On the 11th July 2014, Cdt Sgt Saikat (19) set off along with 9 other cadets from the West of Scotland Wing to participate in the nijmegen international 4 day marches in the Netherlands.
The marches consist of having to cover an average of 25 miles per day in full military uniform and, in the case of any male aged 19 or over, carrying training sessions and had completed the grueling 50 mile qualifier at Garelochhead.
On arrival at nijmegen, the cadets were able to get settled in and for the first 3 days they got to enjoy their stay in nijmegen where they went into town, visited museums and went to local restaurants. On the Tuesday morning however, it was a different story. The team were due to start marching shortly past 4 in the morning, therefor this meant they had to get out of bed at 2am!
When the first day of the marches finally arrived, the team managed to get themselves right at the front of the entire British military contingent, and so had the privilege of being the first British team to start the marches this year! Even at this early in the morning, the streets were already crowded with people supporting us and wishing us all well to the very end.
As the miles passed by, the heat and the pain only ever increased, but the team pulled each other through and tried to take in the atmosphere as much as possible. By the end of day two, the team were really starting to suffer and when day three arose, the team had lost one of their members due to illness.
Day four was the hottest day of the marches. However, this did mean that everyone who was previously carrying weight were allowed  to drop their weight as it was considered a health hazard due to the heat.
The scorching heat and high humidity did seriously affect the teams performance. When they passed water buckets or sprinklers it was always a pleasant surprise. The last five or so miles of the march were the hardest and the team had to dig deep to get to the finish!
After 100 miles of pain, sweat and misery, they had finished and were awarded with their medals. All the remained was for the team to do the 4.5km victory march.
Despite all the pain that the team were in, the atmosphere and the pride of having completed this achievement was overwhelming. The streets were lined up with rows of people all cheering the teams and partying!
When the team finally crossed the finish line, they could finally relax and get a bus back to camp. The scales of what they had accomplished was just beginning to sink in. Now it was time to award the best cadet: Sgt Saikat for his determination and his attitude towards helping the team.

On the 4th and 5th of May 2013, cadets from 62 Squadron had been given the task of serving as the guards of honour for the Scotland team during the Emirates rugby 7’s. Twelve cadets arrived at Scotstoun stadium early in Saturday morning to rehearse the routine. By the time Scotland's first match arrived, the cadets were ready to carry out their role. Despite the pressure of being watched by thousands of people as well as being on TV, the cadets did a great job as they marched on to the pitch and held up their Scotland flags at either side of the players tunnel. The loud cheers of the fans, the commentary and loud music made it very difficult to hear the command given for the cadets to march back out. However the job was still done professionally and every cadet managed to remain in time with each other and create a good impression on the crowd.

Between games the cadets had the chance to relax, watch the games or have a look around. Also they were given the task of handing out free stuff to the crowd. During the following Scotland games, the cadets continued to execute their roles very professionally and received several compliments throughout the day.

The success of the first day carried on into the Sunday where the cadets did an almost flawless job throughout the day. Sadly the Scotland team did not make the finals, but this at least allowed the cadets to go home a little earlier and relax.

By Cdt Saikat W.

Three of the cadets at the squadron - Flight Sergeant Ferguson, Cpl McCulloch and Cadet Saikat and one Sergeant from 1089 Squadron successfully completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Expedition. It was a three night and four day kayaking expedition along Loch Lomond.
One girl and three guys powered on through three nights where some carried ration packs, others had huge amounts of food. It was an eventful weekend from choppy waves to being freezing. There was many challenges along the way as it was so cold at that time of the year but the                     
                                                                                                                        group managed to get through it all and PASS!

During the 1st to 3rd March 2013 some cadets from our Squadron went to a ski trip along with some cadets from 1089 Squadron up to the Cairngorm mountains in Aviemore. Altogether there were 29 cadets and we all loved it.

On Friday night (1st march), all cadets got issued with skis, ski boots and a helmet. After we all had a relaxed night getting to know each other. Everybody got on well and enjoyed each other's company.

On Saturday, everybody woke up at quarter to 7, got dressed and had breakfast at 8. After breakfast we had roughly an hour's drive up to the Cairngorms. When we got there everybody got separated into groups - the beginners, the intermediates and the experts. I was in the beginners group as I had never skied before. I don't know exactly what the other groups were like but from what I heard they sounded great. I was told that they done a lot of jumps and tricks. The beginners group was excellent, we learned all the basic parts of skiing within two hours. After that our instructor decided that we were ready to go on to a small beginners slope. Skiing down was challenging but exhilarating. There was a lot of falls and mistakes but everybody managed to get down safely. After we went back to the ski lodge and cleared all of our kit away.

On Saturday night again we just relaxed and listened to music. We played a few games such as ice breakers and went to bed at half eleven.

On Sunday we got up at quarter to 7 and had breakfast at 8. We left at 9 and as soon as we got up to the Cairngorms we went straight to a bigger and better slope. There was a few falls and mistakes again but much less than the day before. Half way through the day, most people had learned from their mistakes and had fixed them. We were good enough to move on and try some intermediate slopes. They were difficult but we managed fine. At 4pm we left the mountains and went back to the ski lodge. We returned our kit, cleaned and cleared our rooms and packed up the bus. Then we got on the bus to go home.

Everybody was upset to be leaving as the weekend was very enjoyable. On the busy journey home everybody was exhausted. At 6pm we stopped for a McDonalds and were back on the bus for &pm. We got back to the Squadron at half past 8. We cleaned the bus for half an hour and went home.

Although the ski trip was only two days long, we really loved it. We made new friends and the ski trip also helped us with some skills such as responsibility, concentration and social skills. The trip wouldn't have been possible without the hard work and dedication from our staff. So a massive thanks to all the staff for dedication lots of their time and making the ski trip so enjoyable.

On the 14th of December 2012, 62 (2nd Glasgow) squadron hosted its last major event of the year; the annual squadron dinner dance. Cadets, staff and several guests who have previously been involved with the squadron in the past were all welcomed at the event which was being hosted in the main hall of the TA centre in Crow Road which had been converted into a formal dining room. The guests all arrived at around 7 o’clock looking their smartest and best, and had a chance to catch up and socialise. At around 8 o’clock, all the guests took their seats and soon afterwards dinner was served. Once the dinner was finished, several speeches were made to the squadron where we reflected back on our achievements of 2012 and on how the squadron is growing and improving thanks to all of the hard work being put in by the staff and cadets. This moment also gave us an opportunity to think of the future and what 2013 will bring to the squadron and hope that we can do as well next year if not better than we have this year.  The rest of the night allowed all the staff and cadets to have some fun as the tables and furniture was moved out of the way and a disco was set up. With plenty of space and plenty of dancing talent present, it gave everyone a chance to enjoy themselves and was a fitting end to what has been a brilliant year.  


By Cadet Saikat W.

On the 6th of December 2012, the cadets from 62 (2nd Glasgow) squadron hosted and award presentation night at the TA Centre on Crow Rd. Cadets and parents attended the event where the squadron Chaplain had come down to welcome some of our newest cadets into the squadron as well as to award some of the more senior cadets for their efforts and hard work. The night was slightly hectic at the beginning as a layer of ice had built up outside the buildings where we would be retrieving our guests. Cadets who had volunteered to come early therefore had a lot of work to do in preparation to retrieve the guests. Luckily a number of cadets had showed up early so we divided the tasks required to be done amongst ourselves, so whilst some of us catered for the arriving guests, others laid grit and did the best they could to remove the ice outside the buildings and a number of cadets had to set up the hall where the presentation would be taking place.

Once everything was in position and the presentation was ready to commence, the cadets formed up inside the main hall and the guests took their seats. The cadets had been informed that this would be an enrollment and graduation night where the newest cadets as well as the 2nd class cadets would be officially enrolled into the squadron. The 2nd class cadets were also going to receive their first class badge for having completed the course which consisted of sections such as basic navigation, airmanship principles and basic radio communication. From here the cadets would then be able to go on and further study these subjects where they would hopefully go on to achieve a leading, senior or even master cadet badge. The first few cadets to get enrolled did a good job of falling out of the squadron and marching for the first time in front of an audience to the front of the squad where they said their cadet promises and greeted the squadron Chaplain and Flt Lt Wardle (commanding officer of 62 sqn). As the night progressed more cadets where called out to get enrolled and also to receive their first class badge if they had completed the course. By the end, 10 cadets had been enrolled into the squadron and 9 cadets had graduated.

The rest of the night was a surprise to the cadets as other awards that the cadets had achieved were also handed out. These included a senior cadet badge to Cadet Dunbar, a communicators badge to Corporal Thomson and one squadron marksman badge to cadet Colvin and 3 wing marksman badges to Cadet Saikat W, Corporal McCulloch and Corporal Thomson for their performance in recent shooting practices. The night brought further surprises as we were informed that it was time for some of the cadets to be promoted. Cadets who have showed the most initiative, discipline and leadership are always recognised for their efforts and the staff then decide on whether it is time for them to be promoted. On the presentation night, this moment had come for 5 of the cadets. Cadet Dunbar, Thomson G and Cadet Wilson were all promoted to the rank of Corporal. Corporal Thomson was promoted to the rank of Sergeant, and 1 existing Sergeant Lindsay Ferguson was promoted to the rank of Flight Sergeant.

Once the presentation was over the guests and Cadets all made their way back to the squadron where tea and coffee were served and the parents got a chance to congratulate the Cadets for their achievements. All in all it was a very good and rewarding night for all who attended.


By Cdt Saikat W and Cpl McCulloch K.

62 Squadron went to Morrisons, Anniesland in order to raise some funds for their squadron through the process of helping people to pack their shopping. This gave the cadets a chance to talk to the general public about the ATC and try and recruit young girls and boys to join.

62 Squadron attended the remembrance day parade at George Square on the 11th November 2012. Our uniforms were in their best conditions. We attend this every year to show our appreciation and to remember those who fought for our country. Veterans and all military organisations attended.

Sgt Kiran McDonald Seran gained the Kriegie award. Ordinarily he gained in 2011 but was given a formal presentation in 2012. This is presented to the air cadet who has achieved the best result on the try service cadet leadership course held at Cadet Training Centre Frimley Park.

A group of air cadets who were doing their bronze, silver and gold Duke of Edinburgh award attended a one day practice expedition. This gave them a chance to gain experience about the award and the knowledge that was needed to do the expedition. The expedition will be around spring. They went to Loch Ard for the event. Some were in canoes and other in kayaks. The air cadets camped overnight in their own groups - bronze, silver and gold.