NORTH REGION
REGIONAL COMMANDANT
Regional Commandant's Welcome
Welcome to our website!
I’m Group Captain Mark Leeming the Regional Commandant for the North Region. I’d like to start by asking you the following: What did you do last weekend? Anything you’ve seen on this website or the video on the homepage? No? Then read on!
The Royal Air Force Air Cadets (RAFAC) is the premier uniformed cadet organisation in the United Kingdom with over 60,000 cadets and 20,000 highly trained adult members of staff. Cadets aged 12-19 have the opportunity to take part in a bewildering array of fun activities including flying, gliding, target shooting, radio communications, field-craft and adventure training at almost zero cost!
The Region covers most of Northern England in a line from the Mersey in the west, to the Humber in the east and north to the Scottish boarders. There are over 6000 Air Cadets in North Region, located at one of our 168 Squadrons. This means that where ever you are in the Region, there is usually an Air Cadet unit near you.
So if you are in Year 8 or above at school and think you have what it takes to be an Air Cadet, why not browse this website and use the find your nearest squadron tool or contact the North Region Media Communications officer for more details .
Best Wishes,
Mark Leeming OBE MA FInstLM MCIPD RAFR
Group Captain
Regional Commandant (North)
REGIONAL COMMANDANT AIR CADETS (NORTH)
GROUP CAPTAIN MARK LEEMING OBE MA FInstLM Chartered MCIPD RAFR
A former CCF (RAF) Cadet, Group Captain Mark Leeming joined the Royal Air Force as an Administrative Clerk in November 1984. After serving as an airman for 12 years, reaching the rank of Sergeant, he was commissioned into the Administrative Secretarial Branch on 1 April 1999 and commenced his first commissioned tour as Officer Commanding P1 at RAF Honington. Subsequent junior officer tours comprised of main stream appointments: Officer Commanding Personnel Services Flight at RAF Honington; Officer Commanding Personnel Management Flight, Prince Sultan Airbase, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia; Staff Officer within Personnel Casework at Headquarters Personnel and Training Command, RAF Innsworth and Officer Commanding of the Armed Forces Careers Office in Carlisle.
After promotion to Squadron Leader in 2005, he was assigned to The RAF Personnel Management Agency as a Staff Officer within Special Casework, responsible for the staffing of pan-RAF casework, Honours and Awards, Compassionate Appeals and Officer Commanding of the RAF Compulsory Drugs Testing Team. This was followed by an appointment at RAF Cosford as Officer Commanding Personnel Management Squadron, where he was responsible for the delivery of personnel, welfare, training and support services. Thereafter he was appointed as a Desk Officer within Air Manning, where he was responsible for the Career Management of 420 Junior Officers of the Aeronautical Engineering specialisation.
Promoted to Wing Commander in 2010, he was assigned as SO1 Employment Policy, at HQ Air and was responsible for the formulation of policy relating to terms and conditions of service for Officers and Airmen, Equality and Diversity and the Trauma Risk Management (TRiM) Policy and Training Team. Thereafter, he was appointed as SO1 Air Personnel Casework, where he was responsible for the staffing of all RAF Casework, Honours and Awards and the management of Service Complaints and Service Inquiries. Selected to attend the Advanced Command and Staff Course Number 15, he graduated in July 2012 and was subsequently appointed Officer Commanding Support Wing at RAF Northolt. It was for his leadership and contribution to the support of service families that he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2015. Following an operational tour in Afghanistan with the Special Operations Advisory Group, he undertook a short tour as the Chief of Staff in the Directorate of Flying Training before being promoted to Group Captain and appointed as the Regional Commandant North for the Air Training Corps (ATC).
Group Captain Leeming has been married (since 1990) to Jeanne, (a former ATC Civilian Instructor) and has 2 children (both of whom were ATC Cadets), James, who is an Aircraft Technician in the RAF and Katie, who is studying at College.
A former ATC Service Instructor and volunteer himself, Group Captain Leeming enjoys cycling, walking and reading.