Words & pictures by SI Nicola Gale, County Media Officer in Waiting
Cadets from across Jellalabad Company (J Coy) braved a chilly weekend at Chickerell Camp, near Weymouth in Dorset, to take part in their annual APS training weekend.
The weekend gave cadets an opportunity 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 Junior NCO course - the latter designed to teach newly promoted NCOs about their roles and responsibilities that 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 to the world of the Somerset cadet camps in preparation for annual camp in August 2023.
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 weekend’s events with a company parade which saw Bishops Hull cadet, Sjt Ethan Newby promoted to the post of J Coy’s new Cadet Company Serjeant Major (CSM), a role which 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.
