Apr 01 – Damp Camp For Army Cadets
Thirty of Gibraltar’s army cadets are currently on annual camp at a very wet and cold Holcombe Moor Training Centre, near Manchester. The boys, whose ages range from 13 to 16, arrived at the Training Centre last Friday and it has barely stopped raining since then.
Despite the bad weather, in the first three days the cadets had completed a navigation exercise, an Obstacle Course competition and prepared for their first mini-exercise. The boys start each day with Physical Training at 6 o’clock in the morning and with a meticulous Inspection of their rooms, something that may come as a welcome surprise to the boys’ parents.
On Sunday, Holcombe Moor was also being used by troops from one of the UK’s elite Special Forces units who were happy to talk to the awe-struck cadets and to show them some of their high-performance vehicles and specialist equipment.
‘The Holcombe Moor camp is ideal,’ said Captain Alan Montegriffo, the unit’s Officer Commanding.
‘The facilities are all brand new and purpose-built for cadets. Everything we need is here within a small area and we receive tremendous support from the Manchester Cadet headquarters.’
‘We had originally planned to bring around 45 cadets with us but it was difficult to get enough seats on flights from Gibraltar to Manchester,’ added Alan.
‘We hope to run a second camp later this year so those who missed out this time will have another opportunity.’
The Government of Gibraltar provides an annual grant for the cadet unit and it is this grant that plays for flights, uniforms and everything else that the cadets need throughout the year.
Although the unit is 100% funded by the Government, it is an important part of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment family. In the past five years nearly 20 cadets have gone on to join the Regiment as Regular soldiers. On Monday, Lt Col Ivor Lopez, the CO of the Regiment, accompanied by Major Tim Cumming, OC of Headquarter Company, and WO1 Dean Castrey, the Regimental Sergeant Major, were all at Holcombe Moor to meet the cadets and to watch them in action in the obstacle course competition.
‘The Regiment is hugely supportive of the cadet unit but we are the first to realise that, as a youth organisation, it makes a much wider contribution than simply recruiting soldiers,’ said Lt Col Lopez.
And then the Heavens opened and it started to rain again…
{fcomment}
