On an icy weekend (4th and 5th of February) the Cadet Corps instructors set forth to undertake a fieldcraft course, enabling those new to cadets and the military, to acquire the skills to extend and enrich a cadets education. The course was run by former staff instructor of the 10th Parachute Regiment and his team at former RAF Sopley.
We arrived in temperatures pushing -3. The dorms did little to inspire and were obviously done to test the instructors steel.Saturday started with briefings and an introduction to field movement and patrol before going onto camouflage and concealment. As temperature plummeted to -6 instructors bedded down in their Spartan conditions.
On Sunday the instructors were given lessons on ambush and anti ambush before assaults and building breach and clearances. The day was finished off with an exercise to rescue hostages where patrols, assaults, breach and clearance where all put together. Course t-shirts were issued and wearily the instructors packed and headed due east towards a very snowy Essex.
Maj. C. P. Lander