Page 45 - Cadet Review Autumn 2023

CADET REVIEW AUTUMN 2023 45
the cadets had purchased their tops for their jump the following day.
We all decided it was time to go out and grab some dinner, after a meal we stop off at the local supermarket and grab some essentials
and head back to the bunk house again still early but everyone was asleep and wishing the night away ready for the following morning and their upcoming baptism into the skydiving world, the morning arrives and no one needed waking up, we cleared the bunk house and were at the centre in record time.
The cadets went into the canteen and waited until the call came over the Tannoy asking for the static line course to assemble at the indoor reception.
We all head to the indoor reception where we meet the instructor who will dispatch the cadets
this morning, his name is Steve Dove, an extremely experienced Instructor and he starts straight away with a quick refresher on emergency drills to ensure he is happy, once completed all the cadets follow Steve to collect their kit, the realisation that they
are about to climb into a perfectly good aircraft and throw themselves out of it is dawning on them and the nerves start to take hold, some head to the toilets for a ‘nervous wee” then it is into jumpsuits, rigs on, helmets on and they all walk outside to the radio room and have their radios fitted, then out to the Map to confirm which way the wind is blowing and a final confirmation on which direction they will be facing for landing and it’s onto the flight line, we are told we are Hound 3 and are given a 30 minute call until we board the aircraft and when I mean we I mean WE, that’s right I asked if I could jump before the cadets and was happy the CCI agreed, so off I trot for my ‘nervous wee’!!
Final flight line checks are completed and the aircraft is waiting for us to board, Steve leads us all to the aircraft and starts to position the cadets in their jump order in the plane, once all are seated its my turn to sit inside the aircraft, with a short taxi we are lined up on runway 11 ready for take-off, at this time Corporal Kegan Munro informs us all that it’s his first time on a plane as the engine hit a high pitch and we
it is activities like this
that make
the cadet force unique in offering experiences of a lifetime to young people, who would normally not have these chances
start our take off; within 15 seconds we are airborne and making our way to 4,000ft.
In no time we are at the required altitude and the nervousness is evident on a number of faces, then the red light comes on so we open the door, again the nervousness goes up a notch and Steve starts his final checks of the students. Green Light Go!! Cadet Lee Edwards is first in the door, and you could tell he was going out that door!! As soon as Steve said Go! He was gone! counting all the way, one thousand, two..........
With Edwards dispatched Corporal Kegan Munro was next and from the look on his face was sheer determination, Look Up!, Go!!, at this point Cpl Munro nearly lost his chewing gum!, but out he went without hesitation giving us a woo-hoo as he went, the aircraft starts to bank to the left and heads back to start the jump run all over again.
Soon enough we are back on the jump run, red light on, green light on Staff Sergeant Samuel Shackleton is next and his poker face is something to behold, not a glimmer of emotion, that was until he was in the door and Go!, as he exited the aircraft all the emotion came flooding back and he was gone.
Next in the door was Lance Corporal Caleb Norton, another stone faced and all business and in the zone and no hesitation Go!, he was gone.
Next in the door was Lieutenant Liz Field who could not wait to get in the door and then it came, ‘In The Door’ and like a flash she was there, Go! And another was gone into the wild blue yonder.
Sergeant Major Evie Nock was up next, no hesitation, in the door she went, Go! and out the door she went taking in the scenery along the way.
Last but by no means least Corporal Evie Brooks after watching everyone else exit the aircraft was ready to get in the door, “In The Door!’ was the command, and she followed the order, Go! now
this word didn’t compute, she looked at Steve and apologised and he said Go! (again) and as the words blended with the noise of the aircraft she was gone, mission complete.
Lt Liz Field said: “it is activities like this that make the cadet force unique in offering experiences of a lifetime to young people, who would normally not have these chances”.
Cadet Lee Edwards said “I was first of the cadets to go. Still very nervous I moved to the door to the order, looked up and just
went. My canopy opened, all went well, and I felt relieved, enjoying the descent and views over Salisbury plain”.
One of the things that made this weekend possible was the Commandant who subsidised the event, in return the cadets started fundraising for some of our favourite charities, The Yorkshire Cadet Trust and ACCT UK and raised a grand total of £1,856.00.