Not sure any of this is relevant to the thread topic…
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That person was a cadet 30 years ago, maybe not a good comparison. Even back then I’d be surprised if their experience was the norm.
Go to the thread and read the responses.
That got me thinking back to my time as a cadet …granted, back in the 80’s!
We were not a big Squadron (IIRC around 60 on the books at any time) in the South of England.
Two / Three camps a year offered I think (1 x summer - sometimes got extra places at others to, 1 x Easter) - probably 20 + Cadets at each
plus Germany/Cyprus etc maybe 3 or 4 places a year
Local .22 shooting pretty much when we wanted to and .303 (yes we used those!) and various rifles that came after probably once every 1 or 2 months.
Flying and Gliding …we used to struggle to fill slots (IIRC probably flying most months and Gliding every 3 or 4) because people got bored with it and didn’t want to go!!
It was an all day event and shared with another local squadron …pretty sure we used to take around 10 Cadets / Squadron.
…It is shocking how its all changed now!
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30yrs ago I was also a Cadet, I’ve looked at my 3822 this morning to make sure I wasn’t thinking back with rose-tinted glasses on.
My logbook is packed. We used to shoot .22 at least twice a month with L98 shooting once a month. Flying and gliding was every couple of months, I’ve got pages of Chipmunk, Bulldog and Vigilant hours. We did sport, DofE, AT, Fieldcraft, trips to here, there and everywhere. I went on camp at least once a year. Sennybridge was our playground.
Looking back with fond memories of getting bundled in the back of the OC’s van to go climbing or meeting up with neighbouring Sqns for a nite-ex where rugby tackling the Sqn Staff was the main aim 
Mr Emz’s 3822 is similar (he was on another Sqn but in the same sector), his annual camps were overseas (jammy git).
From our time as Cadets, a huge number did go and join the forces, either RAF or Army. Was that down to Cadets or just the geographical area and strong targeted recruitment?
I can’t say for certain but there was rumours of a Sqn in South Wales who would filter their Cadets off into specialities, so if this person was on that Sqn and the rumours were true, it’s possible that the shooing isn’t exaggerated, the rest of the claims, entirely possible from my own experience.
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It’s so hard now to offer what we had available to us as cadets back in the 80’s/90’s…
Shooting, .22 every other week at the local civvie range, L98 and full bore target shooting every other weekend at Strensall. Now, no small bore other than air rifle and only a sniff at L98 once in a while. We get more hands on with the L98 through our Wing Fieldcraft programme, but that’s on hold now due to local RFCA/ACF being awkward, but that’s another story.
Camps, I went on loads of week long station camps with the rest of the Squadron - sometimes 2 in one year, and had the opportunity to go overseas on more than one occasion. Now, we’re lucky to get 1 cadet on a summer camp each year, and they’re probably not going to be picked the next time.
Flying, I lost count on how many times I went AEF, again it was a whole day affair with 6+ cadets attending from Squadrons. Also got the opportunity to do my ACPNTS as well, at Finningley. My logbook is also full of flights in service aircraft, every summer camp usually gave us opportunities to fly in some of the aircraft on station. Now? We’re thinking we’re quite lucky to get “regular” (once every 1-2 months)slots we have to bid for, 3 cadets at a time. Service aircraft flying? Not a chance around these parts.
Fieldcraft/night ex - we did loads! We had local woods that we used and as per @emz cadets vs staff was always a highlight! Now? We’re obviously tied by more suitable safety rules so things take a bit more effort to plan but we still use our EUF regularly (apart from cadets vs staff, obviously!) Fieldcraft is in a hugely better position in our Wing, our Fieldcraft team are very proactive and are running events regularly.
So, yes our cadets are worse off now than before, I put it down to the reduction in availability of support from our parent service - if I look at my station visits then compared to now, it’s shocking how many are no longer there! 
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Just trying to remember all the RAF Stations I attended on camp…can’t think of any that are still there!
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Pull up a sandbag…
Shooting - we were based in what was called the “Drill Hall” at Ryde - it was massive & we had our own 25 yd range. We often shot once a week (no pre-approval / RAMs / RSDs needed!), & .303 shooting was at least once a month (range at Newtown on the Isle of Wight - still in use). Lots of support for higher level shooting - I got 3 consecutive Cadet 100’s.
Flying / gliding - as others have said, lots of opportunities - & even better, our AEF (based at Hamble) would fly across to Bembridge to conduct our AEF flights. Imagine that today… More gliding scholarships than today & for a flying scholarship, you had to attend OASC to carry out the aptitude test - & it was 30 hrs of flying!!
Camps - at least 2 - 3 big camps per yr. I remember one at St Mawgan where I got a flight in a Canberra!
Stn visits were reasonably regular, we were lucky that Thorney Island was pretty convenient, & lots of our cadets went up in Andovers When it closed down, we took a very large removal lorry across & loaded it up with all sorts of goodies! 
There were also such activities (very much encouraged) such as “Jail Break” - how far could you get with your 3822 & passport!! I certainly remember several cadets making it to Hong Hong & if my faded memory is accurate, one or 2 made it onwards to Australia!! There were UK versions too - loads of distances covered.
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I was a cadet from 98 - 05.
I remember easter and summer camps of around 50 cadets, which were split between about 4/5 squadrons meaning 2/3s of the squadron got a camp every year. Most cadets went on a summer camp at least every two years.
Shooting - we had an Air Rifle range on the squadron, used a local squadron range for No8 and we shot about once a month. L98-A1 shooting was at RAF Sealand, and generally we did about 3-4 long range shoots a year, usually in the winter months when no one else wanted the range. We did short range at Weaton Barrack every 2-3 months. Shotgun shooting was about 3-4 times a year too.
DofE - Most cadets got through a level every 18 months, which fitted in nicely. Pretty much everyone on the squadron had a DofE badge of some description, Silver being the norm. Aside from that, we did regualar navigation training days and orienteering.
Flying - cadets used to turn down slots as they have already been 3 times in the year. We flew from Woodvale in the Bulldog then the Tutor. During my time, about 6-7 cadets on the squadron got a full Flying Scholarship - me included.
Gliding - it was the norm for cadets to have “blue” scholarship wings after either a weekend or week long course. About 1/3 got Silver (solo) standard. There were GICs regularly and even after I did my silver wings I still got around 3-4 flights a year, but gliding and flying on camp.
We did bag packing, helped out car park marshaling and other stuff too, as well as having a successful squadron band.
RAFAC has definitely changed, and not for the better.
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Careful what you put here
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There’s a few reasons behind the decline in all the cool stuff above
Safetyism, growth of regulations post 97, massive and sustained cuts in the parent service and defence estate. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a way back - doubt 5% on defence will help the structural issues
We’re looking at starting an annual sqn camp at a local scouting location.
Annoyingly we need qualifications to camp on the campsite…
But at least they have bunk houses we could use!
It’d be great to guarantee some sort of unit camp each year.
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Your regional AT bod should be able to help with that; there is a qual available.
It just means spending more of your time away from home, plus your money to be allowed to give up more time with the little beasts camping.
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I’m guessing the minimum requirement now would be Lowland Leader with Camping Module? Which is pretty overkill for the situation you’re describing!
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There is a standalone camp leader qual
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Ah, I forgot MTUK changed it. Used to be you had to have the walking qual first, then get the add-on. Whereas now there is a standalone one!
To be honest, it doesn’t look too arduous. An online module, followed by an 8 hour in person day for the ‘assessment’. I think that’s reasonable.