Raleigh teen wins top cadet award at Greenwood camp

RALEIGH, N.L. — Commitment and hard work have paid off for a young cadet on the Great Northern Peninsula.
Fourteen-year-old Zachary Patey, an FCpl in the 774 St. Anthony and Area Air Cadet Squadron, recently received the Greenwood Air Cadet Summer Training Centre's award for top cadet in basic survival.
The basic survival course provides cadets "an opportunity to develop aircrew survival skills."
Activities included field training, navigation and ground search and rescue.
Cadets who applied for the course were between the ages of 13 and 14 and must have successfully completed Proficiency Level Two.
Zachary, who hails from Raleigh, won the award in July after spending four days in the woods with his partner FCpl Nicholas Mugford.
The pair had to demonstrate tremendous resourcefulness as they made a shelter, signal fires, water collection devices, various snares, camp crafts and ground-to-air signals.
Zachary says the Greenwood flight staff helped teach them many of these techniques.
He and Nicholas were the only two cadets from the 774 squadron to attend the three-week camp in Greenwood, N.S.
Zachary is about to enter his third year with the cadets.
He gives high credit to the organization.
“I think it’s a good organization to prepare you for the future,” he told The Northern Pen. “I just love it overall.”
He says he’s learned a lot from fellow squadron members, including senior cadets, WO2 William Penney, FSgt Hailey Sexton, WO2 Danielle Diamond and FSgt Shannon Carroll.
In cadet leadership, he also credits Lt. Louise Reid and Lt. Krista Diamond for helping his development.

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