Royal Air Force Air Cadets

Royal Air Force Air Cadets
Active5 February 1941 (1941-02-05) – present
Country United Kingdom
Branch Royal Air Force (sponsor)
TypeVolunteer youth organisation
Role
Part ofNo. 22 Group RAF
HeadquartersRAF Cranwell
PatronThe Princess of Wales
Mottothe next generation
Websitewww.raf.mod.uk/aircadets/ Edit this at Wikidata
Commanders
Commandant Air CadetsAir Commodore David-Allen 'Al' Lewis
Warrant OfficerWarrant Officer Alex Corbin
Honorary AmbassadorWing Commander Emma Wolstenholme
National ChairMr S.J. Ensor
National ChaplainReverend Gareth Jones
Insignia
Tactical recognition flash
Aircraft flown
Trainer
RAF Air Cadets marching in a parade at the Lord Mayor's Show London 2006.

The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is the name of the organisation in charge of the combined volunteer-military youth organisations sponsored by the Royal Air Force (RAF); which is formed by both the Air Training Corps (ATC), and RAF Sections of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). The organisation is headed by a serving RAF officer, Commandant Air Cadets. The current commandant is Air Commodore Al Lewis. In addition to the Commandant, who is responsible for the organisation’s uniformed activities, RAFAC also has a National Chair, who serves as the senior representative of the trustee pillar; the incumbent is Mr Stuart J. Ensor OBE.

Prior to 1 October 2017, the RAFAC was called the Air Cadet Organisation. As of 1 April 2023, the RAFAC had a strength of 42,190 cadets and 10,070 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs), along with ~5,000 trustees. Cadets are aged between 12 and 17 years on entry to the organisation, and can remain until they are 18, or with special permission, until they are 20.

Organisation

The Royal Air Force Air Cadets consists of:

Air Training Corps Regions

The six regions, and their subordinate wings are:

  1. London and South East region (LaSE)
  2. South West region (SW)
  3. Central and East region (C&E)
  4. Wales and West region (W&W)
  5. North region
  6. Scotland and Northern Ireland region (S&NI)

Each region is commanded by a 'Regional Commandant' (RC), who holds the rank of Group Captain, and is usually a retired regular Royal Air Force Air Officer. The region is additionally staffed by a number of Cadet Forces Adult Volunteers, who maintain the day-to-day operations of each of the regions. Examples of these posts include Region Staff Officer, Region Training Officer, and Region STEM Officer.

RAF sections of the Combined Cadet Force

RAF sections within the Combined Cadet Force usually follow their own chain of command within their school's unit. Above their school unit, they diverge into a similar chain of command as the Air Training Corps, administratively managed from five CCF regions.

Trustee governance

In addition to the uniformed command structure, the Air Training Corps squadrons are supported by a parallel trustee pillar, responsible for managing non-public funds, and ensuring lawful governance. Trustees operate at squadron, wing, regional, and national levels. The National Chair, who is the senior representative of the trustee pillar, is Mr Stuart J. Ensor OBE.

Activities

Air Cadet activities vary greatly, but commonly include:

There are also less frequent, but enriching, activities; examples include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RAFAC timeline: 1941". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. n.d. Archived from the original on 28 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 "New Commandant Royal Air Force Air Cadets announced". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. 15 August 2024. Archived from the original on 22 April 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Royal Air Force Air Cadets New Year Honours List 2024". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "New National Chaplain for the RAF Air Cadets". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. 30 November 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "ATC & CCF (RAF)". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. n.d. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Order of the British Empire". The Gazette. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "HM The Queen approves new Commission for Cadet Force volunteers". Air Cadet. Bourne, Lincolnshire: Warners Midlands plc. Winter 2017. p. 4. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  8. ↑ "MOD sponsored cadet forces statistics: 2023". GOV.UK. 2023. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Join as a cadet". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. n.d. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Contact us". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. n.d. Archived from the original on 16 April 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  11. ↑ "Royal outdoors adventure with Air Cadets". Royal Air Force. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 October 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
  12. ↑ "About us". CentralEast-RAFAC.org.uk. Central & East Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets. n.d. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Region Staff". CentralEast-RAFAC.org.uk. Central & East Region Royal Air Force Air Cadets. 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Why join as a volunteer". RAF.mod.uk. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire: Royal Air Force Air Cadets. n.d. Retrieved 2 January 2026.