722SQN cadets back to basics

At boot camp, 722SQN cadets working together to perform their morning routine.

No. 722 Squadron Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) in the remote Kimberley region had first-hand experience at a recruit and field craft camp on at RAAF Curtin.

The camp provided the opportunity to expose new cadets to the RAAF environment and culture.

According to organisers, the outing was successful with cadets enthusiastically involving themselves in all activities, including demonstrations of survival techniques in dry conditions, the rigours of digging a camp in and the task of preparing the daily routine under field conditions.

Caretaker staff at RAAF Curtin, led by Flight Sergeant Jim Chapman and assisted by Corporal Mick Farrugia, Corporal Nick Mitchell and Leading Aircraftman Craig Eisenhuth with 396 Combat Support Wing, provided assistance with field accommodation, instruction on living in the field, and an appreciation of life on a remote RAAF base.

No. 722 Squadron, under Commanding Officer Pilot Officer (AAFC) Karen Hunt, reside at Derby in the Kimberley Region in the far north-west of Western Australia, and is probably the most isolated AAFC Squadron.

Most squadrons throughout Australia have access to Defence facilities routinely, yet cadets from 722SQN travel to RAAF Base Pearce for annual camps and promotion courses.

722SQN normally miss out on the training opportunities the Base can afford, largely due to the enormous expense of flying cadets to and from Derby and RAAF Base Pearce.

One of the AAFC's newest squadrons, 722SQN draws recruits from a rural town of only 4500 people. This being the case, the Squadron has significant difficulties attracting sufficient recruits, particularly when many of the region's youth live on pastoral properties and attend school in other areas.

RAAF Base Curtin is normally a bare base, but currently accommodates refugees on behalf of the Department of Immigration, and this essentially excludes its use for Defence exercises, including the AAFC. However, FSGT Chapman, to his credit, organised the camp without impacting cadet activity on other base tenants.

By SQNLDR Warren Bishop