After five years of service, it was time for Capt. Angela Sargent to say goodbye to Squamish’s 835 Griffin Royal Canadian Air Squadron.
A ceremony earlier this month marked the change of command, which sees Sargent leaving and Capt. Andrew King brought in as the new commanding officer of the squadron.
“I’ve loved being in Squamish. There are so many unique young people who love the outdoors. They are very enthusiastic about survival training – that makes my job easier,” said Sargent soon after handing over her leadership.
A member of the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve, Sargent has specialist training in teaching cadets.
The Squamish squadron was formed in 2000 and currently has 21 members, all of whom are aged 12 to 18.
“It’s been great getting to know each cadet. Sometimes they will come in nervous and then they gain confidence and end up leading the squadron,” Sargent said.
Leadership is a main focus of the program.
“We have one woman who was working retail while she went to university, and she told use that she already had more management skills than her boss,” said Sargent with a laugh.
Another cadet recently got a scholarship to get his flying licence.
The youth take part in survival training, which happened in extremely heavy rain on a mountain near Chilliwack this year.
“We stayed all night. We made shelters, but we let them use tarps this time,” Sargent said. “Some of us came out three inches taller. And no one complained; it was great.”
Commanding officers usually rotate every three years, so Sargent will be moving to the 103 Squadron in North Vancouver, her hometown.
“Cadets is an amazing program. Every young person should get involved, no matter their interests. There are benefits and value in it for everyone.”
Capt. King is taking over temporarily as commanding officer, and predicts it will be a year or two before a permanent leader is found.
“I’m working with senior cadets to build up their skills, and working on the foundation that Capt. Sargent left,” said King, who is also a training zone officer for Vancouver and the North Shore.
Seven new cadets joined this year, and King hopes to have more Squamish youth participate. He comes from a squadron in Port Coquitlam that has 170 kids, a number that increased substantially within a few years. He has also led a small squadron, like Squamish’s, in the past.
The cadets next survival weekend is in March. In the meantime, they are working on first aid training and marksmanship.
For more information about the Squamish squadron, go to cadets.ca and click on “Find Us.”
