Machrihanish this year was sadly only visited by three cadets from the squadron, (was supposed to be four, but one fool didn’t turn up) all of whom had an outstanding time.  It would have been nice if more cadets had been able to experience the pleasure of the camp but I suppose there’s always next year.  Week two of the camp seen Cdt Hastie alone, who comments on the week highly, while on week four, myself and Cdt Kayani A. had the pleasure.

Week four began with an early start for myself as our bus departed HQ at 0900 hours on the Saturday morning.  I met up with Cdt Kayani at HQ where our bags were loaded onto the bus and we were all counted out.  It was a four-hour drive, with a stop at Inverary, before we arrived at the camp.  Initially we were given all the usual stuff e.g. fire and safety briefs etc. but we were given free t-shirts, hats and water bottles so that was alright.  We were allocated rooms and got settled in before dinner.  Fortunately for me, my little roommate was AWOL from the camp also which resulted in me getting a room to myself.  I was rather pleased about that.

My module for the week was shooting.  I had never shot before the camp and by the end of it I was fully qualified to shoot the no.8 rifle and the L98 rifle which was rather fun.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to pick up any marksmanship badges to look good on my brassard but I thoroughly enjoyed the shooting thanks to Sqn Ldr Crawly ‘n’ crew with their injected humour and professionalism into the module.  Cdt Kayani participated in the fiedlcraft module and also had a great time although they were rubbish at hiding because we caught them out all the time.

Throughout the duration of the camp, there were many activities to take part in at night, after dinner apposed to last years free time.  They ranged from sports to orienteering and so on.  There was also an element of free time allocated which I’m sure none of the cadets would have been unhappy about.

All in all the camp was a raging success and completely different from last years.  I felt that it was a lot more organized than last years which was good and I would urge all the cadets at the squadron to put their name down for next years.

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Mach 07 : Week 2

By Cdt Peter Hastie

On July the 14^th myself and around 40 other cadets arrived at the Wing HQ for Mach 07. At mach the camp can be as large as over 200 cadets at any one week and  there is no overall programme, there is instead around 6 or 7 different modules, last year I picked leadership this year I decide to pick fieldcraft as it was something I was interested in but had not done a lot of. 

After a journey of around 5 hours we arrived at Machrihanish where the officers sorted us in to our modules, flights and rooms as well as issuing us with a fire brief, Mack 06 hat, Mack 06 T-shirts (leftovers from last year) and solder 58 water bottle and mug. We were told that as soon as got to our accommodation we were to get changed in to our blues for the parade after dinner. 

After breakfast on the second day we would have morning parade from which we would fall out to in to our modules, fieldcraft was one of the largest with around 26 cadets. For the first morning the module would be split in to 4 random groups of experienced map reader and those who had never done any. We had to teach one another the skills of how to bearings and how to get 6 figure grid references. After lunch we were broken up in to our proper groups, our group was C flight Cpl Burns (birdie) was our 1IC. Our module would be the first module to get taught from the new computerised ACP 16 (field and battle skills). We were given a power point presentation on being in the field and then when outside we were taught the basics of patrolling and then put this to practice  by patrolling down the road to just off the airfield and then back again.

The next mornings lesson was on stealth movement and the previous lesson for patrolling as well as one on searching and scanning. Then before lunch we went out to the field to practise patrolling. Starting that evening the camp staff had organised activities for each of the flights to do that evening. Our flight had a double section of sport, the first was a warm up with the marines followed by a tennis football- just like tennis only instead of a racket we had to use our feet, after this was a game of football which our team won.

The next day when we got to the module we were tot about ranging and direction. We also had a lesson on sentry post and their duties, this includes raising the alarm when people came close and questioning them to see if they are friendly. After this we had a practical exes of Ranging and Direction. After wards we went out on a patrol down to the an area of heave cover there the staff gave us a practical lesion in sentry post and then a practical lesion in camouflage and concealment where one of the group would hide while the others try and spot them. That evening I got a place in the Intermediate swimming course however because of the pool closing I did not mange to complete the course.

The next day I had been selected for a trip on a RIB (the speedboat used by the Royal Marine Commandos) so I was only at the module for the morning. That morning we learnt how to cook in the field with a stove and in the practical we got a second breakfast.  We got on the mini busses and drove down to the RM Base just north of the camp there we had a quick safety brief before getting put on the RIB for an quick spin, our skipper was a nut job not only did we go through waves at crazy speeds but we also sped close to another boat before being hit 6 feet in to the air by the waves, we then landed on the beach.

The next day was the last at the module and as we had cover pity much everything we were quickly give a lesson on navigating a route and stalking (getting as close to you enemy without them seeing you).  We then patrolled down to the next exercise which was to try to sneak up on the staff undetected, a stock-ex! I saw that most people just went straight for them and did not plan their route so I did. I went all the way out to the fence line. There I crawled along until I was behind a hill then I stood up and realised that the hill was not too big and the staff could now see my head. We spent the rest of the day tiding up and were then presented our  certificates which now allow us to go on to further training when we turn 16. 

On the last day we cleaned up and went home. The camp as a whole was brilliant not only was the module good but I also met up with so many friends from last year as well as making some new ones. I fully enjoyed it and hope to go back next year.

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Llanbedr

During the summer Sgt Finnie and I attended an adventure training camp at llanbedr, Wales.  During the course of the week we participated in many activities, such as kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, go–karting and high level walks.

I thoroughly enjoyed every activity we participated in at llanbedr.  However, my favourite activity was the high level walk as, it was a real challenge and required a lot of teamwork.  We had to climb to a height of 2,700 feet to reach the trig point! However, we all managed to do it by encouraging one another and working together as a team. I also enjoyed taking part in canoeing, and I am happy to report that I was the only one not to fall into the lake whilst doing the various activities.  However, there’s always next year!

Rock climbing was great fun too as it was outdoor, natural rock climbing, which was far more strenuous than indoor rock climbing.  However, it was much more exciting too, as I was hanging from a rock face which had a 40 foot drop by my fingers! However, I was still safely connected to a rope through my harness-so parents, don’t worry!

The camp had so much to offer and there was even a chance to beat some of the staff at go-karting.  As well as having fun at llanbedr, I was also able to learn many things which gave me the chance to develop myself.  These included things like leadership, teamwork and communication.  I would recommend this camp to everyone as you are able to learn so much whilst having a great time and meeting new people.  Make sure you keep a date in your diary free for llanbedr! 

By Cdt Stephen Kelly

In June I was offered the opportunity to take a kayaking course for the next 6 weeks on a Thursday.  Every Thursday at 6 o’clock me and Cadets Kayani A, Kayani QA and Corporal Kayani would go to Port Glasgow to learn star one kayaking with other cadets from Greenock squadron.  Over the next 6 weeks we learnt how to enter and exit the kayak properly, sweep strokes, crash stops, capsize and various other turns and strokes.  On the last day we were to have a test on all of the techniques we have learnt over the past weeks.  The test was fairly easy but I was absent the week before the test and hadn’t learnt how to do a crash stop but I mange to pick most of it up.  When it was time for us all to capsize everyone was a bit nervous when it was my turn I flipped the kayak then tapped the boat 3 times then when I tried to push myself out my feet got stuck and I panicked but I got out eventually.  We all passed and got our star one even though we all had to pay five pounds for the certificate.    

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RAF Leeming Summer Camp

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