Every year we are joined by over 200 Cadets and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers of the Sea Cadet Corps and Royal Air Force Air Cadets from across the West Midlands, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire who take part in the Opening Ceremony and Grand Finale, and Army and Combined Cadet Force Cadets who play an important role in the Arena.
The MOD sponsored Cadet Forces play an important role in providing a uniformed footprint for their parent services; the Royal Navy, Army and the Royal Air Force, in their local communities as well as at the Birmingham Tattoo and help raise an awareness of the incredible opportunities and training available to the youth in the United Kingdom.
The Sea Cadet Corps (SCC) is a national youth charity, working with 15,000 young people between 10 and 18 years old across the UK. It has over 400 units across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Malta and Bermuda all run by 9,000 volunteers. Cadets follow a similar ethos, training plan, and ranks, to the Royal Navy, and are recognized by the UK Ministry of Defence.
Cadets follow the Cadet Training Programme (CTP) which covers various water based activities and skills as well as first aid and leadership. Royal Marine Cadets also complete the CTP but have additional elements such as campcraft amongst others.
The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is a volunteer-military youth organisation sponsored by the Royal Air Force that manages both the Air Training Corps and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force.
There are over 40,000 cadets and 10,000 adult volunteers in nearly 1000 Squadrons and 200 RAF Contingents of the CCF in schools across the UK and overseas with units in Gibraltar and Akrotiri in Cyprus.
Activities include sport, adventurous training (such as walking and paddle-sports), ceremonial drill, rifle shooting, fieldcraft, powered aircraft and glider flying, and other outdoor activities, as well as classification training leading up to a BTEC in Aviation Studies. Week-long trips to RAF stations, or camps offering adventure training or music, allow the opportunity for cadets to gain a taste of military life and often to gain some flying experience in RAF gliders and RAF training aircraft such as the Grob Tutor.
The Army Cadet Force (ACF) is one of four cadet organisations sponsored and supported by the Ministry of Defence.
For action and adventure, fun and friendship, the Army Cadet Force is hard to beat. With nearly 39,000 cadets (aged 12-18) and 9,000 adults in over 1,600 locations in every corner of the United Kingdom, the ACF is one of the country’s largest voluntary youth organisations. It is also one of the oldest tracing its history back to 1859.
Over 400 secondary schools in the UK already have a Combined Cadet Force (CCF) contingent, and the CCF is growing. The organisation, run by committed and passionate volunteers within schools, provides young people with life-changing opportunities that few other extra-curricular activities can come close to competing with.
