Who are you? What do you do in Cadets? and Your first experience?
I’m Fin and I joined Cadets in term one of this year. From my first impression, cadets is about independence whether it’s remembering to iron your uniform or planning lessons to teach to whole platoons, yet with those responsibilities comes great fun! With countless games, or even theory lessons packed with valuable and interesting info, it's hard to not have fun during cadets. One of my first experiences of cadets was around week 3, It was a ‘Cam and Concealment’ lesson where we learn all about camouflage but most importantly got to cover our faces in special camouflage paint, fill our hats with leaves and roll around in the dirt, with of course a some competition thrown in there too, yet whilst it was my favourite lesson I did have to catch the bus home covered in cam-paint.
Annual:
Annual is a five day camp that's approaching, known for getting to do all the awesome field activities. Due to Covid we haven’t been able to hold this camp for over 2 years! Yet people who had joined cadets prior have been getting everyone excited for what's quote ‘Arguably the best Cadet camp’.
Food and Water:
Food and Water is one of the most all round loved games in Cadets, it consists of wearing bush hats and Cam paint then diving into the bush and trying not to get seen by the rank. When hiding most use the five S’s and an M: Shape, Shine, Silhouette, Spacing, Shadow and Movement. But some just dive headfirst into the bushes and hope not to break any bones. Rank has noted that everyone can disappear from sight in 10 seconds. Now to the ‘Food and Water’ part, when the Sergeant calls ‘Food and Water!’ anyone remaining in the bush that hasn’t been caught runs up to the Sergeant, taps their hand and has to find a new spot, all in the space of 5-10 seconds, they then repeat the process until only one person is left.
What cadets has to offer in the later years (from one of the senior rank)
Hi, I’m Aidan Fisk, and I joined the Cadet unit in 2019 (year 8). The early years of Cadets (year 8 and 9) were filled with fun games, interesting lessons, incredibly fun camps, and so much more amazing experiences as mentioned above (despite the massive obstacle of COVID, which cancelled the majority of these camps and activities). While the early years of Cadets were filled with unforgettable experiences, the later years of Cadets (year 10 and onwards) are the years when cadets becomes more of a valuable learning experience (at least in my opinion), learning countless leadership skills, developing a strong sense of discipline, developing strong friendships with fellow Cadets, and many more positive aspects.
One of the best learning experiences I have had in Cadets in the older years is learning how to teach and lead Cadets in activities as a part of moving through the ranks. From these experiences, I have been able to gain more self-confidence, learn so much more about useful Cadet subjects through teaching them to others (fieldcraft, orienteering, signals and communication, first aid, etc.), gain more independence in my work, gain more meaningful friendships with people I wouldn’t have known otherwise, and of course, learn how to be a leader, all skills that are essential to later in life. Most of these valuable skills come through teaching lessons to younger Cadets: when you have to prepare and teach a lesson to the recruits in your assigned platoon for the year, a definitely challenging task, but a hugely rewarding one, enabling you to become an expert on the field you are teaching, as well as allowing you to gain self confidence in your teaching and leading abilities, all while having great fun! The second main area where a huge amount of leadership skills, courage and friendship comes from is using the useful information taught in lessons on Cadet camps and field activities, including the BIVOUAC and Annual camps held once a year. (As mentioned above by Finlay). In these camps, the whole Cadet unit spends time in the field applying knowledge they have learnt at school in fun and exciting ways. Recruits and pioneers (year 7-9) focus on learning and applying useful information in the field, while rank in the unit (year 10 and above) are tasked with leading the cadets in exciting activities, also having tons of fun along the way.
In conclusion, Cadets is an amazing experience from years 7-12, with the younger years focussed on games, learning and great team bonding as a platoon (both in parades once a week and biannual camps + other activities), which is an amazing experience in the younger years and definitely one Finn and I would recommend to anyone. On the other hand, the older years are focussed on developing leadership skills essential for later life, bonding with the younger years, as well as forming lasting connections with fellow members of rank, (both with the same amount of camps and parades as the younger years + additional activities). These aspects of cadets make it definitely one of the best school experiences Finn and I have had.
Challenge: FIND BRIAN!
By Finlay Maclennan and Aidan Fisk
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