Our Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet, Cdt CSM Miles

Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force is proud of its many high achieving cadets, teaching them new skills and developing in them confidence and leadership abilities, attributes that often prove to be decisive factors in their future careers. Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet is one of the most prestigious positions a cadet can achieve - a position currently held by Cadet Company Sergeant Major Lucy Miles.

Cdt CSM Miles is calm, capable, resourceful, and a skilled and capable leader and role model - qualities that mark out our very best cadets. She joined us in 2018, starting at Linton Detachment and then moving to Newmarket. At Newmarket, she has come to play an important role in teaching the other cadets, especially in her best subjects, fieldcraft and drill. Her Detachment Commander, SSI Drummond, said: 'CSM Miles is a brilliant cadet. Fantastic at detachment, being a mentor for cadets both junior and senior. She has taken the cadet experience and used it to her advantage, becoming a good role model and example of what a cadet should aspire to be. Nothing seems to stop her from achieving what she has her mind set to.'

She became a Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet in June 2023. This prestigious honorary role enables her to accompany HM Lord Lieutenant for Cambridgeshire, Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM, on her official duties, giving her access to interesting people and events she might not otherwise have. Her first event was a British Citizenship Ceremony in Huntingdon, which involved new citizens swearing oaths of allegiance and singing the National Anthem. She found meeting these people, and hearing their stories, to be: ‘enlightening, it has helped me appreciate some of the difficulties people undergo in other countries and the hardships some people experience. It was also really nice to see how happy they were to be British citizens.’

In August 2023, she again accompanied the Lord Lieutenant, this time to a Royal Anglian parade at Ely Cathedral, and more recently she visited CMR Surgical in Cambridge who were receiving the King’s Award for Innovation. In October she attended an agricultural event in Histon where she met the Princess Royal. ‘She was really nice, she asked me about my future career plans. She showed a deep interest, and we had a really good conversation.’

She completed the pinnacle of cadet training, the Master Cadet course, last summer. This course takes place at National Headquarters Frimley Park. One week-long, it includes three days in the field, practicing and refining the skills the cadets have learned during their cadet careers, as well as learning some new ones. She said: ‘It was challenging. It taught me how to be comfortable with uncomfortable situations and how to give orders.’

She became Cadet Company Sergeant Major for No3 Company in September 2023, and attended the Senior Cadets Conference, again at Frimley Park, in February. This gave her an insight into changes to the cadet syllabus, and an opportunity to voice her opinions about future changes and what might best benefit the cadets she instructs. She said: ‘I really enjoyed meeting people from all over the country and seeing the differences and similarities with how things are run in other counties.’

Cdt CSM Miles will reach the age of 18 at the end of June, and leave the ACF with the intention of going to university later in the year. She is considering various careers, including becoming an Army Officer.

She said: ‘The ACF gives you skills and helps you develop your personality, even without you noticing. Its given me opportunities, life experience other people my age won’t have had. Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet, CCAT (Adventurous Training), Master Cadet, its kept challenging me, and taken me out of my comfort zone. Its helped me problem-solve, and built my confidence and ability to lead a team. Most importantly of all, It’s been really enjoyable.’

Text and photos by SI Doug Stuart