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© LNRACF 2012 |
F Squadron NewsExercise Sandhurst CadetMyself and three other cadets from LNR ACF were lucky enough to be invited to attend The Sovereign's Parade at Sandhurst. This marks the passing out of Officer Cadets who have completed the Commissioning Course. Three of us travelled to Frimley Park with Suffolk ACF and Cdt RSM Potter made his own way there - it was a long , boring drive but once we got there (45 mins late!) we were taken directly to the dining room for a meal before receiving a briefing on Saturday's events. We then boarded the coach for the trip to Sandhurst where we were greeted by the Admin Officer who briefly chatted to us before we moved up to New College - marching smartly of course, as we were in uniform! He spoke to us about the history of the college as we moved up the main road and we caught a glimpse of the junior officers having a final practice for the parade the next day. We were then shown into the Indian Army Memorial Room with its magnificenwhere glass windows and we were given a talk about all the medals and plaques that reside there. The adjutant met us here and spoke to us about how he was looking forward to the parade and said that he was honoured that we were there. We spent the next 10 minutes in this room looking at the various items on display before moving on to the history room and the Waterloo room where we spent about 10 minutes in each room looking at the items and learning about their history. Finally, we moved on to the chapel, which was huge and had many memorials on the walls and pillars. I found the one dedicated to the Leicestershire Yeomanry, which is a part of my cap badge. We had 20 minutes looking around here and taking pictures before going back to the bus. Back at Frimley we had dinner followed by a briefing about the Army Air Corps. It was extremely interesting and we spent about 15 minutes at the end asking him questions on what it was like to fly; he told us that he'd not long completed his training after doing it for 5 years! After a very early start and a hearty breakfast, we left for Sandhurst where we were given the task of distributing leaflets to the guests of the officers before settling down to watch the Parade. What an experience.......during the ceremony, the Sword of Honour, the Overseas Sword and the Queen's Medal were awarded by the Sovereign's Representative who, on this occasion, was General (Retired) David H Petraeus US Army, Director Central Intelligence Agency. The parade ended with the Adjutant riding his horse up the steps of Old College as he followed the graduating Officer Cadets through the Grand Entrance. Following the Parade, we moved off the stand and up to the junior officers’ mess where we were introduced to, and chatted with, the 2IC of The Army. We then enjoyed a fish and chips lunch before our coach trip back to Frimley where we had a quick debrief before we were bussed back to our home locations. This was the first time the ACF has been invited to attend the Sovereign's Parade and I was privileged to be chosen. It was a great experience for me and the other 35 cadets that attended and hopefully our conduct and behaviour will auger well for other cadets to be extended an invitation in the future. Cdt SSM James Flamson |