Suspension of In-Person Cadet Activities

Good evening.

As with the rest of the country, it appears that infection numbers in the Niagara Region have skyrocketed recently. This has prompted a requirement to return to virtual cadet training activities until further notice, per the message below this one.

This is not the scenario any of us were hoping for now that we’ve just begun returning to in-person training, but the health situation in our region demands that we act responsibly to ensure everyone’s safety.

We’re still planning a number of in-person events for when this restriction is lifted, but must settle for an online experience for the moment. Look out for a number of at-home activities and competitions we will have lined up for the next little while as well.

Our Remembrance Day activities will still happen tomorrow night, but we will be moving them to a Meet-based session. The schedule is as follows:

Opening Session

1845-1855

Level 1-5 Cadets

1900-1935 – Remembrance Day Activities
1940-2025 – Remembrance Day Activities

Closing Session

2025-2040

J Lemoine
Captain
Commanding Officer
809 Newark RCACS
Immortal!

Corps/Squadron COs:

  1. In order to maximize our efforts to enhance the safety of all who participate in the Cadet Program, we must ensure we remain aware of local conditions in the communities we serve. Over the past few weeks, the number of active cases of COVID-19 in Ontario has been increasing.  In particular, there has been an increase in communities within the jurisdiction of Niagara Region Public Health Services.
  2. We have started approving in-person training requests for corps/squadrons throughout Ontario.  However, due to the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Niagara Region, no in-person cadet activities will be authorized for any cadet units in the communities serviced by Niagara Region Public Health Services until further notice. Any previous approval for in-person training is withdrawn effective immediately.
  3. Cadet units in the Niagara Public Health Region are to continue with their virtual training program – ensuring engagement at all levels while prioritizing first and second-year cadets. Corps/squadron COs in this health region are also encouraged to continue planning for in-person activities without specific dates in order to be ready to commence in-person activities rapidly when conditions permit.
  4. To assist corps and squadron COs with tracking COVID-19 within their community/municipality, it is recommended you go to https://covid-19.ontario.ca/data to track cases within Ontario. Specific health services also have web trackers that you can access.

Questions may be directed to your Zone Training Officer or the undersigned.

Captain Michael Stacey, CD
J3 Zone Training Officer (Niagara and Greater Toronto Area)
Regional Cadet Support Unit Central
Canadian Armed Forces

Award Nominations – 2019/2020 Training Year

Good afternoon.

As promised, the form for submitting nominations for last training year is now on-line at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc6cgpMnwpVFM9Tvy-8L_eNPTeR_j7DksVxiNYz6Y7-5O6x8w/viewform

You must be logged in to Google Workspace using your 809cadets.ca email account in order to access the form.

Award descriptions can be found on the 809 Newark RCACS web site at the following link: https://809cadets.ca/cadets/squadron-awards/

Do not nominate a cadet for an award if you are not eligible to do so. See the description for each award to see who is eligible to make a nomination. Self-nominations will be accepted, but will have less weight than a nomination made for someone else will.

Remember to include as much detail as possible in the justification. This can add weight to the nomination.

Nominations for the 2019/2020 training year must be made before 30 November 2020 so that we can present all of the awards before our winter stand-down.

J Lemoine
Captain
Commanding Officer
809 Newark RCACS
Immortal!

Updated COVID-19 Safety Plan

Good afternoon.

As discussed earlier, we’ve updated our COVID-19 Safety Plan to establish standards for departure from in-person activities. The updated safety plan can be accessed at the following link.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LCUIKJrimnYVrs61sdubjiZ5OrWOHLyL7sL317qVOX0/view

Changes are tracked in the Change Record at Annex D of the document, but the key update can be found in the new “Departure From Site” section.

This change is effective immediately.

If there are any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

J Lemoine
Captain
Commanding Officer
809 Newark RCACS
Immortal!

Weekly Routine Orders – Week of 8 Nov 2020

Date
8 Nov 2020

RO Number
2020-25

CO’s Message

This week, we’re back to in-person training with our remaining staff members and senior cadets in charge of our squadron’s Remembrance Day observations. Dress is 1A for CAF members and C1A for all cadets.

Later this month, for our level three (and above) cadets, there is a virtual leadership workshop taking place hosted by 358 Sir Isaac Brock RCSCC (Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps). If any level cadets are interested in signing up for the workshop, please let me know and I’ll ensure that you get signed up.

See you on Wednesday!

Training Night
11 Nov 2020

Training Night Schedule
See the Events Calendar.

CAF Member Dress
1A

Cadet Dress
C1A: All Cadets

Duty Personnel
Duty Officer: OCdt Couroux
Duty NCM: FSgt Bell

This Week’s Activities

Date Day Activity Location Dress OIC
11 Nov 2020
1810-2100		 Remembrance Day Wednesday 809 HQ C1A OCdt Couroux

Upcoming Activities

Date Day Activity Location Dress OIC
18 Nov 2020
1810-2100		 Regular Training Night Wednesday 809 HQ C3/C3D Lt Russell
28 Nov 2020
0900-1600		 Saturday Cadet Leadership Workshop Virtual C5  

J. Lemoine
Captain
Commanding Officer
809 Newark RCACS
Immortal!

In-Person to Virtual

Good evening, everyone.

Unfortunately, we’ve run into a situation where two members of our staff are feeling ill and will not be able to attend tonight, so we’re moving training to virtual attendance for this week. There is no reason to think that there has been any risk to the cadets or remaining staff members, but we’re being cautious over the matter regardless. More information will be forthcoming as soon as we have it.

Dress for the evening is still C3B for Sgts and above, C3F for FCpls and below.

Links are posted below for Classrooms and Meets, but remember that you need to be logged into the site to see these.

J Lemoine
Captain
Commanding Officer
809 Newark RCACS
Immortal!

Opening Session

1845-1855

Level 1 Cadets

1900-1935
1940-2025

Level 2 Cadets

1900-1935
1940-2025

Level 3 Cadets

1900-1935
1940-2025

Level 4 Cadets

1900-1935
1940-2025

Closing Session

2025-2040

Weekly Routine Orders – Week of 1 Nov 2020

Date
1 Nov 2020

RO Number
2020-24

CO’s Message

Congratulations to all of the cadets who received the uniform updates for their promotions last week. If you weren’t in attendance, don’t worry. We’ve got your slip-ons, rank badges, and level badges waiting for you and will issue them as soon as we see you. When everyone has them and we have a complete set of pictures, Sgts Couroux and Abt will be working on a collage so that everyone who couldn’t be there can share in our cadets’ accomplishments.

Once again, there will be a virtual meeting on Google Meet for parents/guardians of existing and new cadets where we will outline how 809 Newark Squadron will be delivering the air cadet program this year. For new cadets and their parents/guardians, this will be a summary of the cadet program, our objectives for the training year, and a comparison of how we will be operating versus how we operate normally. For parents and guardians of existing cadets, this will be an overview of changes that have become necessary in the face of COVID-19. A Q&A session will follow the presentation. If you know of any potential new cadets who might be interested in joining us, please direct them to one of these sessions. If further dates need to be scheduled, those can be done as required.

As of Friday, 30 Oct, the Legion Poppy Campaign has begun. Until the end of Remembrance Day itself, the Poppy is a mandatory component of the air cadet uniform. When wearing tunics or shirts with pockets, the Poppy is worn centred on the flap of the left breast pocket. When wearing sweaters or t-shirts, the Poppy is worn approximately over the heart. We won’t be participating in the Poppy Campaign directly this year due to COVID-19 restrictions, but we will still be observing the season in our own fashion. If you do not already have a Poppy for your uniform, we will have them at HQ when you arrive for training.

See you on Wednesday!

Training Night
4 Nov 2020

Training Night Schedule
See the Events Calendar.

CAF Member Dress
3B

Cadet Dress
C3B: Sgt, FSgt, WO2, WO1
C3F: AC, LAC, Cpl, FCpl

Duty Personnel
Duty Officer: 2Lt Nicolescu
Duty NCM: FSgt Lampman

This Week’s Activities

Date Day Activity Location Dress OIC
2 Nov 2020
1900-2000		 Monday Virtual Information Session for Parents and New Cadets Google Meet) Civilian Capt Lemoine
4 Nov 2020
1810-2100		 Regular Training Night Wednesday 809 HQ C3B/C3F 2Lt Nicolescu

Upcoming Activities

Date Day Activity Location Dress OIC
11 Nov 2020
1810-2100		 Remembrance Day Wednesday 809 HQ C1A OCdt Couroux
28 Nov 2020
0900-1600		 Saturday Cadet Leadership Workshop RCL Branch 418, 294 Vine Street, St. Catharines, ON L2M 4T3 and Virtual C5  

J. Lemoine
Captain
Commanding Officer
809 Newark RCACS
Immortal!

Remembrance

Tomorrow, the Royal Canadian Legion begins its annual Poppy Campaign. Under normal circumstances, our staff and cadets would be participating in the campaign, giving due consideration to what it means, and taking the opportunity to learn from our veterans about their experiences in times of conflict. Many of these opportunities aren’t going to be available this year due to the constraints of COVID-19 preparedness, but it is still our responsibility to take the time to think of what it all means.

Tales of war will fill our consciousness over the next few weeks, not because we give these things any kind of reverence or glory themselves, but because of the people who were and are willing to give everything for their loved ones, their communities, and their country. The Poppy and Remembrance are not about war, though war figures into the stories. They are about ensuring that the memory of war remains strong enough that we know it for the horror that it is. They are about holding everlasting respect for those who are willing to step up and do what their country calls them to do, without knowing the sacrifices that might have to be made for it. They are about knowing those sacrifices as our own, remembering the losses as our own losses, and feeling the pain that our veterans live with each day as our own pain.

Remembrance is about more than the consideration of the memories and sacrifices of others. It is about ensuring that these are always a part of who we are. It is about making them immortal.

From tomorrow until Remembrance Day on 11 November, the Poppy is to be worn on cadet and CAF uniforms, and I encourage everyone to consider its deeper significance while they wear it.

I’ll leave you with the Royal Canadian Air Force’s video production of HCol Loreena McKennitt‘s “Breaking of the Sword” to set the tone for the next weeks.

Be safe. Stay healthy. Remember.

J Lemoine
Captain
Commanding Officer
809 Newark RCACS
Immortal!