CCF Army

October Field Day

The October Field Days give our Year 10 recruits the opportunity to test themselves in the field. All the basics are covered, such as basha building, camouflage and concealment, and living in the field overnight. The rest of the section deployed and, after rehearsals, put into practice some of the six section battle drills and other field craft. The weather was kind and the training time was effectively used.

Summer Camp, Forest of Dean

For once, the Army Section did not deploy to the field but instead based their activities at the Cinderford Cadet Training Centre in the Forest of Dean. On the first day, we fired live at Beachley Barracks, just outside Chepstow. The cadets got a chance to fire 65 rounds each and this was the first time firing live rounds for most of them. Bearing this in mind, a few showed some excellent marksmanship and all embedded and honed their weapon-handling skills on the Cadet GP Rifle. The next three days moved into a round-robin phase of activities: a day’s mountain biking, air rifle shooting, .22 shooting, mapwork, orienteering, first aid, and various sessions on field craft. The inter-section tug of war competition proved very popular and competitive! We were lucky enough to enjoy good weather and the luxury of an accommodation block, a TV room and showers. I am worried that the Army Section is going soft . . .

Jonathan Hughes