Cadet Sergeant Ollie Osman from Wrotham Detachment, D Company, tells us about his time with Kent ACF.
I’ve been in the Army Cadet Force for around four years (I joined September 2018). I joined wanting something to do, something other than sitting around playing on my Xbox all day.
The best bits about the ACF is the friendships I’ve made and the opportunities that have been given to me, I’ve been able to meet so many new people and I have been so many different opportunities such as DofE, and being able to shoot shotguns and other activities like adventurous training.
Cadets has allowed me to obtain many new skills such as leadership and management, and other lifelong skills like first aid training and discipline.
One of the most exciting activities that I’ve had during my time at cadets would have to be the annual camps, my first annual camp was in 2019 and it taught me so much about being able to manage yourself when you aren’t in the comfort of your own home. But by far, annual 2022 has been my favourite camp due to the amount of new people I’ve met and the activities that I was able to complete. It was very challenging- especially the fieldcraft phase, but it feels so good to be able to say that I’ve done it and had the opportunity to do something like this.
I would encourage anyone to join cadets if that’s something they are interested in. When I first joined I initially thought that I wasn’t ‘cut out ‘ for cadets - but it’s opened so many new doors and has allowed me to experience new things and make so many new friendships. So I would definitely encourage anyone to join.