RAF
Duchess Of Cambridge Celebrates Cadet Milestone
The Duchess of Cambridge has been helping the RAF Air Cadets celebrate a milestone in their history.
It's the first in a series of events that will be taking place throughout 2016 to mark the 75th anniversary year of the Air Training Corps.
And the Duchess suggested she and the Duke of Cambridge, a helicopter pilot, could have another flier in her family as their two-and-a-half-year-old son is "obsessed" with the air cadets.
Speaking as she stepped out in her first engagement as Honorary Air Commandant of the Air Cadets, Kate said Prince George has a passion for aeroplanes and could be set to join the air cadets when he grows up.
She attended a thanksgiving service at the RAF church of St Clement Danes in central London and a special reception, where she told Cadet Warrant Officer Lucinda Conder that she has shown George pictures of Spitfires. Ms Conder, 19, the top female cadet, said:
"He is now obsessed with the air cadets and wants to join. We are going to have to push that one when he gets to 12."
Kate assumed her new role with the Air Cadets in December, taking on the post from the Duke of Edinburgh who had been involved in the organisation for more than 60 years.
For the first time in the unit's history there is now a female Commandant in Air Commodore Dawn McCafferty, a female ambassador to the RAF Cadets in TV personality Carol Vorderman, and a royal female patron in Kate.
Forces TV's Carla Prater spoke to Air Commodore McCafferty about the Air Cadets' history:
Vorderman, whose daughter Katie joined the Air Cadets, believes Kate will be a big help in attracting women into what is often seen as a male-dominated sector.
She said: "I think it is fantastic. Obviously Kate is possibly the most famous woman internationally - I would imagine.
"Her husband is a flier. Her brother-in-law is a flier. Her father-in-law is a flier and her mum used to work in an airline. There is a strong aviation link there for her. She obviously has a great appreciation of the military and enthusiasm for youth."
"We have 42,000 Air Cadets now and they say it gives them a structure and something they are very proud to belong to and to serve in. It really does impact young lives very positively and I am just thrilled Kate wants to be a part of it."
The RAF Air Cadets comprises both the Air Training Corps (ATC) and the Combined Cadet Force (RAF).
The ATC was first established in 1941 during the Second World War, with the aim of training young men in aviation skills before they joined the RAF.
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