Blues for Greens
Blues for Greens
The prospect of a week’s worth of wet weather, frost and Army catering could not stop Durham/Northumberland Wing Air Cadets from running one of its flagship events, exchanging the usual blue uniform for a distinctly green one.
October half-term week saw over one hundred cadets and nearly forty staff from all over the Durham and Northumberland areas braving the elements at DTE Warcop, an Army training estate in Cumbria, to take part in a multi-activity camp considered by many to be one of the highlights of the year.
The cadets were divided into eight Flights, each commanded by an experienced senior cadet chosen through a selection process, with each Flight cycling through a series of fun and challenging activities.
As befitting a green camp each Flight completed the Fieldcraft training course, which included a small-scale field exercise to put their newly learned skills into practice. The Flights also took full advantage of the Army’s extensive training facilities as they completed a tour on the Dismounted Close Combat Training simulator, an electronic shooting range, as well as both the long and short rifle ranges, earning more than 30 marksman awards between them in the process.
The intensity doesn’t stop there as each flight underwent training on the Assault Course, supervised by qualified instructors and a Royal Marine Commando, a sure-fire deterrent to any slacking on the obstacles.
Each Flight was also given the chance to further stretch their muscles and dexterity with a session on the Climbing Tower, adding an Adventure Training element into the greens mix.
Finally there were a series of professionally designed leadership exercises to allow the Flights to flex their mental muscles, complementing the training offered on the Wing Junior and Senior Cadet Non-Commissioned Officer Courses.
The final day saw the Flights run through a round-robin of the activities they undertook throughout the week, moving from one to the next in sequence and completing an objective for each. This last day was an ideal platform the cadets could use to put into practice all of the skills learned since their arrival.
Organising and running a camp of such immense scale is a mammoth task, one the Camp Commandant, Flight Lieutenant John Sheedy, knows all too well. Flight Lieutenant Sheedy, who is also Officer Commanding 733 (Newcastle Airport) Squadron, said “with places on RAF camps waning in recent years it is important that we provide other opportunities for our cadets to get away from home and take part in the variety of activities that the Air Training Corps has to offer. This year’s Warcop camp ran particularly well and I am indebted to the staff who worked very hard to provide these opportunities for our cadets once again this year. Everyone is looking forward to next year!”
The Air Training Corps welcomes young people aged between 13 and 17 who have a taste for aviation and adventure.
