CCF Weekend Trip

Over the weekend, 67 cadets and 7 staff deployed to Stanford Training Area (Thetford) to conduct Basic and Advanced Syllabus Training.

The cadets were instructed and practiced in night vision, night noises and night patrolling. In addition to camouflage and concealment, movement without weapons, route section, duties of a sentry, field signals and formations and target indication. The pupils also practiced stalk and movement at night over the training area. The cadets were blessed with good weather over the weekend, with plenty of sunshine and a beautiful double rainbow.

After the safety brief, each platoon constructed their shelters under the watchful and critical eyes of their NCOs. A short burst of rain provided a good test of basha construction. Major C Cooper was very pleased to report that all were waterproof. The evening meal was cooked by cadets! Which was entertaining and tasty. The trick is not to look at what you are eating!

Friday culminated in a lesson on night vision, rods and cones, night noises and finding North using three different star constellations. Saturday was an early start for the cadets, with breakfast in the sun before their main lessons of the day. All were instructed by the Year 11 NCOs they were all excellent. It was a busy but fruitful day with all cadets learning much about operating in the field. The day finished on a high with a night patrol across the training area where the pupils practiced nonverbal communication and worked out their own section S.O.P.s (standard operating procedures).

It was an excellent weekend made so by the superb efforts of the cadet NCOs. Well done to everyone involved!