Frequently Asked Questions
We know that starting or participating in the Air Cadet program can come with many questions. The 888 SSC maintains this FAQ page throughout the year to provide families with helpful, up-to-date information.
For common questions about squadron activities, training, volunteering, fundraising, family support, and more, please have a look at the Parent and Cadet Resource Guide!
Have a question that isn’t answered here? Please let us know! Your questions and suggestions help us improve this resource for our 888 families.
General
You must be at least 12 years old to join. We are unable to add you onto our system until after your 12th birthday.
Registration starts during the Vancouver School Board (VSB) school year. Our unit currently has one registration intake: September. Due to a strict training timeline, your son/daughter cannot join anytime after September (for September intake).
In alignment with the DND Barrier-Free Policy, there is no mandatory assessment fee required to participate in the cadet program effective the training year of 2026. We want to ensure that our training remain fully accessible to every single cadet.
Yes. Every Tuesday night encompasses training that is tailored for your son/daughter’s age to learn about the program. There will also be, however, training over the weekends (e.g. training seminars, gliding, power flying, camping trips, sports activities, competition, etc…) that will aid towards the applicant’s training. These weekend training can vary from day to overnight stays. These are mandatory in order to advance into the next level.
Furthermore, depending on whether your son/daughter has other interests (ie. teams), the applicant will have to attend to those nights that are not Tuesday evenings.
You will receive information whether you are to provide meals and/or transportation. Generally, we expect cadets who arrive on Tuesday evenings to have meals and snacks prepared by the parent/guardian.
Come by the office on a Tuesday night with your issued uniform and any supplies and/or instruments that were loan to you. You will be given further instructions then.
Whether if you are coming from a different unit and/or element, we will still accept you as a cadet, as long as you are in the ages between 12 to 18 years old. You may; however, need to do an evaluation or remediation of training, especially if you are coming from a different element, which involves learning air cadet terminology (ie. rank structure), aviation topics that have been missed, and other training topics. The Proficiency Level Officer and Training Officer will be able to provide more information at the time of training evaluation.
3 ways you can help:
- Encourage your cadet to participate fully in trainings, activities, and opportunities.
- Volunteer with the Squadron Sponsoring Committee (SSC) and help with events, fundraising, and squadron activities.
- Donate, check for employer matching programs/sponsorship, and participate in our year-round fundraising activities. For more information, check Support Us Today.
Communication
To ensure modern and safe communication, each cadet is issued a Microsoft Office 365 account, hosted through the federal government’s cloud infrastructure. This system is similar to those used by thousands of schools across the country. Your child’s Cadet365 account will given them access to the latest version of powerful tools such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and OneNote. Cadet365 will help your cadet stay connected with their squadron while gaining experience working and communicating in a professional online environment. For more information, please visit www.canada.ca/cadet-356.
Parents are strongly encouraged to attend the closing parade on Tuesday evenings, as many important event/activity announcements are made during the last part of the parade.
Parents are also welcomed to join the 888 Avenger Air Cadets Families WhatsApp Group for peer-to-peer support.
Absence
Leave is an authorized extended period of an excused absence. If you are taking leave you must submit a leave request form that is available in the office. It must be signed by a parent/guardian. Keep in mind, it will be the cadet’s responsibility to catch up on missed training.
Contact your respective flight staffs or inform your section leader during the weekly call out.
The cadet organization understands many youth members would like to be involved in many activities. An excuse for the cadets’ attendance is based on whether the cadet’s well-being is capable of attending training. It is, however, up to the cadet’s responsibility to catch up on what training has been missed. Most common excuses include:
– Being on medical leave (a valid physician’s note must be available);
– Education/ School trips lasting more than 2 days and affects training times (a valid proof of attendance/ participation must be presented); and
– Religious practices that conflicts training times (must inform at least 7 days prior to training date).
Other circumstances will need to be inquired; however, a response will be given to you if your request is not considered an excuse.
The administration team will try to contact you by phone and email. If there is no response regarding your absence, we will automatically de-activate your application. De-activating your account means you have quit the program, where you are required to return your uniform and any supplies and/or instruments that were loan to you.
Taking leave or being away from training will affect the cadets’ opportunities. Cadets who have attended training versus those who did not will be rewarded for their commitment and dedication to the organization. Although the organization understands unplanned or planned leave/excuses, it will be unfair to reward an individual who has not been present for training when someone else has.