A cadet from 2358 Ferndown ATC Squadron recently returned from a trip to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus. Here’s a report of his time there.

“On the 5th April 2016, I was given an opportunity with the Air Cadets to travel to Cyprus and experience what the RAF is like on an overseas base for 10 days. This was a National camp so I was very lucky to be one of the 100 cadets from across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that got to go on the trip.

When we got to our accommodation up in the Troodos Mountains, we were split up into flights of 20 people. These would be the people you would mainly spend the whole trip with. These 20 people would also turn out to be very close friends by the end of the 10 days. Below is my flight.

While we were in Cyprus we got to venture out to RAF Akrotiri and see all the military personnel working on the base and what they did. Some of the sections we got to visit consisted of the Military Police in which we got to see the dog handlers. This was very good for me as its what I aspire to be when I leave college next year. We also got to visit the Fire station and MET office, which was really interesting. As well as this we were allowed to go up to the top of Air Traffic Control where we were fortunate enough to see military aircraft take off while we were up there.

Once off Akrotiri base, we got to visit the UN base, which was very creepy as we got to witness the untouched ruined airport that had previously been attacked by Turkey in the invasion of 1974. It was strange to see the aircraft and the airport so rundown.

It wasn’t all educational though and we did lots of other exciting activities such as Go Karting, Clay Pigeon Shooting, Climbing, Water Sports, and a visit to Aiya Napa Water Park which was probably the best time of my life. All great team building activities.

The trip was incredible and I would do it again in an instant if I could. However this incredible experience would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the support of the John Thornton’s Young Achievers Foundation for covering the cost for the whole trip. As I am from 2358 Ferndown Squadron, the charity means a lot to me and I can’t thank Linda and Pete Thornton enough for giving me the opportunity of a life time and I will continue to help raise funds for the JTYAF to enable others to have similar opportunities.”

Glad you had such a great time!