The framework for this course is based on phases of army patrolling and small group taskings. Successful completion of this course is a prerequisite for promotion to Warrant Officer. The band also performs at course graduations and at other community events throughout the Yukon. Training exercises take them to areas where both above and below the tree-line conditions are experienced. Sponsored by the Department of National Defence, the Air Cadet League of Canada and the Air Transport Association of Canada, its aim is to qualify cadets with their private pilot licence, as defined by Transport Canada standards.
Staff cadets assist the officers who run the courses with training and instruction.
Staff cadets are paid at the same rate as a Canadian Forces Reserve private or corporal. The Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre was established in 1973 at Yukon Hall in downtown Whitehorse. Indoor training was conducted at a number of Whitehorse schools. Field training took place outside city boundaries in the Carcross and Skagway areas. Ten years later, the Department of National Defence leased the unused Wolf Creek Juvenile Corrections Centre from the Yukon Territorial Government.