An Airdrie cadet been awarded the Alberta Outstanding Air Cadet certificate from the Alberta Committee of the Air Cadet League of Canada and with it bestowed the honour of being named one of the province’s top air cadets.
Unbeknownst to him that he was even nominated, Warrant First Class Officer Grayden Kruk, 18, of the 88 Airdrie Lynx Air Cadet Squadron was presented the prestigious award during the squadron’s regular parade night Nov 18.
“I was in surprise and shock,” he said. “I didn’t know what to say to be completely honest.”
Kruk, going into his seventh year of the program, will age out of air cadets when he turns 19 in July.
When he does, he will have obtained his glider pilot and private pilot licences, volunteered more than 100 hours training new cadets to glide at the Air Cadet Natook Gliding Centre, achieved the Lord Strathcona Medal, Legion Medal of Excellence, the Long Service Medal with two bars, and a wealth of community service with the Airdrie Legion, Salvation Army and the Airdrie Food Bank.
“The whole experience has been great,” Kruk said. “(The program) shows (cadets) what leaders can actually do not only for Canada, but also how it develops them into greater citizens of Canada.”
Commanding Officer Tracey Cormier of the 88 Airdrie Lynx Air Cadet Squadron nominated Kruk for the award.
She noted the Alberta Outstanding Air Cadet award looks at all aspects of a cadet’s life from participation in the program, volunteerism in the community and performance in school. She said Kruk excelled in all of those areas to really embody what the air cadet program can be if used to its full potential.
“He is the ideal role model of what a cadet is,” she said. “He has gotten absolutely everything out of the program.”
When looking at the 3,000 air cadets in Alberta alone, Cormier said being one of only two named top cadet overall in the province is a very impressive feat.
“(The award) was very well deserved,” she said.
For Kruk, his future remains in the air where it all started.
From the time he was a young boy living in Stony Plain, Alta., watching yellow gliders soar in the sky, he knew he was going to be up there one day.
He recalled the sensation of freedom he felt first time he got into a glider at the age of 12. He has since been flying almost daily to get enough hours logged towards attaining his commercial pilot licence, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him.
“(Flying) has been a passion of mine since I was ever so young,” he said. “It kind of just goes with the blood.”
