148 (Barnsley) Squadron

Royal Air Force Air Cadets

News

148 (Barnsley) Squadron Hosts a serving USAF F-15E Strike Eagle Pilot.

On Friday 3rd July, cadets from 148 (Barnsley) Squadron were privileged to host an active duty F-15E Strike Eagle pilot from the US Air Force over Microsoft Teams. The pilot spoke in detail about their USAF journey to date, the components of the flying training package and the next steps in their journey. In the second half of the call, cadets had the opportunity to ask questions about their training, military life and various other topics, which were all answered in great detail by our guest.

Also in attendance were cadets and staff from across the Sector and Wing, as well as members of the Squadron Civilian Committee. Cadets were joined by Wg Cdr Daniel (OC South & West Yorkshire Wing), Sqn Ldr French (Wing Chief of Staff), and Sqn Ldr Kirk (OC Sector 1).

Over 50 cadets attended the talk and the feedback was very positive, for example:

“I thought it was very interesting and I really enjoyed it” – Cdt Booth 

“It was great and very informative, thank you” – Cdt Sanger

“It was inspiring and exciting to see what a military fighter pilot’s career is like in the USAF” – Cdt Rushforth

“It was very inspiring and interesting, I really did enjoy listening to the talk. It was exciting to hear about the training and what life is like in the USAF” – Cdt Fiddes

“It was inspirational and an opportunity to speak to a frontline pilot in the USAF to show how cadets can progress in their own lives, they can be anything if they work hard and ‘keep swimming’” – Sqn Ldr Williams 

Overall, it was an exciting opportunity for our cadets to speak to someone who is doing a role many of them aspire to be in the RAF, as well as hearing about the courage and resilience it took the speaker to get to where they are today. A very inspiring evening and our thanks go to our honoured guest for joining us.