Leave 1 & 2 Fitness Testing – 16 May

Cadets from Level 1 & 2 will be participating in fitness testing during this Monday evening training period. Arrival and dismissal timings remain the same but cadets will be dress in appropriate fitness attire along with brining a mask and a water bottle.

Levels 3-5 will be conducting training as normal and will parade in their blue C1 uniforms. Arrival and dismissal timings will remain as per usual for this training group as well.

Questions to your Level Officers.

As announced and already communicated over SLACK cadets from 525 can participate in the summer cadet activity program.
 
Space is very limited, all interested cadets must reach out to the Administration Officer no later than 13 May 2022.
 
For more information reference the flying that was distributed through SLACK or through our website under Resources > Cadets > Cadet Training > Summer Training

and/or through Canada.ca - Clink Here
 
Questions to the Administration Officer
 

Level 1 Range Shoot, Squadron Boot Bash, and Commanding Officers Parade
 
To celebrate the achievements of our cadets over the past month, 525 Pathfinder will be hosting a Commanding Officers parade on 2 May 2022.
 
Also, in preparation for our Annual Ceremonial Review in June, cadets at 525 will be switching from our Field Training Uniforms to our Ceremonial Blue uniforms. In this week's CO parade, cadets will be dressed in their C1s.
 
To ensure all our cadets have the appropriate uniform pieces and badges correctly maintained, a squadron Boot Bash will be held at the Navy League building this Sunday, May 1st. This Boot Bash is recommended to ensure cadets know how to do their uniforms and ensure any missing kit can be replaced as our supply is now only open on Sundays in the Navy League. The Boot Bash will follow the level 1 range shoot scheduled on the same day.
 
Details below for each event.
 
Questions to your Flight Commanders.
 
Level 1 Range Shoot
Where: Navy League North Vancouver (1555 Forbes Ave, North Vancouver)
When: 1330 – 1530 May 1st
Dress: comfortable, appropriate civilian clothing
Bring: Water Bottle and Mask
 
Squadron Boot Bash
Where: Navy League North Vancouver (1555 Forbes Ave, North Vancouver)
When: 1530 – 1800 May 1st
Dress: comfortable, appropriate civilian clothing
Bring: ALL non-FTU uniform parts (blue tunic, dress shirt, tie, rank epaulets, nametag, wedge, black belt, parade boots, blue pants, socks, and any badges)
 
Commanding Officers Parade
Where: LHQ (595 Keith Road, West Vancouver)
When: Level 5’s 1800; Level 1-4 1830 till 2115
Dress: C1s
Bring: Water Bottle, Snack and Mask

Commanding Officers Parades
 
Commanding Officers (CO’s) Parades are used to celebrate the achievements of the cadets of 525 over the past month. The CO and 525’s sponsors inspect the squadron and deliver a few awards and presentations such as promotions and medals.
 
Due to the current covid restrictions and the weather forecast that we will be parading this Monday evening indoors, we are unfortunately limited to only cadets and adult staff. The adult staff will take photos and videos and be available for cadets to access after the parade to share their accomplishments with their families.
 
Cadets are to arrive at their standard times for regular Monday night training and will be dismissed at the usual time.
 
Dress: FTUs (if you have not been issued FTU, please wear a white shirt, dress pants and dress shoes.)
Where: LHQ
What: CO’s Parade
When: Level 5’s 1800; Remaining Cadets 1830
 
Questions to your level officers.

​Level 1 & 2 – Day Survival Exercise.
 
Cadets from levels 1 and 2 will participate in practical survival training to learn about aircrew survival. Training will cover various field crafts in an outdoor environment with some hiking techniques.
 
Aircrew survival is one of the few mandatory training items not covered on our regular parade nights and is required to complete your training level.
 
Who: All Cadets in Levels 1 and 2
Where: The Navy League Building (1555 Forbes Ave, North Vancouver)
When: 1300-2100
 
What to Bring: Pack a dinner, water, and a snack. Note: the squadron will not provide food. Bring a flashlight and a knife (blade length no longer than six inches).
 
Dress: FTUs with a coat (rain or cold depending on forecast) and gloves. If you do not have your FTUs yet, please wear appropriate civilian attire and a raincoat and hiking boots.
 
Questions to your level officers.

Return to In-Person Training – 28 Feb 2022

​525 Pathfinder Air Cadet squadron has taken the necessary safety precautions and received authorization to resume our in-person training.
 
Our first night back will be 28th of February. Cadets will meet at our local headquarters located at 595 Keith Road in West Vancouver. Dress will be their Field Training Uniforms. Tunics will be returned with name-tags attached at the start of the training night.
 
Who                         Timing
Level 5’s                   1800 hrs
Remaining Cadets    1830 hrs
Dismissal ALL         2115 hrs
 
Due to the compressed in-person time available for the remainder of the training year, cadets are encouraged to remain vigilant in monitoring announcements and the calendar to ensure they can take advantage of every relevant training opportunity.
 
Questions to your Level Officers
 
 

Squadron Stand Down – Family Day
 
The squadron will be helping families celebrate the upcoming Family Day holiday by not conducting any training on February 21st.
 
We will be returning to training on February 28th. See your SLACK channels for further information.

On another note there is exciting news coming soon regarding our return to in-persont raining. Stay tuned to future announcments.
 
Questions to your Level Officers.

Return to Training – Virtual Training
 
From the adult staff and senior cadets of 525 we would like to welcome you all back for the reminder of our training year.
 
The decision has been made to transition our weekly training to a virtual format due to the increase in our community transmissions and direction from our provincial cadets support unit. This decision will be re-evaluated weekly at the provincial level and we hope to continue our in-person training as soon as the situation allows.
 
In the mean time the instructors for 525 are busy transitioning to teach in a virtual environment starting on the 10th of January (Monday). One major change our virtual training will be conducted over Microsoft Teams. Timings and training links will be distributed via SLACK, please sure you have access to your level chats. Dress is civilian attire.
 
Questions to your Level Officers
 

​Holiday Season – Training Update
 
From the adult staff and senior cadets we wish everyone is staying safe and enjoying their winter holiday.
 
The following is a significant training announcement regarding our start up in January. As mentioned when we first started to navigate our training during a pandemic we were adamant that the Air Cadet program will not become a vector for transmission of Covid-19, because of this the decision was made provincially to delay our return to in-person training. 
 
To aline our squadron to this guidance we have extended our winter stand down for an additional week ending now on January 8th. No in-person training will be conducted prior to this date. Looking forward we were ensured an official decision from our regulating body regarding a return to in-person training will be made NLT the 7th of January.
 
So what does this mean for 525. As mentioned we have extended our winter stand down until the 8th of January, with a target of January 10th as our first night back. Once the official decision on how the new year will begin is made on the 7th of January we maybe forced to return to virtual training as until the pandemic allows for a safe return.
 
Please pay close attention to your emails and our SLACK channels as a announcement either way will be made by the adult staff here locally NLT 8th January, this will allow for a two day quick turn around to possibly stand our a virtual training program.
 
We know the outlook of a possible return virtually to training is not appealing, but I have all the confidence that our adult staff and senior cadets can deliver a successful training program while still emphasizing our core objectives.
 
Questions to your level officers.