Words & pictures by SI Nicola Gale, County Media Officer in Waiting
Cadets from across Jellalabad Company (J Coy) braved a chilly weekend in December at Chickerell Camp, Dorset, to take part in their annual APS training weekend.
The weekend allowed cadets to catch up on ACS training they could not normally complete in their platoon along with a chance to reacquaint themselves with old friends and make some new ones along the way.
This year’s offerings included 2 Star First Aid, 1 Star CIS (Communications Information Systems), 1 and 2 Star Navigation, and a Junior NCO course - the latter designed to teach newly promoted NCOs about the responsibilities they will undertake during their cadet NCO careers. A basic cadre was also run to introduce new cadets to the Army Cadets, not only to the ACS training programme but also to cadet life outside of platoon parade nights and the wider world of Somerset Army Cadets in preparation for the annual camp in 2023.
Cadet RSM Relph passed on her skills.
Cadet Regimental Serjeant Major (RSM) Hope Relph joined her home company for the first time in her new role as the county’s most senior cadet and spent some of her time with the basic cadets passing on her skills and showing what can be achieved in a cadet career with determination and dedication.
Saturday night saw the obligatory Christmas party although the partying only really started once cadets experienced the disappointment of being an England fan after seeing them knocked out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup at the hands, or rather feet, of France. The disappointment soon faded when the karaoke began!
Sunday brought a conclusion to the weekend’s events with a company parade which saw Bishops Hull cadet, Cdt Sjt Ethan Newby promoted to the post of J Coy’s Cadet Company Serjeant Major (CSM), a role that makes him one of the most senior cadets in the county alongside the Cadet CSMs for Normandy, Salamanca, and Gibraltar Companies, with Cdt RSM Relph taking the helm.
