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| What are the Senior Leaders? |
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Last Updated: 15 Nov
Changes: Typos fixed :) |
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When done, Click here to see Page 2 of What are the Senior Leaders!
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The Senior Leaders are a long-standing group of air cadets and former air cadets that have passed through the Air Cadet Senior Leaders Course...the graduates endure 6 weeks of Drill, Discipline & Leadership Training both Practical & Theoretical...its the Pinacle of Human Achievement for many of us, including myself.
SLC is not a course, which many will disagree with...but they probably never saw SLC. No. SLC is a history...a tradition, and is so much more than many believe it to be. Yes, it has changed since it was born back in '73 at Cold Lake (it existed in Borden before that. The Cold Lake version was 1973 till present), but we now realize that physical punishment doesn't instill leadership. We still learn...and we are still hardcore. Hardcore beyond a doubt.
So many things can be wondered about SLC...the SWORD...the SWEATERS... the SHUFFLE, the ACRONYM, the MAGNIFICENT SEVEN, the SALUTE, the TREE...the RIVER....but they are secrets and cannot be told...they are our pride and joy. So don't bother. It doesn't mean we don't respect anyone who hasn't been there...because then we wouldn't be very good leaders at all, and the Senior Leaders are here to be...well...Leaders, and good ones at that! We still realize that many have done much harder things in life...but this is SLC. It's OUR SLC. We preserve it so that SLC traditions do not become Common Knowledge and are not cheapened... That would be a shame!
Everytime I, or any SL Grad thinks about the Parade Square, and that famous march down Queensway on the Cold Lake Wing, we can't help but reflect on the others who have been there before us, and how we just joined them and became part of the evergrowing SLC Family. We can't help but delete everything Non-SLC from our minds for atleast Grad Night...because we just finished SLC...and we only get to do that ONCE.
The Magnificent Seven...the song that the Cold Lake Service Band plays (God Bless their music!) as we march down Queensway and receive a salute from the Cold Lake Staff Cadets (of all trades)...a different kind of salute that will never be forgotten. NEVER ever forget "that" salute. Keep reading on this page...you may begin to have a better understanding of SLC. SLC Forever
WSNBM~ONBP...we are the freakin Trees!
~by WO1 (Retd) Matt Wallace, SLC 2000, Silverstar Flight
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Just 9 Some of the 292 Grads of SLC 2000. Here we have some of the many more Atlantic region Cadets: Left to Right: Stubbert A2, Roy A1, Richard A3, Savoie A3, MacNamara A1, Bonenfant A1, Wallace A1, Landry A3, Stobbs A1
This is us just minutes before we left Cold Lake to go home. |
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READ THIS (Author: "Sgt. Ho" whoever that is) |
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| Most people do not understand what the Senior Leaders Course is about. They are not to be blamed because the only ones who truly understand the meaning of SLC are the SLC graduates. Even the course candidates are uncertain of the goal they are striving for. They have been vaguely told about the end, but still they do not know what it is that they are working for. They do not know why they wake up before the sun releases its first drop of light, or why they torture their hair by cementing it with gel. They do not know why they march until their legs are sore from digging their heels into the ground, or why they spend endless hours preparing for mutuals, speeches and exams. They do not know why they stand deadly still on the parade square oblivious to the mosquitoes gnawing at their arms, or why they lose sleep over the commands on a parade sequence. They do not know why they endure the freezing nights when the winds send the chills down their spines, and their bodies are covered with goose bumps from head to toe, or why they polish their boots until their fingers become numb. All they know is that the end would come and they would be a part of the SLC family. Until the end, they would not know the feeling of pride growing inside as they march through the hangar doors and off their parade square. They would not know how it feels to be standing with their heads held high, shoulders back, fists clenched and legs rigid as the notes of the Magnificent 7 pours into their souls and fills their hearts. Only when they have reached that moment will they know why they have been pushing themselves for six long weeks. Only then will they understand what SLC is all about. When done, Click here to see Page 2 of What are the Senior Leaders! |
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