THE squadron leader at the Dunfermline Air Cadets has been named top officer in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Flight Lieutenant Kirsty Price, from Rosyth, has been involved in the air cadets for 16 years and has been awarded the Currie Sword for her outstanding performance at the 1145 Dunfermline Squadron RAF Air Cadets.

She was presented with the honour at a ceremony at HMS Scotia at their regional field day.

Flt Lt Price told the Press: “It was a bit nerve-racking, being recognised at such a high level just freshly commissioned! It was absolutely terrifying but really exciting at the same time.

“The squadron has had a pretty epic year which has been the predominant factor in me achieving the award. For the first time in a decade, our drill team won at Central Scotland wing level and then went on to win at the regional level at Scotland and Northern Ireland for the first time in a long time.

“Following the pandemic, we had nine cadets and we’re now up into the forties with our cadet numbers so we’ve had a huge increase. We’ve recently been announced as one of the top four squadrons in the UK.”

Flt Lt Price credits a lot of her success to her cadets and her team but she has worked hard over her first year as squadron leader to make memorable experiences for the kids and give back to the community.

She continued: “The amount that we do now, in comparison to when I was a cadet, is just phenomenal. We do leadership, cyber awards, space awards, shooting, flying and gliding. It’s just a massive offering and certainly a massive undertaking for the staff to deliver the amount that we do so it’s been nice to be recognised.

“My son keeps me going, he’s 10 and he’s really passionate about stage school and I’m really passionate about cadets.

“He says, ‘Mum, you’ve got to do it, you really enjoy it!’ so he pushes me forward. I get a lot out of it and it’s really rewarding, doing what we do.”

A cadet herself, Flt Lt Price added: “We offer so much for our young people. Being able to deliver things like cyber-awareness, radio training, leadership training and I’m away to teach youth first aid at the camp next week. There’s just so much that we can deliver as staff that the air cadets train us to do. It’s a wide range of activities that we can give back to the young people.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can get in touch via their Facebook page, @1145aircadets, by calling 858208 or emailing oc.1145@aircadets.org