Royal Canadian Air Cadets ยท Since 1941
Our Story
12 Edmonton Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron
12e Escadron des cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada d'Edmonton
"To Learn. To Serve. To Advance."
Heritage
Squadron History
12 Edmonton began with a letter. On 14 June 1941, W.W. Ireland of the Model Aircraft League of Edmonton wrote to the newly formed Air Cadet League of Canada to ask how to start a squadron, and a group of Edmonton businessmen led by W.H.W. Brookes took up the cause. The squadron received its official charter on 24 September 1941, one of the first fifty air cadet squadrons in the country and the oldest that has operated continuously in Edmonton ever since.
It was born in the middle of the Second World War, and that is no accident. Canada had become the training ground for the air war through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), a vast scheme that brought aircrew from across the Commonwealth to learn to fly on the Canadian prairies. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King's government hosted it, and the plan was famously called "the aerodrome of democracy." Tens of thousands of pilots, navigators, and air gunners trained at Canadian airfields, and Edmonton, a gateway to the North and the Northwest Staging Route, was in the thick of it.
The new air cadet movement was the youth side of that national effort: introducing teenagers to aviation, discipline, and service at a moment when those things mattered enormously. In its wartime years 12 Squadron was connected to No. 4 Initial Training School, housed in the south wing of the Edmonton Normal School (the building later became E.A. Corbett Hall on the University of Alberta campus), placing Edmonton's cadets at the very heart of the air training plan.
The squadron stayed on parade through the decades that followed. It moved to the former Haythorne School in 2000, and in 2012 it was recognised as the top air cadet squadron in the region. When that building was sold in 2013, a neighbouring squadron hosted 12 Edmonton for a year until it settled into its present home at 6770 129 Avenue NW in the 2015-16 training year, where it shares the building with the 2051 19th Alberta Dragoons Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.
More than eighty years on, the squadron is still doing what it set out to do in 1941: turning young Edmontonians into confident, capable, service-minded citizens, one Wednesday night at a time.
Dig deeper into our history and heritage building, and the squadron's customs and traditions.
Did you know
The squadron meets in St. Anthony's Seraphic College, a 1925 building designated a Provincial Historic Resource. Read our history and the building's story.
Who we are
Vision, Mission, and Mandate
Vision
To be the best youth development program in Canada, developing young Canadians into confident, responsible citizens.
Mission
To develop in youth the attributes of good citizenship and leadership, a physical fitness level consistent with an active lifestyle, and stimulate an interest in the Air element of the Canadian Armed Forces, and aviation and aerospace.
Mandate
The cadet program is a federally funded, national program. Its mandate is to develop citizenship, leadership, and physical fitness in youth, and to promote interest in the Air element of the Canadian Armed Forces and in aviation and aerospace.
Our values
The qualities at the heart of the program, that every cadet is asked to live.
- Loyalty
- Honesty
- Obedience
- Perseverance
- Respect for the rights of others
The program
What We Do
Cadets at 12 Edmonton train and compete across a wide range of aviation, leadership, and fitness activities. A typical training year includes:
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Gliding and Flying
Familiarization flying and powered gliding with the Royal Canadian Air Cadet gliding programme, giving cadets hands-on time in the air.
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Marksmanship
Supervised air-rifle target shooting and competition under the Cadet Marksmanship Programme, building focus, discipline, and precision.
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Drill and Ceremonial
Precision drill on parade, culminating in the Annual Ceremonial Review (ACR) each spring.
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Ground School and Aerospace
Saturday ground school sessions covering aviation theory, meteorology, navigation, and aircraft recognition.
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Effective Speaking and Band
Public speaking competitions and a squadron band develop communication and performance skills.
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Sports and Fitness
Team sports and fitness activities build health, teamwork, and friendly competition through the training year.
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Cyber training
Saturday cyber training prepares cadets to compete in CyberPatriot and Maple Defender, building cybersecurity and problem-solving skills.
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Field Training Exercises
Overnight and weekend FTXs put leadership and survival skills into practice in the field, at training sites that change from year to year.
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Trips and Visits
Depending on the year, cadets visit aviation and military sites that connect classroom learning to the real world. Past outings have included the Reynolds-Alberta Museum, an Edmonton International Airport tour, and a Canadian Armed Forces Familiarization Day.
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Community Service
Cadets serve the community at events such as the First Responders Marathon, applying their training beyond the parade hall.
Tradition
Annual Ceremonial Review
The Annual Ceremonial Review (ACR) is the signature event of the squadron year. Held each spring, it is a formal parade and inspection at which cadets demonstrate everything they have learned over the training year: drill, dress, deportment, and bearing.
A Canadian Armed Forces officer serves as the Reviewing Officer, taking the salute as cadets march past in review order. Representatives of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Air Cadet League of Canada attend to mark the occasion and present awards and long-service medals to deserving cadets and volunteers.
The ACR is open to families and guests. It is both a celebration and an accountability moment, the one evening each year when the whole squadron community gathers to recognise achievement and to honour the heritage of the air cadet movement.
ACR details, including the date, venue, and dress requirements, are communicated to families each spring through the weekly email and on the squadron calendar.
Tradition
The Mess Dinner
The Mess Dinner is one of the squadron's most cherished traditions, carried over from the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is far more than a meal: it is a formal evening of fellowship, ceremony, and good conduct that brings the whole squadron together and lets cadets practise poise and etiquette in a setting with real history behind it.
The dinner follows a time-honoured sequence. Members stand as the head table arrives, grace is said, and the meal is served in order. Afterward, the Loyal Toast to the King is made, followed by other toasts. Two cadets run the evening: the President of the Mess Committee, who keeps good order and timing, and the Vice (Mr or Madam Vice), usually the most junior member, who answers the toasts.
Cadets learn the small courtesies that make the evening work: addressing one another properly, keeping conversation pleasant, and not leaving the table without the President's permission. It is a highlight of the year, and families are often invited to share in the occasion.
Read the full mess dinner guide, including the order of the evening, the toasts, the Missing Aviator Table, and an airman's grace.
Reference
New to the terms?
ACR, FTU, CO's Parade, the Volunteer Bond. The acronyms and terms families and cadets hear most often are explained in one place.