|  21 cadets from the Warwickshire and Birmingham Wing have been put through their paces at the 2011 Drill Development Course at RAF Cosford.
The cadets, mostly JNCO's and SNCO's, arrived at RAF Cosford on 27 TH May and they were soon aware that this was to be a very fast paced course. The cadets were split up into their syndicates and this was followed by lectures on standards of dress in the ATC. This lecture also ensured that the cadets were perfectly aware of the standards the instructors expected from them throughout the weekend.
The course isn't all about marching up and down though; the cadets are taught how to give drill commands and also the correct (ATC) way to do drill. There were many referrals back to the drill manual and it is hoped the cadets now have a better understanding of the standard drill movements in use today. All the 21 cadets attending the course will be taking part in their sqn's drill team at the Wing Field Training Day on 26th June.
Each cadet was given a specific drill movement that they had to deliver in their assessment. Not only did they have to teach the particular movement to the rest of their syndicate, they had to do so in the manner laid out in the drill manual. This is a very prescriptive manner, but it is hoped that by using this, the cadets can become more effective on their own Sqn's.
During the course the cadets were also given instruction in continuity drill by the Wing Drill Instructors. A drill display was created and the cadets were soon marching around in figure of eight movements and also marching towards and through each other! The cadets formed the numbers 70 to celebrate the anniversary of the ATC. This year, the display was finished by the staff on the course marching forward to accept the salute from Sqn Ldr Harrison. Unlike the display in 2010, this year's display was set to music, Michael Jackson was found in FS Taylor's car and the cadets were soon marching to Thriller!
On Sunday the cadets started the day by giving their mutual drill instruction, each cadet had to deliver a lesson in a particular drill movement. The cdt's were not only assessed on their instructional techniques, but also in their own personal turnout on the day. It didn't end there though; all the cadets now had to sit a 30 question exam paper. This is a pass or fail course and each cadet is given a written report which will be sent to their Sqn OC's in the near future.
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