Frimley Park, Cadet Leadership Course
Based
at The
Cadet Training Center Frimley Park this course was a Tri service course
with Air, Army and Sea Cadets.
My first impression as we entered the grounds was that we weren't going to survive the whole week. We got our bags and were directed to the reception area, where we were split up into platoons, sections and tents, yes it was to be a week under canvas. After that, we went down to stores where we were issued with all the equipment that we would need throughout the week. Later on in the day, we had time to get changed into training dress and get to know one another.
Then we were we were introduced to our officers and told what was going to happen the rest of the day. Later on, we had to give a 2-minute lecture about ourselves and because there was about 20 cadets in a platoon, the lectures took up most of the evening. Then we had a platoon photograph taken. After dinner, we were briefed by the officers on what was happening tomorrow and that there would an inter-section competition going on.
Day 2 Monday:
We were woken up at 0515hrs for early morning fitness, a 1.5 mile run followed
by the assault course. This is where our log race was to be the next day.
We had breakfast and got changed into training uniform, where we then bundled
into lorries and driven to a nearby forest where we worked on map and
compass, section attacks and ambushes. Later we had a fun orienteering competition.
We headed back to Frimley where did skill at arms and started on a 5-minute
lecture of our choice. Before dinner, we went down to the lake where we were
taught by a royal marine on 
how to make a raft. After the building of the raft,
we had to cross the lake safely without getting wet but then once we crossed
the lake, the royal marine told us to get in the lake and made us do push ups,
where we were all soaking after. After dinner, there was a sports competition.
Day 3 Tuesday: Up at 0515hrs ready, camouflage cream applied then off for a 20 mile hike, carrying weapons. It was interrupted every so often for command tasks. Each one of us in the section was in charge of a command task. The command tasks were hard to do and needed a lot of thinking by the section commander to overcome the problem. Some examples of the command tasks, e.g. extracting documents from a suspended bucket above a minefield and crossing a river with two of your men injured, just using rope and climbing equipment. Altogether it was physically and mentally demanding in the slaughtering heat I enjoyed it. Later on that evening, we set up a harbor area and that night we went on a recce patrol which consisted of meeting an agent who gave us secret information, unfortunately we were attacked by the enemy but this made the patrol exciting!
Day 4 Wednesday: After a short night sleeping under ponchos weapons were vigerously cleaned and inspected before the final phase of "Expedition Tender Foot". Another long hike this time under the constant threat of enemy attack, we finally reached harbor stations.
Day 5 Thursday: We woke up at 0615hrs, there was a march and shoot. We arrived at Pirbright and started our march of 3 1/2 km and ended up in the Pirbright ranges. It was hard trying to shoot when you been running that hard, they might call it a march but they made us run!
Later we had to cross a river.
Beside the river, there was craft building equipment. We had to build our own
raft using the techniques that we were shown earlier in the week, that could
support our equipment and ourselves across the river. The river was about 20
meters long and about 4 1/2 foot deep. As the first person crossed I could
see that the raft was going to fall apart. I still managed to cross without
getting wet and later on the craft started to come apart; many of my platoon
fell in and got wet, oh how we laughed!
After the river crossing, we had to cross another river in landing craft. When we came close to the bank where we would get dropped off, I thought the driver would land on the bank, but we were about 10 meters away from it when the driver said, “right, jump out!!” The water went up to our chests and we had to walk inland. For the final attack, we had to do a section attack upon the enemy position, which went well.
Day 6 Friday: We woke up at 0630hrs and then we went down to Sandhurst to run their assault course. The assault course consisted of a log run uphill, rope swings, wall crossings, barb wire crossings, crawling through tunnels just after running through a river etc. it was very tough going. After we had done the assault course, we were given a tour around Sandhurst, which was amazing to see. That was the end of the course and when we returned to Frimley, we gave our equipment back into stores and got packed, before being rewarded with a barbeque.
Day 7 Saturday: We woke up at 0630 and got changed into our parade dress. It was quite a sight to see all the different parade dresses of the different cadet branches. We walked down to the church for an enjoyable service, singing the hymns rather boisterously. We then returned to Frimley for the final parade, at which, certificates were given to everyone who passed the course, which I did of course! Even though the course was very demanding I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I left Frimley a tired but more confident cadet!
Kat Harris July 2005