Words & pictures by WO2 (SMI) Peter Russell, County Media Officer
The Mendip Hills and ‘bleak’ are frequently synonymous, and the Gibraltar Company Christmas weekend had that in spades! However the conditions most certainly did not reflect the feelings of the cadets and adult volunteers who ventured there.
Company weekend camp numbers have been climbing to record levels in this post-COVID year, and Ex Sub Zero was no exception, with 35 Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) and 123 cadets attending what promised to be a packed weekend of serious training interspersed with plenty of fun activities as well to celebrate the end-of-the-year, pre-Christmas spirit.
Maj Scott Bunker, OC G Coy, and his team had planned a great weekend that was only marginally reliant on the weather, which was cold and blustery on Saturday with Sunday being colder, more windy and wet, although luckily not the sort of ’torrential’ wet that is often associated with Yoxter!
WO2 (CSMI) Mark Ball and WO2 (Bugle Major) Damon Farnell took a party of 3 Star cadets down to RNAS Yeovilton for the day to spend some quality time on the DCCT (Dismounted Close Combat Trainer), where they polished and honed their shooting skills, with scores rapidly improving as practice turned to perfect.
Back at Yoxter ACS training continued apace, with Drill and Turnout, First Aid, Navigation, Skill At Arms, basic Fieldcraft and CIS (Communication Information Systems) all forming key elements of the day. However, what everyone was really looking forward to was Saturday night - a traditional Christmas dinner followed by the disco, and with these cadets were not disappointed.
Sunday dawned very cold and windy, with icy rain squalls chasing across the training area - a perfect day for an inter-platoon March and Shoot competition! Teams were bussed out to Flag Alley along with their BSA Scorpion air rifles (carried in their protective cases) and then marched from the drop off point back into camp where each team then fired at a variety of targets from kneeling and prone positions. Icy winds blasting horizontal rain over the shooters added to the difficulty of accurately judging aiming points! Unfazed by such minor irritations the cadets continued to smile throughout and the general consensus was that it had been a really cracking camp - a fitting end to a busy year and a great chance to catch up after the interruptions of the previous year.
Well done to all.
Esprit de G!
