1Wing 1946-1996

First contact

On the first day joining the armed forces, there're lots of people around : parents and trainees are directed to the hangar located next to the “parade ground”, to finalize the registration.
I’m given the first details of my registration :

• Soldier Bonfond Serge
• Service number A/40512
• 2^nd Squadron
• Class A2C-78-12F (Complementary A2-year 1978-12^th French speaking class)
• Bloc 41, Room 6. (My barracks)

After a short visit of the camp, the parents are invited to leave the trainees, from which several are merely 15 years old. It’s possible to enrol as from that age to follow a three years training in the A2 cycle in Electronics & Communications - Electro Mechanics - Electricity & Instruments - Amament.

An NCO  immediately takes care of us and teaches us the basics of marching…
He also brings us to our barracks, where we can leave our things and make first contact with the other members of our classes.
When I arrive in room 6 of barrack 41 the chief of room Sgt Languillier J. welcomes me, and shows me my bed and my locker, and presents me to my room mates.
And this is the way I meet some people with whom I'm going to spend a lot of time during this school year. Actually, we're going to live together 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week.
Inevitably, there will be some frictions ans disagreements between some of us, but at the end, all of us will become true friends.
Initially, the Class A2C-78-12F is composed of the following persons :   (Alphabetically)

• Sdt Bonfond.S Sdt Bonfond.S
• Sdt Cholot Ch Sdt Cholot Ch
• Sdt Dauchot M Sdt Dauchot M
• Sdt Gehenot Th Sdt Gehenot Th
• Sdt Lamock G Sdt Lamock G
• Sdt Petit R Sdt Petit R
•  

 
Our friend Thierry Gehenot will only stay with us for a few months. He's graduated from a non-technical school and has no knowledge in Electro Mechanics. He will have a hard time to follow the courses and will have to quit after the Christmas examination. 

We are informed very soon, that any failure in the Christmas examination will result in exclusion. The excluded trainees will be redirected to other types of enrolments. 

The members of the Air Force and Land Forces will follow the same basic courses. After that first training year, the “mud movers” are directed to a type conversion, meaning Alouette II or Britten-Norman Islander. 

For the members of the Air Force, each and everyone of them will attend a conversion course on a fighter airplane, transport aircraft or on training planes. The functions are attributed following the demand, but several options exist, the best trainees at the end of the final examinations session in June, have the opportunity the make their choice first.

In our case, it will be completely different…