On Thursday 6 August members of the Lowland RFCA team paid a visit to Glasgow & Lanarkshire Battalion on its annual camp at Barry Buddon Training Centre in Carnoustie.
Throughout the week-long camp, the Cadets enjoyed an impressive range of training and leisure activities, including Fieldcraft exercises, sports competitions, drill, blank and live firing, film nights, bingo, raft-building and much more.
In spite of the ever-changing Scottish weather, the Cadets were more than keen to take on each activity, taking full advantage of every opportunity to build practical skills such as teamwork, communication and physical resilience, having fun with old and new friends alike along the way.
The social element of the annual camp was further strengthened by the Barry Buddon facilities also playing host to the Black Watch Battalion during the week, thus enabling Cadets from different areas of Scotland to meet and make even more new friends.
As ever, the Cadets were guided and supported by the battalion’s dedicated Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAVs) and Professional Support Staff (PSS), who work tirelessly both on the front lines and behind the scenes to plan and deliver these camps, ensuring the young people in their charge can learn, train and make lasting memories in a safe and enjoyable environment.
‘For me, the best part of this year’s annual camp has been getting to make new friends and socialise with other Cadets from outside of my detachment and outside of my company,’ said Corporal Jessica Murphy of 3 Platoon (Royal Scots Borderers) Newmains.
‘I also really enjoyed the three days of Senior Fieldcraft that we did just after we arrived here. We all got the chance to act as section commander, second-in-command, sleep and cook outdoors and fire off a lot of blanks. It was all really good fun!’
This year’s Glasgow & Lanarkshire camp has also been a particularly special one for the battalion Commandant, Colonel Derek Coulter, as it was his final camp before he passes the command torch on later this year.
‘This was my 46th and final annual camp, and every single camp is always a highlight of any Cadet’s and any adult volunteer’s career,’ remarked Colonel Coulter, reflecting on nearly 50 years of involvement with the Army Cadet Force.
‘I’m definitely going to miss being a part of this incredible organisation. There have been plenty of highs and lows over the years, but there’s nothing I’ve loved more than seeing so many Cadets coming into the battalion at 12 years of age and leaving at 18 as well-rounded, confident young adults ready to take on new education and career opportunities.’
During their visit on 6 August, Lowland RFCA’s Comms Team, Ciara Irwin and Emma McMullan, Chief Executive Colonel Ted Shields MBE DL and Deputy Chief Executive David Pettigrew were able to see the Cadets in action in their Fieldcraft and firing sections, showcasing their outdoor survival, patrolling and weapons handling skills. They also ventured out to Monikie Country Park where another group of Cadets were having the time of their lives out on the water as they took on paddleboarding lessons and an inflatable assault course.
Reflecting on everything he had seen and his conversations with the Cadets throughout the day, Colonel Shields said: ‘Barry Buddon has long held a special place in the memories and hearts of Scotland’s Army Cadets. With all three Lowland Army Cadet Force battalions holding their annual camps at Barry Buddon this year, a new generation has been enjoying all that the camp and training area has to offer.
‘As the culmination of the Cadets’ training year, there is always much to be done at annual camp – shooting on the ranges, Fieldcraft and overnight bashas, Adventure Training and leadership tasks, sports, drill, film and games nights, map reading, First Aid . . . it is all go, all the time.
‘Over a thousand Army Cadets from Stranraer to Dunbar and Kelso to Port Glasgow have been learning new skills for life but, above all, having fun and making new friends – also for life. It is both heartening and inspiring in equal measure to see today’s young Scots making the most of every opportunity; perhaps it is the fate of every generation to be maligned in their youth but these Cadets, as their predecessors before them, are every bit as enthusiastic, diligent and dedicated as any of the older generation ever were.
‘I would like to pay special tribute to the Cadet Force Adult Volunteers and to our dedicated Professional Support Staff embedded in each of the battalions – none of this would be possible without them. Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do.’
