Sadly I fear that it’s a bit like asking if a dog can understand the concept of Norway…
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twitches uncontrollably at the thought that some folk mix up classification of bacteria and viruses…
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You mean there’s a difference? 
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this triggers me more than someone wearing a mix of Numbers 1, 2, and 3 uniform would trigger @AlexCorbin 
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As much as I want to join in, let’s bring this back to motivation for volunteering shall we?
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Surely the motivation to volunteer is to help out, for whatever reason, is personal but there will invariably be an underlying interest? This is the basis of the majority of people volunteering.
In the village we have a number of retired people who get together and litter pick along the roads, lanes and park, some of these and others, as I have said help out at the church; underlying interest of keeping the village “nice”, many of them also have it as a social activity. All this is, like many other community volunteering, no strings attached. People who get involved in the RBL and RAFA do it because they want to support the work they do and again no strings.
What would the underlying reasons in the Air Cadets be, for the “man/woman off the street”, ie no previous experience? I wouldn’t include parents, grandparents etc of cadets, past or present. Understand this and we maybe get to why the Air Cadets doesn’t seem to be seen as a good to use your free time. People won’t say why, they’ll just never darken the door again. I’ve forgotten how many I’ve given the spiel over the years, never to be seen again.
Maybe the problem in the Air Cadets is there are strings attached, at corporate level and or down the ladder to local level. The latter is in our hands, the former relies on our paid management recognising the problem and doing something about it. But they don’t care, as long as there are serfs running around doing things.
I thought motivation to, or, why do you, volunteer was extensively covered in the survey published earlier in the year, which I will have thought (given they’ve had since the end of March doing nothing and still getting paid) our beloved senior management will have been meticulously dissecting this and coming up with ways to make the Air Cadets attractive to adults as a volunteering opportunity. Oh yes they did a ‘formalised’ mandatory training scheme. Bound to get any prospective staff member’s juices flowing. 
Shush
I once had this discussion with my Wing Commander. We both agreed that what kept us at cadets was because, no matter what activity we were doing, we’d always end up laughing at some point.
That was it in essence. It made us happy.
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This is because teenagers are endlessly amusing.
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Not wrong.
Mostly it’s laughing in despair as someone at Region or Cranwell comes up with nonsense giving us things to do, as feels better than weeping.
Although kids are always good for laugh.
I had a cadet like that many years ago who said she was scared of heights. She went up and came back with the same smile you mention. She also couldnt wait to get back up. Fair made my day and its stayed with me all these years later.
Well for my pains im coming back to the organisation and im in the midst of the paperwork marathon .Its funny seeing all the same forms again .Ive been asked to put the uniform on but im not going to as ive had all that and will be quite happy to be a CI. The reason im coming back is simple (COVID) and truth be told ive missed working with the cadets and seeing them achieve .Its also full circle for me as im going to the squadron where it all started for me back in 1974 as a very raw cadet in battledress.
Yes - ditto with a rock climbing trip (on camp at Valley - to whatever the place is called near the ridiculously-long-named place…)
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For me it’s what I call ‘The Lightbulb Moment’, ie that moment when the Cadet get’s whatever I am teaching. That’s really satisfying.
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That, and thinking ‘hmm they are doing it better than I can’!
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This.
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