The RAF Air Cadets Central and East Region nominations for consideration for the accolade of the best male and female cadet has been announced.
For the Dacre Sword for the best male cadet; Cadet Warrant Officer (CWO) Ben Ellis of 104 (City of Cambridge) Squadron impressed the judging team and for the new ATC75 Sword for the best female 
cadet CWO Katherine Hill, 2461 (Sawston) Squadron was adjudged deserving the honour. Both will now be in competition with the cadets nominated of the other five Regions.
Announcing the nominations, Group Captain Nigel Gorman, Regional Commandant for Central & East Region said; “Being selected to compete for selection is an incredible achievement and all the cadets we interviewed were quite amazing. To get to this point they had been shaped and influenced by countless others – thank you for the part you played in that. It says much about what is happening on Wings and Squadrons when we continue to produce cadets of such astonishing calibre. C&E is the largest Region in the ATC with some 173 units, in which there are almost 6,000 cadets spread over 14 counties. Just ponder on that for a moment. Pause and consider what that says about CWO Katherine Hill and CWO Ben Ellis and what they have achieved.
Whatever happens from here is a bonus. Our cadets now go forward to compete with their counterparts from other Regions. That will involve the Commandant and a day at RAF Cranwell. I am sure that you, like me, wish them very best of luck in the final round”.