The gym at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex was filled with the quiet steps of boots worn by air cadets young and old June 17, as the 230 Athabasca Royal Canadian Air Cadets celebrated their 75th anniversary.
Offering a parade and dinner for with a parade and dinner for cadets, families and past graduates of the program, the event drew over 100 people.
Training officer Karl Kopan guided the audience through the parade and the accompanying annual regimental inspection, explaining military procedures and the criteria for promotions.
“(Each cadet) has made their own personal victories in developing their own skills in becoming stronger and more confident individuals,” Kopan, who was also the emcee, said. “We’re proud of them all.”
Air Cadets is a military program that empowers youth 12-18 with leadership and survival skills. The cadets often also help clean up and protect local communities.
Several cadets received promotions during the anniversary ceremonies.
Scott Gauthier, a graduating senior cadet, received awards and a scholarship for his hard work in the cadets.
Gauthier, who originally enrolled to improve his chances of becoming a pilot one day, will complete his pilot’s license this summer through a scholarship from the program and attend the University of Alberta in the fall.
“I saw (Air Cadets) as a way to kind of further myself in the aviation industry,” he said. “But then it sort of became more of a leadership thing.”
Between the parade and the dinner, cadets showed their parents weapons, basic survival tools and a flight simulator.
Edwin Brown, who enrolled in air cadets in the fall of 1956, walked through the displays, stopping to talk about guns.
“You can tell cadets, the way they carry themselves,” Brown said. “The look after their grooming, probably better than the majority of people.
The Royal Canadian Air Cadet program was created in 1941 to train young men as pilots for the Second World War. Now, it trains youth ages 12-18 in leadership, survival, aviation and military practices.
Ed Tomaszyk joined Air Cadets the same year Brown did. At the anniversary event, he talked about weapons with young cadets and reflected on how the training he received as a teenager impacted his life.
“It sort of becomes second nature to a person’s personality,” he said. “One becomes comfortable in leadership rolls, even in the community.”
