735 Firebird Squadron - Dundas


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About Us

Organization

The Air Cadet Organization is possible through a partnership between the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces and the Air Cadet League of Canada. On 9 April 1941, the Air Cadet League received a Dominion Charter. This Charter officially established the Air Cadet League.

Below the National level, both DND and the ACL have subordinate groups at a Provincial or Regional level, then at an Area or Zone level and then locally at the Squadron level.

Locally, the Squadron Commanding Officer and the Squadron Sponsoring Committee Chairperson work together to produce a dynamic, fun and interesting program for the Cadets.

Generally speaking, Cadets who have a question or issue can speak with any person in any of these positions

Squadrons tend to encourage Cadets follow the 'Chain of Command'. That is, for them to report to their Flight Sergeant or the Squadron Warrant Officer (essentially their supervisor). If they do not get a resolution, Cadets are free to speak with any of the Squadron Staff.

The typical Squadron Organization Chart will look something like this:

Personel

 Staff

The staff are responsible for running the Squadron's administration, supply, mandatory and optional training activities.

Commanding Officer: Captain Sean MacNamara, CD
Deputy Commanding Officer: Second Lieutenant Alex Prine

Training Staff

Level 1 Staff:	CI Hartnett	CI Malette
Level 2 Staff:	OCDT A. DeAbreu	CI B. Kamal
Level 3 Staff:	Capt Reddy
Level 4 Staff:	2Lt M. Forster
Level 5 Staff:	Lt S. MacNamara, CD	CI H. Onufer

Administration Officer: Lieutenant Kenneth Liggins
Assistant Admin. Officer: Civilian Instructor Heather Onufer
Supply Officer: Civilian Instructor Graham Shaw
Music Training Officer: To be filled
Support Officer: Civilian Instructor Leo Sham

Senior Cadets

The senior cadets are instructors as well as hold parade positions. Cadets with rank are called Non Commissioned Members (NCM for short).

The senior NCMs in 735 Squadron are as follows:

Squadron Warrant Officer: Warrant Officer 1st Class John Sellens
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Michael McNaughton
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Joshua Jo
Warrant Officer 2nd Class Olivia MacNamara

Sponsoring Committee

A basic requirement in the operation of an Air Cadet squadron is financial support. The Canadian Forces provides some personnel, equipment and financial support to Cadet units. The remaining requirements must be met by local sponsorship. Local sponsorhip is coordinated by the Air Cadet League of Canada in the form of a Squadron Sponsoring Committee (SSC).

There are no registration fees, dues or costs for the uniforms or the basic Cadet training. Cadets and parents are encouraged to participate in fundraising on behalf of the local sponsor and League to cover those costs not covered by the Canadian Forces. Additionally, the Sponsor Us - Become a Sponsor page describes how people can financially support the Squadron.

735 Firebird Squadron is generously supported by Valley City Branch 36 Royal Canadian Legion in Dundas, ON and by Waterdown Branch 551 Royal Canadian Legion in Waterdown, Ontario.

If you are interested in donating time, money or other support to 735 Sqn, please Contact Us.

The current Sponsoring Committee members are:

Danielle Bawden - Air Cadet League Director

Kari Seguin-Laur - Sponsoring Committee Chair Person

Sandra Spenser - Treasurer

Khari Onufer - MemberKhari Onufer - Member

NEW Larissa Aldridge – Membership in progress

NEW Silvia Baltaga – Membership in progress

Cathy Sellens – Membership in process

Training

There are 2 types of Cadet Training:

Local Squadron Training is conducted at Air Cadet Squadrons in communities across Canada from September through June - mirroring the normal academic school year.

Summer Training takes place in July and August at Cadet Summer Training Centres across Canada and at destinations around the world.

Training - Local

The Cadet training program is defined nationally by the Directorate of Cadets in Ottawa. The program is broken down into 5 years of training. Each year the subjects are studied in greater detail and pose challenges to the Cadets.

Cadets in the higher levels put their knowledge and skills to practice by taking on instructional and leadership roles.

The core training is conducted on a weekly training night. Additional training and optional activities are conducted on other evenings and weekends.

The subjects taught are called 'Performance Objectives' or PO for short. POs taught during the first year as a Cadet will include:

Click here to show/hide PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES list for Level 1

- Participate in Citizenship Activities
- Perform Community Service
- Participate as a Member of a Team
- Track Participation in Physical Activities
- Fire the Cadet Air Rifle
- Serve in an Air Cadet Squadron
- Perform Drill Movements During an Annual Ceremonial Review
- Participate in Recreational Summer Biathlon Activities
- Participate in Canadian Forces (CF) Familiarization Activities
- Participate in Canadian Aviation, Aerospace and Aerodrome Operations Community Familiarization Activities
- Communicate Using the Phonetic Alphabet and Numbers
- Participate in Aviation Activities
- Participate in Aerospace Activities
- Participate in Aerodrome Operations Activities
- Discuss Aircraft Maintenance and Manufacturing
- Participate in an Aircrew Survival Exercise

Training Details for 735 Squadron:

The Squadron conducts weekly training is on Monday evenings from 6:30pm - 9:00pm during the months of September to June at the Dundas Lions Memorial Community Centre, also known as the Dundas Armoury. It is located at 10 Market Street South in Dundas, Ontario.

Please check the Calendar page for messages regarding inclement weather cancellations.



Training - Summer

The Cadet Summer Training options are designed to expand on training received at the Squadron level.

As the details for the summer course options are released, they will be published for all of Canada on the National Cadets website.