Page 51 - Cadet Review Summer 2023

When worlds collide, Doncaster Military– Business Expo
By Captain Neil Bizzell
The military and business
worlds of several of our adult
volunteers aligned at the
Doncaster Military-Business
expo on Tuesday 14th
March. The Event organised
by Doncaster Chamber and RFCA for Yorkshire and the Humber brought employers and the military together.
Captain Vicki Brooks, whose day job is with Doncaster Chamber along with Major Richard Lenton were key in organising the event at the Holiday Inn hotel.
The event was opened by John Holt; Vice Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire and featured talks by speakers from the military and civilian employers in the region. Among others this included Commodore Phil Waterhouse; Naval Regional Commander Northern England and Isle of Man and Colonel Simon Banks-Cooper, Honorary Colonel of Humberside and South Yorkshire ACF.
After the talks there were a number of representatives signing the Armed Forces Covenant. This included Major John Lomas of Fire Risk Consulting Ltd and Captain Neil Bizzell of The Developer Academy Ltd. This was followed by a networking lunch before the event closed.
competition ensued. Sadly some of the teams were eliminated by the enemy when their position was spotted.
Obviously not a feature of all fieldcraft weekends, we carried out a pizza run for our evening meal
which proved popular. The cadets experienced cooking rations the next morning to have an authentic experience of cooking in the field. Post pizza, as darkness fell on the Saturday evening, cadets headed back outside to take part in a stalking activity as described; following this they took up sentry positions and bedded down in their bashas for the night. Their ‘wakeup call’ came in the form of a ‘stand to’ where
an enemy contacted the cadets. In response the 1*s needed to defend their harbour area by rapidly exiting their bashas, forming a baseline and successfully delivering fire control orders.
During the weekend senior cadets from Manor and Greenhill were a huge asset to the cadets’ experiences and learnings. In addition to the 3* and 4* cadets leading on a number of lessons, each section was allocated a section commander 2IC and cadet DS to support them in all tasks. It was a pleasure to see how the senior cadets have developed in their instructional techniques, and the enthusiasm and pride they took in preparingandthen deliveringtheirlessons,together with role modelling for the 1* cadets. The weekend was an environment to be able to also brush up on fieldcraft techniques for the seniors, as it had been
a while since the last fieldcraft opportunity (annual camp 2022); this is vital to address potential skill fade.
The seniors also enjoyed utilising their signals experience, having passed 2* and 3* CIS they used the personal role radios to communicate during the weekend. LCpl Bailey Gregory reflected that only a year ago he had been on his 1* Fieldcraft Camp at Manor and was now enjoying supporting the more junior cadets in his role as cadet DS.
We were also joined by Sgt John Wise, D Company CQMS for the weekend, whose dedication and experience was invaluable to the successful delivery of logistics and kit for the cadets. He also was able to oversee the processes implemented and great work undertaken by cadets who have participated on his Storeman’s Course this year. LCpl Ryan Tankard was impressively efficient (and patient) in issuing and accounting for stores required during the weekend.
Overall, a great effort from the 1* cadets, many of whom performed to the standard required to achieve their fieldcraft pass. Everyone participating learnt from the experience and has a good baseline for progression throughout the ACS syllabus.
WEAPONS ANCIENT
AND MODERN
By SSI Donna Nixon
Mexborough Cadets had a visit from Mr Bob Steer who brought with him a collection of weaponry from across the ages from 1914 to the present day. Mr Steer gave a talk about the weapons and warfare at the time of their
use. The then cadets got to hold and handle the weapons, with some weapons larger than the cadets themselves. The evening was really interesting for all of the cadets seeing how weapons had developed.
With many thanks to Captain Adrian Hoyle for organising the attendance of Mr Steer (a former Regular and Reserve RSM).
CADET REVIEW SUMMER 2023 51