Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to commit the great conquest
A cadet career
Or pursue other paths
The chance of being 809
Of being immortal
(sorry I couldn’t help myself)
Good Morning Everyone,
In Capt. Lemoine’s recent WRO he requested all returning cadets send an email to me (matthew.russell@809cadets.ca) indicating your intentions for cadets this year. I have only received one email thus far and I do hope we will have more than just one cadet returning.
Please ensure this email is sent before 1900 (7pm) today, so that this can be apart of our staff discussions.
We’re beginning September with a bit more on-line preparation for what we hope will be a resumption of in-person training in October. This involves some paperwork, some preparation on the part of staff and instructors, and some uniform/supply work before we can get started.
Per my previous message, we’ll need new sizing for everyone so that we can get the correct uniforms into everyone’s hands before we get started.
We’ll also need to know who’s returning and who isn’t so that we can normalize our records. We’re finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel here and we don’t want to lose anyone when we’re so close to getting back on track, but we need to know for certain if that’s what’s happening. Please contact Lt Russell at matthew.russell@809cadets.ca and let him know your plans at your earliest opportunity.
As we find out more information, you’ll be informed right away.
Staff/Instructor Review Night (Staff and Instructors Only)
15 September 2021
Welcome back, 809. After a long absence it looks like we’re on the verge of doing in person training once again. So, make sure your hair is cut, your uniform fits and your boots are polished cause here we go.
So, as always, here are some important dates in history for this week (and also from earlier this past summer):
1/ September 11, 2001 – 911 20th Anniversary
(From the Canadian Armed Forces facebook page) September 11, 2001 will always be remembered as a day of tragedy, which claimed nearly 3,000 lives, including 24 Canadians. But it was also a day when Canadians demonstrated the kindness, generosity and resilience of the human spirit. In the aftermath of the deadly attacks, Canada activated Operation Yellow Ribbon to divert flights and clear the airspace throughout Canada. The town of Gander, Newfoundland, was a key part of the efforts. Thirty-eight flights and nearly 6,600 passengers were diverted to 9 Wing Gander, which handled security, transportation, telecommunications, and the unloading of aircraft. Meanwhile, Residents of the town also jumped into action and helped in any way they could. They donated food, provided bedding, created shelters, and even welcomed passengers into their homes. In 2016, New Yorkers thanked the residents of Gander for their help and gifted the town with a piece of steel from the World Trade Center’s south tower. Passengers also donated their mementos from Gander to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. 20 years after 9/11 – #WeRemember. We will #NeverForget
2/ Battle of Britain Sunday – Sunday, September 18
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few” – Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, 20 August, 1940
Every year, on the third Sunday of September, the RCAF celebrates Battle of Britain Sunday to commemorate the victory over the Luftwaffe in the skies of England. We also recognize the loss of Canadian lives during the conflict. It was a great moment for our Air Force.
More information regarding the origins of the Battle of Britain ceremony can be found at this link:
3/ CJCR Has a new Commander – Welcome Brigadier-General Jamie Speiser-Blanchet
809 Sqn would like to welcome Air Force Brigadier-General Jamie Spieser-Blanchet as the new commander of the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers. General Spieser-Blanchet assumed command on June 30, 2021 from outgoing commander, Navy Commodore Josee Kurtz. To Commodore Kurtz, good luck in your new assignment as Commandant and Vice-Chancellor of Royal Military College of Canada (RMC).
That’s all for this week. For the instructors, see you all virtually on Wednesday. For everyone else, I hope to see you during your uniform exchanges.
I know everyone has been waiting to hear about how we’re beginning our 2021/22 training year and I’m excited to be able to outline our initial plans this morning. Obviously, some of this is tentative based on the state of current COVID-19 measures, but we’re optimistic that we can get back to in-person training in the next month. We’ll start with some virtual activities in preparation for a proper start and the approval of in-person training, but the bulk of these are administrative and shouldn’t take away from the program that we know and love.
Our first administrative matters will be annual validation forms and uniform exchanges. We’ll be sending out the validation forms for you to review and return over the next few days. For uniform exchanges, we’re going to have everyone fill out the sizing forms for both dress and field uniforms so that CI Dau can have everything ready for you on our uniform exchange nights this month. Links to those forms can be found below and we’re asking that those be filled out as soon as possible. Some items may need to be ordered and we want to minimize any unnecessary delays.
We’re also looking to welcome new cadets beginning on our first (tentative) in-person training night in October. If you know someone who you think would get a lot out of our program, bring them out that night or on any following training night.
Here’s our tentative outline for the first few months:
2021/9/15 – Staff/Instructors’ Training Meeting to Review the Year’s Training Plan
2021/9/22 – Administration Night, Uniform Exchanges, Instructional Techniques Review for Instructors
2021/9/29 – Administration Night, Uniform Exchanges, Instructional Techniques Review for Instructors
2021/10/6 – First In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/10/13 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/10/20 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/10/27 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/11/3 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/11/10 – In-Person Training Night – Remembrance Day Preparations (Tentative)
2021/11/11 – Remembrance Day Activities (Tentative)
2021/11/17 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/11/24 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/12/1 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/12/8 – In-Person Training Night (Tentative)
2021/12/15 – Annual Mess Dinner (Tentative)
2021/12/16 – 2022/1/6 – Winter Stand-Down (No Training)
The above schedule doesn’t include Monday night training activities and field training exercises. Once we have everything lined up for the regular schedule, we’ll be working to get these solidified as soon as possible.
Weekly Routine Orders outlining specifics will commence tomorrow and will outline any necessary adjustments to the above.
We’re looking forward to seeing everyone and finally restarting our cadet program in full. Welcome back! I hope you’re all as enthusiastic as we are!
Sadly, we announce the passing of F/Lt (Retired) Sam Kingdon, CD of 809 Newark RCACS’ Squadron Sponsorship Committee. Sam was an avid supporter of our cadets for many years and the loss of his input (and wry wit) will be felt for years to come.
Rest well, Sam. Thank you for your commitment and for giving us an example to follow.
Hendriks Valu-Mart Bursary
Wally May Trophy for Best NCO
LCol (Retired) Kenn Moody, CD Award for Scholastic and Community Achievement
Capt Arnold Didur Memorial Award for Most Improved Cadet
Air Cadet Long Service Medals
Air Cadet Long Service Medal – 1st Bar
Air Cadet Long Service Medal – 2nd Bar
2020/2021 Training Year Special Awards
Annual Ceremonial Review Presentations
Captain Brian Howard, CD Memorial Award for Squadron Warrant Officer
Best First Year Cadet
Capt Dave Leonard, CD Award
Lord Strathcona Medal
Lorne Patterson Memorial Award for Best Overall Cadet
For those who have not submitted their information for the Awards Banquet on Wednesday, it’s important that you fill out the form tonight. The SSC needs to submit final numbers, so if your name isn’t on the list, you’ll be on the hook for getting your own dinner for the event… and nobody should miss out on free food.
This is the last publication of WROs for training year 2020/21. We made it through and have high hopes for a resumption of in-person training in September!
This week, we will be merging our traditional Awards Banquet, Annual Ceremonial Review, and SWO Change of Command into one event on our last training night this coming Wednesday. We’re doing something similar to our Virtual Mess Dinner in December, where we arrange to have dinner delivered to your home and conduct the event virtually. Were we meeting in-person for these events, we would be expecting family members as well as cadets to be in attendance. This year, the Squadron Sponsorship Committee is generously providing a large enough meal so that our cadets and their families can enjoy our end-of-year celebrations with their cadets.
Dinner is being delivered to your home. It is IMPORTANT that you fill in the Virtual Awards Banquet Form to indicate your attendance and any dietary restrictions NO LATER THAN 1900 (7:00pm) on Monday, 31 May. Failing to do so does not prevent you from attending, but you’ll be on your own for dinner.
If any of our cadets will not be attending the banquet on Wednesday, please let me know as soon as possible.
We’re relaxing the formality of the Awards Banquet as well, considering the medium. We would normally be in 1A (CAF) or C1A (cadets) for an event like this, but we’re going to stick to 3B (CAF) and C3F (cadets) for the virtual event.
We’re down to our second last week! COVID numbers are falling, vaccination number are rising and I can almost smell a return to normalcy in the air! Summer will tell the tale, but I’m highly optimistic that we’ll be back to normal in September.
We’re coming off of a long weekend and so there will be no optional activities on Monday night, but we’ll be back to regular training on Wednesday. I hope the L3 and L4 cadets took advantage of the review yesterday and are all prepared for Wednesday. If for whatever reason, you need to do a refresher, remember that we have the review guides on the web site:
