Clutching a white teddy bear, Air Cadet Jasmine Kruschel may have looked uneasy but she was far from a camp neophyte standing in line at an intake station at the Penhold Air Cadet Summer Training Centre on Sunday.
Kruschel, a cadet from Thunder Bay, Ont. has gone through the intake routine a few times in her five years as an air cadet.
The teddy bear, a present from her boyfriend, was a little piece of home.
In the next six weeks of camp, Kruschel, 15, hopes to excel in the new Leadership and Ceremonial Instructor course where she hopes to improve her leadership skills.
Throughout the weekend, the cadet training centre took in about 700 air, army and navy cadets for either two, three or six week training courses.
More than 1,400 cadets aged 12 to 19 are expected to train throughout July and August.
Mostly the cadets come from Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan but there are cadets from the Maritime provinces and Ontario.
Cadets can either apply or be assigned to take General Training, Basic Music, Basic Leadership and the three new courses of Air Rifle Marksmanship Instructor, Leadership and Ceremonial Instructor and Intermediate Musician course.
Public Affairs officer and navy Sub-Lt. Jessica Cameron said as the cadet program continues to evolve and change they have had to add new courses and tweak others.
For example, on the sea side of things they have implemented the use of nautical charts.
Cameron said this is a typical year for the camp intake but it really depends on the years.
On the music side of things, enrolment was down somewhat. In other areas they have increased.
“It is really a hit and a miss on the numbers,” she said.
Cameron said overall membership generally depends on location. But the one thing every cadet squad struggles with is retention.
“We can get the cadets in but about the third year they are starting to drop out and lose interest as they get older,” she said. “We’re trying to build that and keep it going.”
Air cadet Jeff Tunke, 15, of Grande Prairie and Karson Fitzsimons, 13, of Calgary do not need the extra push. Tunke has been a cadet for a year and already has his sights on becoming a jet fighter pilot. Tunke hopes to improve his leadership skills in the three-week basic leadership course over the summer. All three cadets are excited to get down to work.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com