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Royal Air Force Air Cadets

Field	Value
unit_name	Royal Air Force Air Cadets
image	RAFAC.jpg
image_size	175px
dates	– present
country	United Kingdom
branch	(sponsor)
type	Volunteer youth organisation
role
command_structure	No. 22 Group RAF
garrison	RAF Cranwell
garrison_label	Headquarters
patron	The Princess of Wales
motto	Venture Adventure
commander1	Air Commodore Al Lewis
commander1_label	Commandant Air Cadets
commander2	Warrant Officer Donna Hall
commander2_label	Warrant Officer
commander3	Wing Commander Emma Wolstenholme
commander3_label	Honorary Ambassador
commander4	Mr S.J. Ensor
commander4_label	National Chair
commander5	Reverend Gareth Jones
commander5_label	National Chaplain
colonel_of_the_regiment_label	Commandant Air Cadets
identification_symbol_label	Ensign
aircraft_trainer
website

The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is the combined volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force, which is formed by both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force. The organisation is headed by a serving RAF officer, Commandant Air Cadets. The current commandant is Air Commodore Al Lewis. In addition to the Commandant, who is responsible for the organisation’s uniformed activities, RAFAC also has a National Chair, who serves as the senior representative of the trustee pillar; the current incumbent is Mr Stuart Ensor OBE.

Prior to 1 October 2017, the RAFAC was called the Air Cadet Organisation. As of 1 April 2023, the RAFAC had a strength of 42,190 cadets and 10,070 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs), along with ~5,000 trustees. Cadets are aged between 12 and 17 on entry to the organisation, and can remain until they are 18, or with special permission, until they are 20.

Organisation

The RAFAC consists of:

Headquarters RAF Air Cadets (HQRAFAC) at RAF Cranwell
6 Regional Headquarters
34 Wing Headquarters
Two National Air Cadet Adventure Training Centres, at Windermere (in the Lake District) and in Wales
Over 900 Air Training Corps Squadrons in the UK and overseas
Around 200 RAF contingents of the Combined Cadet Force

Regions

Main article: Air Training Corps#Structure and organisation

The six regions are:

London and South East Region (LaSER)
South West Region (SW)
Wales and West Region (W&W)
Central and East Region (C&E)
North Region
Scotland and Northern Ireland Region (S&NI)

Each region is commanded by a "Regional Commandant" (RC), who holds the rank of Group Captain, and is usually retired regular RAF. The region is further staffed by a number of Cadet Forces Adult Volunteers who maintain the day-to-day operations of each of the regions. Examples of these posts include Region Staff Officer, Region Training Officer, and Region STEM Officer.

RAFAC Sections of the Combined Cadet Force

Air Cadet sections within the Combined Cadet Force usually follow their own chain of command within their school's unit. Above their school unit, they diverge into the same chain of command as the Air Training Corps, which is usually their Wing or Region.

Trustee governance

Main article: Air Training Corps#Civilian committees

In addition to the uniformed command structure, the Air Training Corps squadrons are supported by a parallel trustee pillar, responsible for managing non-public funds and ensuring lawful governance. Trustees operate at squadron, wing, regional, and national levels. The National Chair, who is the senior representative of the trustee pillar, is Mr Stuart Ensor OBE

Activities

Main article: Activities of the Air Training Corps

Air Cadet activities vary greatly, but commonly include:

First aid
Radio
NavEx (Navigational Exercise)
Physical activities
Drill and discipline
Band and music
Camps
Leadership

There are also less frequent, but enriching, activities. Examples include:

Gliding, at a Volunteer Gliding Squadron
Flying (on an RAF base)
RAF base visits
Shooting
International trips, such as visits to RAF Akrotiri
International Air Cadet Exchange, an exchange programme within the cadets of other air forces
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

References

"RAFAC timeline: 1941". RAFAC.
(15 August 2024). "New Commandant Royal Air Force Air Cadets announced".
(31 December 2023). "Royal Air Force Air Cadets New Year Honours List 2024".
(30 November 2025). "New National Chaplain for the RAF Air Cadets".
"ATC & CCF (RAF)".
(2023-12-29). "Order of the British Empire".
"Royal Air Force Air Cadets New Year Honours List 2024".
(Winter 2017). "HM The Queen Approves New Commission For Cadet Force Volunteers". Warners Midlands plc.
"MOD sponsored cadet forces statistics: 2023".
"Join as a cadet".
(22 September 2021). "Royal outdoors adventure with Air Cadets".
"Contact us".
"About Us".
"Region Staff".
"Why join as a volunteer".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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