cadets): Click here!

Squadron Webmaster

 

Mr. Poutney’s experience

    As I was asleep when I got to Lyneham, I was rudely awakened by the hollering of the adult warrant officer (Mr. Shelton), which immediately flashed me back to my cadet days – oh well. We were split from the cadets, and taken to the sergeant’s mess, which was a rather homely sight. The models of the Hercules presented to the squadron by the firms that built them caught my eye immediately, especially the bronze ones in the display cabinet. From the lobby we were taken to the Ante room, where the machine made a great cup of coffee. Comfortable sofas, too! From there, we were shown the mess, and our new evening home, the bar. (Edit – drinks without tax, dreamy – webmaster)

    We were assigned our rooms, which, as RAF rooms go, were great. The bed was actually very comfortable for a change, no lumpy mattress! We then attended first parade, and had safety briefings that lasted a reasonable amount of time.

    The cadets were then given five minutes to change into greens, be out and ready to march down to the shooting range. At that point, the other C.I.s and I were asked to supervise the cadets. Mr. Bissell and Mr. Bush were participating in card and magic tricks to keep the cadets amused – yawn – whilst I amused them with Nerf and rocketball games, everyone’s favourite foamy friend (take cover!). While there, cadets misplaced my Nerf ball. Now it belongs to the RAF regiment, and I’m not arguing with them, they’re armed. On cadet break, the C.I.s were allowed to go on the range and participate in some shooting. Big fun! I liked it.

    In the evening, there was an amusing game of pool between he C.Is, where I was hustled by C.I. Hellewell, pool shark. I won two games to four. Damn! Bowling was absolutely hilarious, very competitive. I came fifth.

    Next day I was supervising the flying detail. I spent most of the day playing poker, watching videos and showing cadets how to bull their cadet shoes. Quite a good result! Quasar in the evening was absolutely brilliant and very comical. The oopma loompa song was sung by me to all small cadets (well I thought it was funny). The first game I was “top gun”, and my name for the round was “target 1”. I hardly got shot, as I hid behind a barrel. Don’t laugh, they were gunning for me! Game two was absolutely hilarious, as one of our cadets, young Prater, proceeded to use the lines, “Cover me, I’m going in”, and, “Corporal, we’re never going to make it – keep firing!”.

    Section visits were very informative the next day, and walking into the hangar, I saw RAF mechanics playing with model aircraft which reassured me that our country was safe. Ha Ha. We were also caught by a training exercise, which involved us staying in one location for one hour. Boring! In the evening the fire section visit was a great laugh, even though I was nearly drowned in the pool, as I was thrown in there by several cadet NCOs. All C.I.s except for Mr. Bissell joined in the fun (Edit – I was filming! – webmaster). Boring guy. Filming is no excuse!

    Day four was split between section visits to survival, where I managed to pillage some survival packs to be used as awards to cadets (the RAF staff knew), and a visit to the Fleet Air Arm museum in Yeovilton. Though a little dull, it was very informative! (Got my girlfriend a nice present from there – yes, I’m tight)

    Day five was for cadets flying in Hercules, while I went to a drop zone, to see a Hercules practice offloading it’s cargo. Quite fun! In the evening, there was a night exercise in which I was trodden on by a team led by Mr. Bissell (I was that well camouflaged!). I also was walked past by the NCO team, who tripped over one of my cadets. Caught, dammit! All in all, a good night.

    Day six was spent packing and watching the cadets pay their final farewells to each other. The award ceremony was done with great humour, and went well. As the coach arrived, we grabbed our kit and departed RAF Lyneham.           

    This camp I saw from a different side – this time as staff. I learned a lot, and judged that although being a cadet on camp was fun, I preferred to be staff as I found the responsibility challenging but worthwhile.

    P.S. I also got a paper cup award for my beard – found that very funny indeed!

 

Mr. Poutney CI

(The bearded one)