I have been a cadet for nearly 7 years now and I have been fortunate to do most thins that the Air Training Corps has to offer. However, one activity had eluded for the last few years, an Overseas Camp. At the end of 2001 details came through to my Squadron with regards to an overseas camp at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. The main difference to this camp as opposed to a UK camp is that it is for 2 weeks. I put my name forward for one of the few places that were available for Warwickshire and Birmingham Wing. In January 2002 I got the confirmation that I had been picked to attend RAF Akrotiri in March. Over the next few months I received details regarding the camp and started to prepare all the different types of clothing, uniform and other things that were required. Planning for this camp is essential; it's a good idea to get the correct balance of clothing.

On 13th March I set off for London Heathrow for the 4-hour flight to Larnaca in Cyprus. It was only when I got to Heathrow I realised how many cadets were coming on this camp and the fact that they were from all over the country. Over 80 Air Cadets were at Heathrow waiting to catch their flight to Cyprus. We left Heathrow mid morning on the 13th, leaving the dull cold British winter behind on route to the sunny climbs of the Mediterranean. After 4 hours we landed at Larnaca, and to my horror, it was raining! After picking up our bags we made our way to the coaches and were welcomed by 2 regular Sergeants, who were involved with the Combined Cadet Force, they had been brought in to help run the camp and work alongside the VRT officers and AWO's.

It then took about 2 hours by coach to get to the Akrotiri peninsular in the south of the island. When we arrived it was dark, we went straight into our accommodation blocks. I was expecting rooms of about 20 cadets to a room, but to my surprise and delight, I had been placed in the one room with only 2 beds in it and I was sharing with another Cadet Warrant Officer. It was then a case of quick food and into bed.

The next day consisted of getting up at 6 ready to go to breakfast at 7, it was not until the morning that I realised actually how big RAF Akrotiri was. It was a 15-minute march from our block to the Junior Ranks Mess for our food; the sheer scale of the base was mind blowing. After breakfast we went through the obligatory briefs, fire, health and safety etc, we also had a brief from the Station Commander, which I found very informative. After that it was onto the usual Station FAMEX, we found our way around the station surprisingly easily, it gave me time to introduce myself to my Flight of 13 cadets to.

The next day we went off for our camp photo at a Roman Amphitheatre at Curium. RAF Akrotiri Camp 2002. The front row consists of the Adult staff; the centre of the Second row has the 7 CWO's on it. After we had had the photo taken it was time to go to the beach, one of the good points of a Cyprus camp.

The camp consists of a lot of very interesting section visits; we went to Air Traffic Control, Fire Section, Survival Equipment, Engineering, and Visiting Aircraft Services etc… As well as these we got to look around an American KC135 tanker that was stationed at Akrotiri in support of Operations in Afghanistan. As well as all the visits, we played a lot of sport, handball, football, and volleyball. As the camp went on everyone got to know each other a lot better. We went out for a meal at a local restaurant, it was very enjoyable for the cadets. They enjoyed it even more when the CWO's had to get up and make a speech!

One of the things I found very thrilling was a ride in one of 417 Maritime Troop's Rigid Raider high-powered speedboats.Never before had I experienced anything like that, we jumped the wake of larger boats and the boat was airborne for most of the time, it has a top speed of 37 knots. My first question when I got off it was how much was it because I wanted one for my birthday! The boat in the foreground is a Rigid Raider, capable of carrying 10 full loaded troops at 37 knots, a very exciting and frightening ride.

As well as going out in their Rigid Raider we took part in life raft and abandon ship drills. This was quite frightening I found, we had 3 minutes to put a survival suit and life jacket on. The reason we only had 3 minutes is because that's all the time that ship crews in the Falklands War had to get the kit on before they had to abandon ship because it was going down in flames. At the end of 3 minutes I had both legs in the suit, no life jacket on and the suit was not done up. After being given an extra few minutes to finish getting the kit on, the 3 CWO's present felt we should lead by example, I think the cadets wanted us to jump overboard anyway. We jumped off into the cold of the Mediterranean and had to swim for our life raft, my suit started to fill up with water and I found it very exhausting and frightening. We got 40 cadets into a 25-man raft; it was very cosy to say the least. This is an example of the sort of kit we had to wear to practice the life raft drills

One of the other things that we did that were popular with all the cadets was to take a flight in an 84 Squadron Wessex helicopter. The Wessex is a helicopter that is some 40 to 50 years old but is still a very manoeuvrable aircraft. We walked out to the Wessex, which already had its rotors running, this was quite an experience, the Wessex's exhaust is near the floor so the combination of heat and downwash from the rotors was something else! We took off for a tour around the Akrotiri base area, the door was open all the time and I was sitting right next to it. This gave me a new slant on the world! I was almost hanging out of the door at times. 84 Squadron is now the last operational Squadron in the Royal Air Force to operate the venerable Wessex. The Wessex is taken out of service next year to be sadly replaced by civilian owned Bell 412 helicopters.

As well as all the visits we did a lot of fun things as well. We went on trips out to towns like Paphos, a popular tourist destination, we took advantage of the speed boat hire and we stopped at the birth place of the Greek god Aphrodite, it was a good opportunity to take some photos.

This is a photo of all of 2 Flight, my flight, sitting at the birthplace of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

One afternoon we all went down to the harbour at Akrotiri for a Raft building competition, always an interesting event! We built our Rafts and put them into the sea, we had to cross the harbour on the rafts, it was comical to watch some of the rafts sink or topple with cadets on them, to gain extra points we had to tip the staff into the water as well, no need to ask twice!
As well as our rafting exploits we took advantage of the on base go karting track, it was another round of comedy sketches as we watched cadets come off the track and disappear off across the grass at full speed. The highlights of the afternoon though were the Cadet Warrant's races, it was highly competitive, especially when the cadets started to cheer for their flights respective CWO.

The Cyprus camp is one of the most rewarding camps to go on as both a cadet and a senior NCO, it gives you a chance to learn about lots of aspects of both the RAF and the Air Training Corps. We did a lot of serious hard work in the mornings, what with section visits, and drill and other things, but come the afternoon it was time to play hard to. The combination of Sun, Sea and excellent facilities for every kind of activity gave way for some serious fun. Everyone was able to take advantage in the wide range of activities on offer. It would also not be complete to talk about the Cyprus camp without mentioning the hard work of some of the staff that came with us, especially the 2 regular RAF Sergeants, who did a lot to keep us occupied and make sure we enjoyed our stay in Cyprus.

Now that I have been on a Cyprus camp I feel that I have now tried nearly everything the ATC has to offer and I am extremely happy to have been on such an amazing camp, I think the sad expressions on everyone's face as we drove out of the gates of RAF Akrotiri for the last time showed just what that camp had meant to us all, and what incredible memories we had been left with not to mention the great new friendships that we had formed during our stay. I think if any cadet came to me and said, "is it worth paying the money to go to Akrotiri?" I would most certainly say YES and, "take me with you".

Article Submitted by:-
CWO Ben Pinner - 121 (Nuneaton) Squadron
14 May 02