Air Training Corps

The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majority of staff are volunteers, and some are paid for full-time work – including Commandant Air Cadets, a Full Term Reserve Service RAF officer. Although many ATC cadets go on to join the RAF or other services, the ATC is not a recruiting organisation for its parent service. Activities include sport, adventure training (such as walking and paddle-sports), ceremonial drill, rifle shooting, fieldcraft, powered aircraft, glider flying, and other outdoor activities, as well as classification training. Week-long trips to RAF stations, or camps offering adventure training or music, allow the opportunity for cadets to gain a taste of military life and often some flying experience in RAF gliders and RAF training aircraft such as the Grob Tutor. Cadet membership can begin from the start of School Year 8 (England and Wales), or equivalent in Scotland and Northern Ireland. New members will join with a rank of Cadet (however joining as Second Class cadet and being enrolled as a First Class Cadet later on in their Cadet experience and later being more involved in a said squadron) and can earn positions of increasing responsibility in a military rank structure, as well as having increasing skill and competence recognised in a classification scheme (First Class, Leading, Senior, Master). As a cadet becomes more experienced with camps and activities, the skills they will acquire will be rewarded with a corresponding badge according to the skill achieved and how advanced the cadet is at that particular skill (e.g. drumming, shooting, leadership, first aid). Service as a cadet ends at the age of 18, although cadets over the age of 18 can be extended until the age of 20 if appointed as Staff Cadets. As of 1 April 2022, the ATC numbers 26,040 cadets (29% female) and 9,570 adult volunteers (30% female).