Join

New recruits must:

• Be aged 13 to 15 (or aged 12 and in Year 9)

• Agree to abide by the Cadet Forces Code of Conduct and Squadron Standing Orders

Anual subs of $100 charged yearly to assist in the running of the unit. All money is fed back into the unit to improve training for the cadets. 

Weekend activities often do have an associated cost as well (to cover food, accomodation etc). We do try to keep costs down, but flying activities are generally the most expensive. It is important to note that flying activities are entirely optional, and there is still a lot to be gained by attending other lower cost activities. 

No. 12 (City of Invercargill) Squadron parades (meets) every Tuesday night, during the school term. Our parade night are from 6:30pm until 9:00pm. 

Cadets need to be free to attend the majority of parade nights, so keep your Tuesday nights free!

A typical parade night will start with a squadron parade where students march onto the parade ground and raise the ensign (flag) to signify the start of the parade night. Then you will have your first lesson, it might be on navigation for the upcoming bushcraft camp. Then its break time - you get a chance to relax and catch up with your friends. Next up, its period two - this time you might be learning about firearms safety so that you can participate in the next unit shooting activity. Lastly, we'll finish with a squadron briefing where you are informed of all the upcoming activities and then its home time!

In addition to parade nights, we run a variety of activities on weekends or in the school holidays - plenty of notice is given for these. 

Examples of activities include recruit training, target shooting, bushcraft, navigation, competitions, flying, community service and more. Some activities involve an overnight stay - we call these camps.

Activities are not compulsory, but are usually considered the most enjoyable aspect of Air Cadets. Cadets usually find it quite easy to manage sporting commitments around weekend activities.​ See standard activity costs in the Cost section above.

On your typcial weekend camp, you will arrive in the evening, have a camp briefing and then maybe squeeze in an activity or two before bed. You'll be up early the next morning - we often start the day with some PT (physical training) and then into the main activity for the day - be it flying, bushcraft, drill or something else! At the end of the day, once its dark we often do a Night Exercise - every Night Ex is different - you might be sneaking past the enemy, rescuing a high-value target or hunting down the enemy. On the last day you'll do more of the camp activity and then pack up and go home!

You will wear a uniform similar to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), with rank slides distinguishing you as a cadet. Uniform is to be worn every week to Air Training Corps (ATC) parade nights and at other formal occasions such as ANZAC Day parades.

Our uniform is:

Provided for free, but must be returned if you resign from Air Cadets 

To be worn as per RNZAF standards

Worn only on cadet activities

You'll need to provide your own black leather shoes and black or blue socks