NI AIR CADET JETS OFF TO THE STATES ON INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE

My IACE adventure to the United States started in Brunel University, where we got to meet the whole UK IACE team. You could almost feel everyone’s excitement to get to visit every corner of the world. The next morning, I set off with our group headed for the US.

The trip started off great, only to get better. After our 7-hour flight to Washington, we were offered a visit to the flight deck of the Queen of the Skies, as Air Cadets we didn’t take much persuading!

After we were dragged out of the cockpit, we jumped into Civil Air Patrol vans and raced into Washington DC to make sure we got a good spot in the evening rush hour traffic. That evening we got to meet everyone we’d be spending the next 2 and a half weeks with. There were cadets from Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, New Zealand and of course our escorts from USA. Over the next few days we toured Washington, visiting Arlington Cemetery, Iwo Jima, Air Force, 9/11, Lincoln and Vietnam Memorials, the Washington Monument, Udvar Hazy Air and Space museum, here we saw one of NASAs Space Shuttles and the famous SR-71 Blackbird spy plane, and the American History museum, the Pentagon and we even saw Marine One returning President Trump to the White House. The memorials, particularly the 9/11 memorial, were very humbling and thought provoking.

We then said goodbye to our Washington hosts and the group headed for the Rocky Mountain Region as we headed off to the Middle East Region. On the way to the National Guard base where we’d be staying, we stopped off for a tour around NASA Goddard. We saw around their cleanrooms, where they build and test satellites before launch. They even had a working replica of the new James Webb Space Telescope. When we arrived at the National Guard base, we got to have a look around the tanks that are based there. Here we met Jordan and Abby, Civil Air Patrol Cadets, and Tom and Brenda, Civil Air Patrol Staff, who would show us around all the weird and wonderful aspects of the US.

We started off the next day with a trip to see the USS New Jersey. In true American fashion, it is the largest class of battleship in the world. It was astonishing to see such a huge piece of equipment that is designed to function even without any. We then headed into Philadelphia and were let loose to tour the city by ourselves. We of course couldn’t leave until we raced up the Art Museum Steps to the Rocky theme tune.

The Middle East Region is home to Gettysburg, one of the largest and most influential battles in the US Civil War. We were given a bus tour around the vast battlefield and learned an awful lot about US history and why it is so relevant and controversial in American politics today. Tom and Brenda had also bought us appropriate t-shirts that we had to wear on our visit.

On Tuesday, we had a very early start to the day but it undoubtedly worth it. We arrived at Warfield Air National Guard base filled with excitement for a flight on the C-17 Globemaster, even teddy couldn’t wait! The crew practiced steep landings and take-offs that they use in theatre and we got to ride along. We all got to visit the cockpit in flight which is a surreal experience and one I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

The next day, instead of a rollercoaster ride on a C-17 we got a rollercoaster ride on a rollercoaster in Six Flags theme and water park. Fortunately for us, there had been some flooding in the surrounding area which meant there was almost no one there. We were able to stay on the rides and go around for a second or third time, if your stomach didn’t object.

Maryland Air Guard, home to A-10 and C-130 squadrons, was the next stop. In the morning, we each got a go on the USAF’s A-10 simulators that they train their pilots on. We were able to destroy all 24 aircraft carriers between us! After becoming A-10 pilots, we were given a tour around the real thing in their engineering hangar. In the afternoon, we were taken up with the Civil Air Patrol in their Cessna 172s. It is a truly unforgettable, and somewhat intimidating, experience to see an A-10 in your mirror on your taxi out! To top it all off, that evening it was free t-shirt night so we headed down to Baltimore Orioles to see our very first live baseball game.

The next day we headed back to Baltimore, this time to Fort McHenry where Nelson’s Navy was fought off. We learnt that Americans love to talk about 1776, especially when the British are there! Kayaking was next on the agenda. After a race around the lake, we had an involuntary swim! That night we were invited to the Middle East Region Commander’s house for a BBQ. We got to meet several of the Civil Air Patrol’s adult volunteers and even had a game of volleyball with the region commander. To top the day off I got a ride in my dream car, the Tesla Model S!

On the last whole day in our region, we paid a visit to Dover Air Force Base, meeting their USAF and National Guard Station Commanders. They toured around the aircraft on display with us, sharing their experiences of flying many of the aircraft first hand with us. The selection of aircraft there was huge C-5s, C-130s, even tankers and the old 717 presidential jet were there. We then headed to Delaware State Fair, the variety of things going on there was astounding from tractor racing to animal competitions, ride and best of all food!

The next morning, after saying goodbye and a massive thank you to the Middle East Region and Tom and Brenda, we headed back to Washington for the last few days. Here we met up with everyone else from the Rocky Mountain Region and shared the experiences over the last 2 weeks. The next day we got to choose what it was that we wanted to do while we were in Washington. We visited the Holocaust Museum, which was a very shocking human account of how a whole country was brainwashed, then went to see the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the White House. That night we said goodbye to everyone before they headed off home the next day. In the morning, before we headed to the airport for the flight back home, we had to fit a bit of shopping in.

The International Air Cadet Exchange has definitely been one of the top highlights of my cadet career. Not only is the itinerary for the trip jam packed with exciting things to do but the people I met and the experiences I’ve had with them have made memories that will last a lifetime.