The Hawkhead Road Army Reserve Centre in Paisley was a hive of activity on Tuesday 10 June as the resident Reservists of 102 Field Squadron hosted an engagement evening for their neighbours in the facility, West Lowland Battalion Army Cadets.
The evening began with an introduction to the history and activity of 102 Field Squadron which was delivered by the unit’s Permanent Staff Administrative Officer (PSAO), Captain Dave Hanley. This gave the Cadets some initial insights into the many personal and professional benefits of a career within the Army Reserve in general, such as challenging oneself, overcoming fears and seeing the world.
The introductory talk also helped to highlight the many specialist trades and skills Reservists can gain as part of 102 Field Squadron or the wider Corps of Royal Engineers, including driving, plant operation, joinery, communications and catering.
Following Captain Hanley’s briefing, the Cadets then headed outside into the sunny grounds of Hawkhead where they enthusiastically engaged with a range of equipment and machinery demonstrations, ranging from protective clothing to a JCB.
Once the Cadets had had a chance to try their hands at all the squadron’s displays, it was back into the Reserve Centre for a de-brief, which took the form of a Q&A session with four local Reservists, all at different stages of their military careers and with plenty of stories and experiences that they were more than happy to share with the curious Cadets. These included tales of peacekeeping deployments in Cyprus, specialist trade training and Nordic skiing in Sweden, to name just a few highlights.
The evening rounded off with a special shout-out to West Lowland Battalion’s Cadet Corporal Da Rocha, whose eighteenth birthday was the following day and so would be aging out of the Army Cadet Force. Corporal Da Rocha received an award in recognition of his impressive Cadet career from Captain Hanley, and is looking forward to pursuing a career in the Army, for which we in Lowland RFCA wish him every success.
Thanks again to both 102 Field Squadron and West Lowland Battalion for inviting us along to this event, and to the Reservists and Cadets who chatted with us during the evening.
