Squamish's Erik Yaremkewich, 13, and Sam Sherlock, 15, are not typical boys. Instead of spending August playing video games, they are in Victoria at Albert Head Air Cadet Summer Training Centre, leading disciplined lives and learning practical skills. Both boys hail from the Squamish-based 835 Air Cadets Griffin Squadron.
At Albert Head, they are enrolled in the General Training Camp (GTC), which is one of many camps. Advanced courses include Basic Aviation and Basic Survival.
"In GTC we do all sorts of things," Yaremkewich said. "Flying, sports, survival; basically all the courses compacted into one course. It's the first course you take if you want to go into a more advanced course.
"I'm here for the flying," he continued. "We go up in a Cessna 172 -it's a four-seater, single-engine aircraft - and we fly around Victoria for half an hour. We did a tour at a helicopter squadron in Victoria and afterwards we went to the B.C. Aviation Museum in Victoria."
Earlier this year, Yaremkewich took part in an exercise called Spring Thunder where he flew to Gibsons and Sechelt and got to man the controls for a while. In September he hopes to sign up for ground school at Glacier Air, which cadets can attend for free.
"Lots of fun, sir!" was Sam Sherlock's reply when asked how he liked the camp. He'd just returned from an activity in which campers launched rockets, trying to design them so that a glass bottle taped to their outside wouldn't break upon ground impact.
He described some of the basic rules of the camp and what a typical day was like:
Rule No. 1: Always refer to others by their last name.
Rule No. 2: Show respect to officers.
Rule No. 3: Don't walk on the grass.
On this particular day, Sherlock woke at 6:45 a.m., made his bed "very nice," ate breakfast at 7:30, and returned to the barracks to remake his bed "even nicer." Inspection was at 8:15 a.m., followed by classes and a visit to Padre, the religious counsellor. Daily activities finish by 8:30 p.m., then at 9 p.m. cadets iron their uniforms for the next day, are in bed by 10 and lights out at 10:30 p.m.
Sherlock said he wanted to join cadets because of the military atmosphere. He said in a heartfelt tone that being a cadet has made him a better person.
For more information on the Squamish Air Cadets, visit 835griffinrcac.blogspot.ca. For info or on the Albert Head summer camp, visit www.facebook.com/AHACSTC
