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41| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,O ctober 18,2018 theifp.ca Thursday, November 1st, 2018 at 7pm Hillsview Active Living Centre (318 Guelph St., Georgetown) Welcome to all Members in Good Standing If you have any questions please contact deedeeridley@gmail.com 2018 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NOTICE PRESENTED BY TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Nov. 23rd, 24th, 29th, 30th, Dec. 1st at 8pm Nov. 24th, 25th, Dec. 1st, 2nd at 2pm John Elliott Theatre Box Office: 9 Church St., Georgetown Phone: 905-877-3700 PRESENTED BY B B E E A A And The S uT T yEAu T I stood there, clad in a green military suit trying desperately to tie a knot. Around me, 12- and 13- year-old air cadets effort- lessly wove their string into the various knots be- ing demonstrated for them by Captain Greg Siekierko of the 756 Wild Goose Squadron. "Over, under, ... nope," I find myself muttering, looking over my shoulder at the young girl beside me, trying to copy what she did. I sat in on the field training weekend for the Georgetown cadet group, which twice annually practices skills like GPS tracking, starting signal fires and radio communi- cations while camping out for the evening. As an arts-oriented kid, I didn't sign up for group activities and sports. Before this weekend, my idea of air cadets was limited to pictures of chil- dren marching in blue uniforms with funky hats. As I learned, it's about so much more. Cadets aged 12 to 17 came out to Everton Scout Camp in Guelph- Eramosa, where they set up five- and 10-man mili- tary-issued tents in the park. I watch as the cadets carefully unpack the dark green cone-shaped fabric, older cadets show- ing younger ones how it's done. "Do you hear me?" said one older girl to the boy standing with a pole in- side the tent, trying to get it straight. He couldn't see any- thing under the darkness of the green tarp and blindly tried to straight- en the pole upright. "Move the pole closer to me," she said to the boy, as the others look on with anchoring pegs in hand. The weekend was a constant practice of teamwork, with older ca- dets leading younger ones in each class. From delegating who keeps track of test scores on the GPS exam, to cleanup after breakfast, lunch and dinner, the old- er scouts all worked to- gether to make sure it goes smoothly. This display of team- work and leadership was far from what I envi- sioned a military-based program to be. I expected a handful of highly militant, menac- ing ex-army types bark- ing commands at scram- bling children. Instead, I saw a group of cadet leaders helping and guiding cadets through tasks and giving input on encouraging older cadets to take the lead. These are the skills, they explained, encour- age cadets to pursue a va- riety of different careers later in life. From search-and-res- cue and commercial pi- lots, who drew inspira- tion from their early fly- ing experiences with the air cadets, to teachers, who found their passion for helping others while teaching a few peers how to plot GPS co-ordinates - the program appears to be a genesis for young leaders. So, as I was getting ready to settle into my camp quarters for the night, the captain asked if I wanted to share my thoughts on the day as the older cadets debriefed with him. I told them I was in awe of the skills that they were picking up. Aside from the obvious survival skills they'd ob- tained over the weekend, there would be a time in their lives, maybe 10 years later, when they'd realize the value of those weekends in the bush. NEWS HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN I TRIED TO BE AN AIR CADET FOR A WEEKEND ALEXANDRA HECK aheck@metroland.com IFP reporter Alexandra Heck tries to complete cadets training tasks like knotting rope. SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA