Volunteer staff at Warwickshire & Birmingham Wing have been awarded Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme Adult Recognition Certificates in recognition of over 500-man years’ commitment to the Scheme.

This is the 50 th Anniversary of the Scheme and the Air Cadets are the largest single participating youth group. Warwickshire & Birmingham staff have not only made this level of community commitment a reality, but its local cadets have also provided 70,000 Millennium Volunteer hours to their communities. The 10, 20 and 30 years’ Certificates were awarded to all Squadron Commanding and Wing Staff Officers for their management and participation in the Scheme, which in the last 12 months alone has enabled over 230 West Midland cadets to attain Bronze, Silver or Gold level awards.

The Scheme is open to all cadets and is widely recognised by employers and people involved in education. It has helped many young people develop their self-confidence, leadership skills and given them a sense of achievement and responsibility. These awards come on top of the Wing’s recent achievement in winning the Sir Austin Sword for the best performing Wing within the Air Training Corps.

The Wing’s Duke of Edinburgh Awards officer, Squadron Leader Bryan Coats said, “ The Wing is extremely proud of the dedication staff have given the Scheme since its introduction in 1956 and this has been demonstrated by its 500 years’ commitment and awards, especially in this 50 th anniversary year. The Wing is now aiming to achieve the impressive total of 100,000 hours for the Millennium Volunteer scheme and to beat our best totals in the DofE Awards.” Bryan has also set a target of 1,000 man years by the end of 2006 for Squadron staff to gain their Adult Recognition Certificates which would make the Wing the top performing body in the country.