"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." — Virginia Woolf
How do you feed 70 ravenous air cadets in under one hour with limited facilities and equipment?
That was the challenging question the training team of the 102 Silver Fox Squadron Spring FTX was faced with.
Over the past five years, I have had the privilege of working with this amazing group of people. The 102 'Silver Fox' Barrie Air Cadet Squadron is part of the Barrie branch of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets and is based out of the Barrie Armoury.
With the motto 'To learn, to serve and to advance,' the cadet program focuses on leadership skills and community service. It is both rewarding and humbling to get to watch the youth of our city go through this program and see them grow into confident and capable young adults.
Squadrons are sponsored and administrated by the cadet branch of the Canadian Forces and are supported by both regional and national cadet leagues. Cadets aged 12 to 18 get to participate in a wide variety of activities and exercises over the training year.
My time with the 102 Squadron has been spent as a CV — or civilian volunteer — working as a level training officer. This means I get to mentor and work with the cadets in developing and delivering lessons and completing leadership or team-building tasks.
Sometimes, on rare occasion, I get to pull in some of my culinary and catering expertise.
The last two years has been tough. Many of the more exciting and dynamic things a cadet would participate in were cancelled. Classes pushed online, trips cancelled and missed training were all things they endured. Those still with us proved they are committed and willing to put in the extra effort to keep training and persevering.
This spring, we finally had a chance to get back to being in person.
Since we have returned to our regular parade nights, you can see the relief in the cadets' faces at being back to doing things as a group.
One of the most anticipated activities on our training calendar is the FTX, or Field Training Exercise. These are held twice per training year and involve survival classes, outdoor activities, team-building exercises... all in the great outdoors!
This past month, we finally got to plan our first post-COVID FTX. All the planning, scheduling and training is developed by our senior cadets as a leadership task with the support of the training officers. It takes several weeks to pull it all together and many hands to get the jobs done.
On a cool clear and sunny Saturday morning, our squadron marched into Earl Rowe Provincial Park near Alliston for the first day of the two-day long Spring FTX. It was a really great moment to see the excitement as columns of happy faces filed into our training area at the Fletcher’s Field picnic area.
My tasks for the weekend were to make sure our cadets were well fed and hydrated for their time with us. I had my supplies to work with. A generous donation from our friends at Fox’s Bakery and AJ Lanzarotta Wholesale got all our fresh fruit and snacks covered, but that left the question: “How do you feed 70 cadets in under one hour?" The answer is the MRE, or Meal Ready to Eat.
An MRE is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging for use in the field for conditions where other food is not available. A big advantage is that while MREs should be kept cool, they do not require refrigeration.
Even Napoleon knew that “an army marches on its stomach.” So, a hot meal is an important part of keeping up moral when in the field.
As the rest of the 102 Squadron went on and about lessons in fire starting, shelter building and orienteering, my Level 4 team assembled and went to work on setting up the mess hall and to prep for lunch service.
Burners and pots were set up and secured. Water had to be fetched and the MRE packs divided and prepped for distribution. The cooking, while simple, does come with a few challenges. I was impressed at the creativity and thought the team leaders put into setting up a fast and efficient process for running everyone through the chow line.
It’s a hectic experience when you witness your first MRE meal with a group of cadets. Imagine a cross between a high-school cafeteria and the grand bazaar. As soon as they get a pack the contents are pulled, sorted and then the wheeling and dealing starts.
Since each MRE has a different menu combination of items, it quickly becomes a race to trade for your favourite. For some, it becomes the art of the deal in collecting.
From what my son, Flight Sgt. Clements, tells me, it’s the pork patty meal that is on the top of the must-have list and for some reason our Level 1s and 2s are all huge snack-bread fans.
Personally, I don’t see the attraction.
From a chef’s perspective, an MRE does the job. It’s a hot meal with everything you need. It’s not gourmet, but it sure is a great way to feed a bunch of hungry cadets in the field.
I’m really glad we were able to get out and enjoy a great park, beautiful weather and share a few fun meals together. I know cadets certainly appreciated it. I guess a hot meal is good for morale after all.
For more information on the 102 Squadron and the air cadets, visit www.102squadron.com.
Daniel Clements is the chef technologist at Georgian College’s School of Hospitality and Tourism.
