More about me

I'd been a cadet two years when we won the wong band competition. We'd recently got a new bandmaster who drilled us hard to get things right. And with the new numbers he bought and the ones we made up with his help, the other bands were simply no match for us.

I was still waiting for my stripes but at this moment I didn't care, winning was that good.

Not only did we win, but we were doing band parades and 'gigs' every weekend. Sometimes as many as 3 or 4 per weekend. And we enjoyed it. When we weren't playing we were practicing and when not practicing we were hanging out. BBQs by the river, parties, you name it. Those were the days.

Winning the band competition at wing level meant going to the regional competition at Wittering and out performing the other winners in out region. Unfortunately, we came second by one single point. We out-played and out-shone the opposition in every aspect except one. Our slightly mismatched number 1 uniforms.

That one point would prove to be out downfall the next year when we'd be robbed of out title due to 'overcockyness'. But that's another story.

Something else happened at that very competition that finally earned me my stripes (although they still took another few months to get to me)

It happened to one of the other corporals and a new cadet. Sitting on the bus after playing and awaiting results we were all just having a laugh and eating. The corporal in question was sat next to this new female cadet with his number 1 jacket over his lap. None of us really thought anything of it.

And then the Warrent Officer walked onto the bus and demanded to see all the NCOs for a brief. The cadet jumped up and whipped her hand out from under the jacket and it dropped to the floor, revealing the corporals flies low and causing the two of them to turn very red.

To say the shit hit the fan is a massive understatement. We were all ordered to leave the bus whilst the WO torn strips out of them. Not that there was much point us leaving, everyword was heard as clear as day outside. And in fact cadets in other buses could probably hear.

But as funny as it was for us, it lost the guy his stripes. And then, a couple of months later, I was finally given mine.

The Kopp-Etchells Effect

Just wanted to share this amazing picture with you all.



The 'halos' on the helicopter blades are caused by friction between the blades and dust. basically static electricity but very cool.

You'll find more about it and where the name came from on the website of the man that took this and many more pictures on the frontline Michael Yon Online

A little about me

Given the fact I really don't have much to blog about until my PRTC in December and I don't want my blog to become stagnant and disused, I've decided to write a little about myself, my background and my decision itself.

This should take a few posts as my experiances with the forces and such are quite long and one post would be a rather boring essay.

I suppose the best place to start would be when I decided to join the Air Training Corps at the age of 12 and a bit.

I'd always been drawn towards the forces for some reason, and living quite close to Duxford IWM gave me a love for things that fly. Naturally, I wanted to be a pilot and so decided to join the ATC for that chance to fly.

I went along to my first parade night just after my 13th birthday and they began teaching me the basics of drill and how to behave whilst at the squadron.

I remained a fairly quiet kid for the first few months whilst I was starting to fit in. Although there were a few school friends at the squadron, I had a late birthday so the others had already formed friendships and it took time to feel comfortable and accepted.

The biggest difference came when I first put on that blue uniform. Even though I was a chubby lad and didn't look anywhere near as smart as I should have, it gave me a sense of really being part of the squadron and I made every effort to get better.

Fast forward a year and I was now a fully fledged member of the squdron and a snare player in the band. Joining the band really bought out a competitive streak in me. I HAD to be the best.

Between joining the band, taking part in field excercises and being a part of the wing field day team I was beginning to look for the next step in cadet life. Promotion.

It took a long time for me to get my corporal stripes. Every excuse was made by my CO as to why I wasn't receiving them. Everything from 'too many NCOs' and 'just promoted a new corporal' to 'as soon as you pass your JNCO course, you'll get them'

I'd done everything I could including my JNCO course but there were still no stripes for me. I was even doing the jobs a corporal would do but it wasnt getting me anywhere.

Funnily, the thing that finally go me my stripes was the actions of another corporal. Actions that got him demoted.

I shall update again soon to continue the story. Stay tuned