Tenison Woods College Year 10 student Josh Milan has been awarded a prestigious perpetual trophy from the Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) for being the best cadet on bivouacs in 2021.
A bivouac is a camp where cadets put the skills learnt in the classroom to use while being taught by Adelaide defence members about camping, survival and cooking using defence force ration packs.
The AAFC give out awards to cadets who have excelled and put in their best effort throughout the year.
Josh said he had worked hard for the year and the award meant a lot to him.
“It feels great to be rewarded because we push ourselves, doing things a lot of other people probably would not do,” he said.
“Without AAFC I would definelty not be anything like I am today. I used to be shy, but it has exposed me to things that are out of my comfort zone, improving my confidence.
“My dad was a pilot which sparked my interest in aviation, inspiring me to join the cadets and I have not looked back since.”
Over the summer holidays Josh was promoted to Corporal after passing an exclusive and demanding two-week promotion course at Adelaide’s Edinburgh Air Force base.
“There were about 300 South Australian cadets selected to participate in the course,” he said.
“Corporal gives you a real sense of responsibility and it has helped me think a lot more systematically, helping me to delegate tasks to people and know their strengths and weaknesses to be able to conduct things really effectively.”
