1Wing 1946-1996

The course starts 

 
During the first week, we receive the first part of our uniform and the program of our courses. 

There are two major styles of uniforms: the “Battle Dress” or BD,  and the “Service Dress”. 

The Battle Dress is worn during the week’s courses, it’s composed by pants, a shirt, a short jacket and a beret. The BD is worn with casual shoes, or battle boots : the “Combat Shoes”. 

The Service Dress is our parade uniform, it’s mandatory to wear it when we go on leave. It’s composed by pants, a long jacket, a kepi and same shirt and tie as with the BD. In this case, the casual shoes are mandatory. 

Later, we will go to the well known tailor at the time (Marvan) one by one to individually fit our Service Dresses. 

Both uniforms carry distinctive elements like ranks and badges. For the first part, we start as soldiers, means no stripe at the moment.

The insignia of the school is a badge based on the insignia of the Royal Air Force (Belgian) Technical training School. The shoulder pads carry a white stripe that indicates, that we are CSOC (*) : that means candidates to become non commissioned officers. (NCO Candidate)

(*) Candidat Sous Officier de Carrière.

Going back home for the week end wearing the uniform will be embarrassing in the beginning, but the “Quality Control” performed by the "Adjudant-Chef of corps" at the gates will insure a perfect presentation of the uniform.
In the case something’s wrong, the leave is cancelled an you go back to your barrack !
During the numerous journeys by bus and by train to go home, I will never receive a single remark or joke ; in the contrary, people will look at me with some admiration…. That’s probably the "prestige of the uniform"…!

Our courses are organised in 40 time periods (one hour) a week. These 40 time periods are split over the following courses :

• 25 hours:  Mechanics
• 5 hours:    Electricity
• 7 hours:    Military Instruction
• 3 hours:    Sports

The Mechanics course is sub-divided in :

• Aerodynamics:         Studies of aircraft flight mechanics and helicopters
• Fluids Mechanics :   Studies of subsonic, sonic and supersonic air flows.
• Engines:                  Theoretical studies on piston engines and turbo jet engines
• Applied Mechanics:  Studies on all other than engine accessories used on aircraft and helicopters (pumps, actuators, clutches etc.)
• Practice:                  Removing and replacing parts, engine and other aircraft parts set ups

The Electricity course is sub-divided in :

• Basic knowledge in AC and DC electricity
• Basics in Electromagnetism
• Theoretical studies of the functioning of a battery, a generator, an alternator, and the electro engines in AC and DC

The Military Instruction is sub-divided in :

• Military rules and regulations: studies of the different rules and regulations.
• Weaponry : Theoretical and practical studies on the functioning of the different weapons used (rifles, handguns, grenades…)
• Tactics :     Survival training:  means camouflage, NBC protection (nuclear-bacteriological-chemical warfare), the different types of moving on terrain…..
• Drill :          Platoon marching, parade a platoon, command a platoon.

The sport activities are mandatory, any failure in the physical condition examination results in an exclusion.

The examinations include the following exercises: 100 m sprint, tossing weight, high jump, balancing on a beam, jump, tractions, and running 1000 m.
The candidates will have to succeed in these tests before the December examinations.
The weekly 3 hours of sports will be used to increase the candidate’s physical performance to enable them succeed in the tests.

We’ll be NCO candidates until commissioned to the rank of Sergeant. To get there, we’ll have to succeed in the first phase examinations in June 1979 at the Technical School and then the second phase examinations, which will in fact be our trial period in a squadron.
White stripes sewed on the shoulder pads of our uniforms differentiates us from the Sergeant already commissioned.

Note :
Some technical courses are given in a common classroom with the A2-76-1F graduating class.
The A2-76-1F class was composed of 32 students when it started in 1976.  Today, only four of them are remaining :