E Company News

This year I was one of just twelve lucky cadets to be chosen for an Expedition Instructor's Course in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.

The trip began at our Cadet Training Centre, Frimley Park on 30th June where I met the other British cadets who would be attending the course. After two days of getting to know each other we were very excited to fly out to Canada, to the Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre where we would be spending the majority of our summer alongside Canadian cadets.

At the start of the course, we were split up into groups of 9, consisting of 2 British cadets and 7 Canadian cadets from all over the county including Quebec and Nunavut. We stayed in these groups throughout the summer, training together and developing a trust between us that would enable us to rely on each other. We then went straight into the course, starting with first aid training, building on prior knowledge we had gained during our proficiency training.

Lessons were then based on canoeing, mountain biking and, because there was a chance that we could encounter bears or moose, personal safety! All this was to prepare us for an 18 day expedition, on which we would be covering 183km by canoe, 180km by bike and 52km by foot. This was the main highlight of the course, as all our work had lead up to it, and although we had adults and safety vehicles with us because of the dangerous terrain, the work was down to us. Finishing the expedition therefore gave us a great sense of achievement, and the first night back on camp we spent all our free time swapping stories with the other groups. During the final days on camp we were all back together for community service, abseiling and our 30 hour solo survival task.

To finish off the course and recognise our achievement we had a pizza party on the penultimate night followed by our graduation parade the next morning lead by one of the Canadian course cadets as the Drill Sergeant Major. Other cadets were awarded positions as well to recognise their hard work, and I was very proud to be selected as my platoon sergeant. It was my job to form up the group ready for the Parade and to march them on and off the Parade Square.

I was very sad to leave the Canadian cadets the next day; during the 6 weeks of camp I had made many close friends. However, the course was over and we British were off to visit the capital city of Ottawa, where we visited museums, parliament and a water park. This was all part of the exchange, like the trip to Alaska and the float plane ride we had experienced previously.

After almost 7 weeks away I arrived home with some amazing stories to tell and many new friends. This, once in a lifetime trip has been the highlight of my cadet career to date and I am very proud to have represented both the cadet force, and the UK as well as successfully completing my Expedition Instructor's Course.

Cdt Sgt Emily Cale
Prince William School Detachment