General Manager of Aerospace Support for Boeing Australia presents, Mr Colin Giles, presents cadet FSGT Russell with a Boeing sponsorship cheque for $1000.

The Australian Air Training Corps (AIRTC) will dramatically expand its overseas experience program through a $60,000 two-year sponsorship from Boeing Australia Limited.

The sponsorship opens the opportunity for overseas travel to many more of the AIRTC's 8000 members from all over Australia. The Corps is the RAAF component of the Australian Services Cadet Scheme, a youth training program supported by the Department of Defence.

The International Air Cadet Exchange started in the early 1960s, and now involves two weeks in Canada, the USA, Britain, Sweden, Japan, Hong Kong or the Philippines. Annual reciprocal visits to Australia of these host countries are also eagerly awaited by the AIRTC.

Australia has eight AIRTC Squadrons organised on the State lines and 136 flights in both rural and suburban Australia. Activities include flying training, visits to RAAF units and aerospace companies, camps on Air Force bases, gliding and parachuting.

'We see this sponsorship as a key investment in the future leadership of the Australian Defence Forces,' Mr Colin Giles, General Manager of Aerospace Support for Boeing Australia, said. 'The value of the overseas aviation and cultural exchange is well proven and our assistance will bring travel within the reach of many more cadets that are willing to contribute to their future.'

Welcoming the sponsorship, the AIRTC National Council Chairman, Air Vice-Marshal Bob Richardson, said it was interesting to note that more than half the 'most senior' ranks in the ADF had been cadets.

'If and when cadets join the ADF, they already have a pretty good idea of what is required, and at a time when the cost of Defence recruiting is under scrutiny, the time and money spent on the AIRTC has proved to be a sound investment,' he said.

'The Boeing Australian International Air Cadet Exchange will give young people of limited means the opportunity to travel and experience other cultures which will also be beneficial to their future careers.'

For further information contact Wing Commander (AIRTC) Peter Summers on
0418 897 489.