TRADING UP Olympic Peninsula Gerry Feehan visits Washington State
Red Deer Rebels GM/head coach Brent Sutter obtained Adam Helewka from the Spokane Chiefs Friday
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SPORTS — PAGE B3
WEEKEND EDITION
Red Deer Advocate SATURDAY, JAN. 2, 2016
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Dreams take flight
Photo by JEFF STOKOE/Advocate staff
ABOVE: The colours are marched on to the parade field during a full-dress parade at the Cormacks Armoury in Red Deer. During 2015, the Red Deer Air Cadets celebrated the 75th year of Air Cadets in Canada. LEFT: Red Deer Air Cadet commanding officer Ken Tucker conducts an inspection during the full-dress parade. Anyone interested in participating in the program can attend weekly drill nights that take place each Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Armoury on 55 Street at 44 Avenue, or visit www.reddeeraircadets.com. BELOW: Cadets during a training exercise in the field.
RED DEER’S AIR CADET SQUADRON HAS BEEN ENCOURAGING ASPIRING PILOTS FOR THE PAST 75 YEARS BY PAUL COWLEY ADVOCATE STAFF The motto for Red Deer’s air cadet squadron is “Fly on your own wings.” Bhavya Arora hopes those wings will be attached to an after-burnerequipped ride that can hit Mach 1.8 and climb 15,000 metres in a minute. “I want to be a fighter pilot,” says the enthusiastic 17-year-old air cadet with 24 Red Deer Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron. “That would be really cool.” One of the things she loves about the air cadets is no one batted an eyelid at her lofty goal of joining Canada’s aviation elite. All she got was encouragement from the squadron she joined two years ago when she spoke of her dream job. “I think that’s what I really like about cadets. They don’t discourage your dreams.” Arora says the prospect of joining a military-style organization with uniforms, ranks and regimented behaviour was intimidating at first. But she soon learned air cadets was more about building confidence and teaching skills, such as effective public speaking, than about rigid dis-
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Cadets mark anniversary
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cipline and drilling. “I went in to become a pilot, and I’m still working towards that. But what I really got out of it was how to present myself in a very, very professional manner.” The skills she learned can be applied in so many aspects of life, from meeting new people to interviewing for jobs, she says. One of the most important lessons she learned that leadership isn’t just about ordering people around. “It’s about being involved with everyone so you learn from each other,” says the flight corporal, who moved to Canada from India with her family about six years ago and has lived in Red Deer for the past five. Air cadet Cpl. Lucas LaGrange’s interest in all things flying-related was inspired by a jaunt in a small four-seater plane when he was nine years old. “I got a chance to steer the plane and stuff,” he says. “It was pretty fun.” By the time, he was back on the ground he was hooked. Now 13, he joined the air cadets in March 2014 and hasn’t looked back.
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Air cadets has been a great experience, especially the summer camps, he says. He hasn’t done any hands-on flight training yet, but he’s learned about aerodynamics and how aircraft work. LaGrange has also been able to get back in the sky with the cadets through their annual gliding trips. Taking the controls as a pilot is his dream. “Id like to own my own little bi-
plane in the backyard and fly that around. “I’d enjoy a nice open cockpit one because those seem like they are really fun,” says LaGrange, who lives on an acreage just east of Red Deer with his family. Tizita Hill, 18, says like many cadets she was drawn to the opportunity to train as a pilot.
Please see CADETS on Page A2
Anatomy of the Syrian refugee crisis When the Conservatives promised to resettle 10,000 refugees over three years, Liberal MP John McCallum didn’t buy it. Story on PAGE A4
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