Joining Us!

When Can I Join?

Registration starts in September and we take new cadets all throughout the training year.
However, cadets who start after January 31st may not be eligible to apply for summer training courses that year.

Who Can Join?

To be eligible for membership as a cadet you must:

• Be a legal resident of Canada

  (A legal resident of Canada is a Canadian citizen, a landed immigrant, or the dependant of a person who is lawfully resident in Canada on a temporary basis for the purpose of education or employment)

• Provide proof of Provincial Health Insurance coverage or equivalent

• Be at least 12 years of age and not have attained 19 years of age

• Normally be in good physical condition
  (there is a medical questionaire to fill out, but no medical exam is required to join)

• Not belong to another cadet corps or squadron

• Be acceptable to the Commanding Officer of the Squadron

How Do I Join? 

If you've decided that the 182 Squadron is for you then Congratulations,  you have taken the first step in your Cadet career.

Now you can do one of two things, you can either:

• complete the National Online Registration Tool, and you and a parent/guardian come down to the Squadron offices
  on the next Tuesday school night between 6:30pm and 9:00pm

  OR

• you and your parent/guardian can come down to the Squadron offices on a Tuesday school night between
  6:30pm and 9:00pm and fill out the paper forms

Either way, when you come to the Squadron offices, please bring the following:

• Proof of Canadian residency (Canadian birth certificate, Canadian Passport, Permanent Resident card, etc)

  AND

• your Provincial Health Insurance information or card (where available) or proof of private insurance

Photocopies will be made of these documents and the originals returned immediately.  The enrolment documents and photocopies will be stored in your Cadet Personnel Record (see below).

What If I Don't Like Being In Cadets?

To get the full exposure to the program, we suggest cadets stay with the Squadron at least one year.  However, Parents/Guardians can withdrawal their cadet from the program at anytime, we only ask that:

•  we be notified by email, phone or in person (as opposed to just stop attending);

• we be notified of the reason they're leaving; and

• all the uniform parts that were issued to the cadet be returned to the Squadron.

If a cadet is quiting because they're moving out of the area, arrangements can be made to transfer them to another squadron or a Army/Sea cadet corps, including transferring the uniform and/or maintaining their rank and training level at the new unit.

Otherwise, the only reasons why a cadet would be required to leave the program is because:

• they've grossly or repeated violated the Cadet Code of Conduct (see below);

• lack of attendance

• they're joining the Canadian Armed Forces; or

• they've turned 19 years of age.

What Cadets Don't Do!

While the program is designed to develop self-discipline in the cadets, the program is not a boot camp and there is no deliberate, planned or systematic intimidating or demoralizing of cadets nor any forms of physical or Corporal punishment, like the assigning physical or unrelated tasks like push-ups or cleaning toilets to enforce discipline.

While they will learn about and are supported by the Canadian Armed Forces, cadets are NOT members of the Canadian Armed Forces and are NOT required nor obligated to become members of the Canadian Armed Forces Army, Navy or Air Force.

Annually, cadets and their parents/guardian will be expected to sign the Cadet Code of Conduct which outlines the basic level of conduct that is expected by all cadets regardless of rank or seniority.

What is your Cadet Personnel Record? 

Most of the transactions in a Cadet's career, like their enrolment, promotions, training progress etc, will all be recorded on the national Cadet database known as Fortress.  This is a convenient system as there is almost no need to send forms or documentation anywhere, including for summer training.  However, original copies of supporting documents to transactions entered locally are put into a file folder known as a Cadet Personnel Record.

All Cadet Personnel Records are stored securely at the applicable cadet unit, while the database is maintained on secure military servers in Winnipeg.  The Cadet Program is bound by strict Treasury Board guidelines regarding the storage and transmission of personal information.

Access to Cadet Personnel Records are restricted to those individuals authorized by the Canadian Armed Forces pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act.  Cadets and their parents or legal guardians may have access to the cadet’s file by way of a request to the Squadron's Commanding Officer or the Administration Officer.

Cadet Personnel Records are retained until the year the cadet turns 25 when it is disposed of by shredding.  Personal Information on Fortress is removed and transferred to the National Archives of Canada the same year.

Cadets are expected to attend:

• the weekly sessions (Parade Nights) held from 6:45 to 9:00pm every Tuesday night between September to early June; and

• various weekend activities on an average of once per month or on specific dates (ie  Remembrance Day).
  Cadets and Parent(s)/Guardian(s) will be notified well in advance of these dates.

Cadets should always be punctual and arrive 10-15 minutes before an activity starts.

Like school or work, if a cadet is unable to attend a Parade Night or training activity they are expect to contact the Squadron to report their absence ahead of time by email or by calling and leaving a message.

Attendance is taken at every activity as a cadet’s percentage of attendance is considered in the selection processes for Promotions, Squadron Awards, Summer Training and Recreational/Citizenship trips and tours.

Should a cadet not be able to attend for an extended period of time such as due to injuries, hospital stays, extended family trips etc but wish to remain in the program, a leave of absence can be arranged, where they would be excused from attendance for a specific period without penalty.

Location

We are located in the East side (side closest to the road) of Hangar 1 at the Gimli Airport. Our physical address is listed in the bar at the bottom of your screen and is linked to the map above.  The Red marker on the map points to our main entrance. To get to the main entrance (Yellow arrow in the photo above), go through the smaller man-gate (Green arrow) next to Gate #1.   The Hangar is normally open/unlocked 15-20 minutes prior to scheduled Cadet activities. 

Parking

General parking is available on either side Anson Street. Due to Transport Canada regulations, vehicle gates must be closed and locked whenever not in use or not under direct supervision.  As a result, vehicle traffic inside the fence is limited to adult staff vehicles, interim storage of personal cadet-driven vehicles during cadet trips or activities, or with the direct permission of the Commanding Officer. 

Hangar 1 History

Constructed in 1943, Hangar 1 is one of 701 standard double hangars built in Canada by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) to serve the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) during World War II.  It was constructed mainly of timber, not steel which was needed for the war.

The hangar was used for aircraft storage, mechanical equipment and a workshop. Externally, features characteristic of this building type were its rectangular footprint, flat roofed main structure, and single or two-storey shed-roofed lateral wings extending the length of each side that were integral to the top-hung, horizontal sliding hangar doors. Internally, it is the exposed frame and truss structure that characterizes the building, as well as the rigidly braced vertical wood posts and the 112-foot long timber Warren trusses with bolted joints and TECO split-ring connectors.

Cadet Usage

Under the umbrella of the Regional Cadet Support Unit (Northwest), located in Winnipeg and responsible for all Cadet units and activities within the Prairie Provinces and three Territories, Hangar 1 is a leased military facility and shared between the following units:

Air Cadet Aircraft Maintenance Facility
Housed here since the Spring of 1998, this full-time, year-round facility maintains all of Air Cadet aircraft in the Prairie Provinces.

Gimli Cadet Flying Site (CFS)
Located at the Gimli Airport since Fall of 1983, the CFS provides glider familiarization flights to Air Cadets from units located in Eastern Manitoba during Spring and Fall weekends.

Gimli Cadet Nautical Sites  (CNS)
Although located in the Gimli area since the late 1970s, the CNS has been housed at the Hangar since the Fall of 1998.
The CNS provides sail training to Sea Cadets units from Manitoba, also during weekends in the Spring and Fall.

Cadet Training Centre (CTC)
Previously titled the Region Gliding School (RGS) or Cadet Flying Training Centre (CFTC) and located in Gimli
in 1984-1987, 1998 and 2000-2019, the CTC provides Gliding and other training to cadets during the summers.
While the training has been conducted in Brandon since 2022, much of the material and equipment is retained in Gimli.

182 GM Stefnufastur Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron
Relatively the new guy on the block, the Squadron has been located in the Hangar since 2010.

Renovated in 2010 primarily for expansion of the CTC, the East side of Hangar 1 accommodates five(5) offices or office areas, four(4) classrooms, four(4) large storage lockers/areas, large washrooms and a good-sized, open floor space for drill instruction, small parades or physical and practical activities.  Areas and equipment belonging to other units or groups, either in the hangar or on the airport grounds, are strictly off-limits to cadets.