The army have the best toys...

[RAPPLEBY2000]

"people from a higher status"?
Before hand i was very shy and only spoke to people i knew, I wouldn't have been good in a job interview for example.

Yes it would be wonderful to live in a militarised society wouldn't it, and those teenagers and unemployed people are just lazy ignorant undisciplined drains on society
aren't they?

Well, it worked for our country for many years and helped us win world wars!

Prior to joining the TA I was "lazy ignorant undisciplined and unemployed"

I think it's a crying shame to associate something as fulfilling and worthwhile as bushcraft with the military and servility

I don't. but i think that the Cadets do a damn good job of getting kids of the streets and doing something worthwhile, even if they never join the forces they'll have years of fun and adventure, personal goals (DoE) fulfilled and a full CV if they want to work with people, or in the outdoor industry, under their belts!.
can't see that's a problem.
no ones forcing Cadets to join the army as much as no one forces scouts to be scout leaders though it's fair to say it is advertising the forces.

 

[redandshane]

Come on lads the original post in no way invites this kind of discussion
As far as I can see its about opportunities and if kids get opportunities like that from whatever source surely thats good
If people benefit from an opportunity thats fine in my book
we all make choices every day and learn from that
Hopefully/Thankfully
personally i would have jumped at the chance

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Come on lads the original post in no way invites this kind of discussion
As far as I can see its about opportunities and if kids get opportunities like that from whatever source surely thats good
If people benefit from an opportunity thats fine in my book
we all make choices every day and learn from that
Hopefully/Thankfully
personally i would have jumped at the chance

:sad6: sorry for my part in the discussion. just biggin them up!

 

[traderran]

Army has the best toys? too dam right mate!! All you have to do is join up and you can play for years.

You got that right. and it will make a man out of you.
X Air Force myself. Still flying and loving it.

 

[Tengu]

It doesnt hurt to expose kids to such things...far from it.

We dont have a pushy recruiting system like they have in some countrys.

Join the MOD? Id jump at the chance to be able to.

 

[Draven]

I was lucky enough to go for my work experience with the Army when I was 14-15, it was great fun Very enjoyable experience, though my knee problems did start after a couple falls while there. My fault more than theirs!

It's not brainwashing people to join the army, for the record. It's completely voluntary for one thing, and far more people wanted to go than were allowed, at my school at least. You get a very brief taste of Army training exercises, go for a run on the Pentland hills, orienteering, learning about camouflage and keeping hidden while moving. The lads who were looking after us were great (one was a PT - you wouldn't move too slow for his liking for long ) and if anything, taught some of the more gung-ho-army of us to be a bit more sensible about it, since both of them had been to Iraq and both were going back. There was this one Cadet on the work experience too, he was a tank - got to the top of the pentlands without a break and still had the energy to run around, and always happy to offer to help people who were struggling with the task without being a jerk about it. Wish I'd stayed in contact with that fella!

All in all the army work experience helps some city kids into the outdoors, gives them a good basis for getting and staying fit, gives them a small insight into the sort of things they'll have to do in the Army and encourages them to make friends with people in their school year they might have never even noticed before, and make friends from other schools as well.

Nowt wrong with that in my book!

Pete

 

[Lordyosch]

The Kids we took were either already interested in joining up or we couldn't get them a placement elsewhere and they said they'd give it a go.

In no way was anyone dragged there (not least me!)

They all enjoyed it, more have come away thinking they might sign up but I bet most won't. But as it was pointed out, in todays economic climate getting a 'trade job' might be quite tricky so learning mechanic-ing in the forces is a sound investment in their own future.


Jay

 

[locum76]

i'm really trying not to get involved in the debate unfolding in this thread but....

although i believe it is good for the army to go into schools, do a bit of PT and show youngsters the ways of the backwoodsman; i also think they have a responsibility to anyone they dupe into recruitment after they leave or even fail basic training.

at the moment such individuals are unceremoniously dumped on the street and left to be mopped up by the few people who care. If they want to recruit school kids they should make sure the kid is capable first.

lordyosch: it must great for your young team to get out of bradford and play, and you must enjoy your job.

 

[cub88]

I was in the air cadets and absolutely loved it, I spent a week at beckingham and absolutely loved and I did my work experience at RAFC Cranwell! Guess what? I absolutely loved that too.

The whole experience did nothing but give me great oppertunities and good friends. I ended up becoming an electrician and didnt feel pressurised in any way to join the forces.

If anyone on this forum (or their children) is considering joining the the ATC/ACF/SCC then i would strongly advise they go for it and have the time of their lives.

cheers
cub

 

[shocks]

I loved messing around in the cadets at school and hats off to anyone that takes there own time to work with kids. As for it still being relevant I would say so. If teenagers dont know what a pine cone/ acorn is then maybe some time in the great outdoors is overdue. Whether its the scouts or cadets I don't suppose it matters.

In this Xbox age i dont doubt the cadets have the greater pull! As for people trying to turn this political. Wrong forum .......

 

[ex Member swampy99]

As a CFAV with Essex ACF I would just like to point out that it is a youth organisation that is sponsered by the army in that they give us a uniform use of there camps and ranges and we run under there "Rules". if you looked at the training program it would be 25% green and 75% AT.The stars that the cadets get during there time in the ACF go towards there DofE badges plus they can get a BTEC in public services. It is NOT a recruitment tool for the Army. Some say that the only difference between the scouts and the ACF is that the ACF have bigger guns. ;-)

 

[Sniper]

If anything joining something like the ACF will give a youngster a far better idea of the real life in the forces than many other organisations. As an ex ACF adult and ex soldier I, like all of the other ex servicemen with the ACF, would be the first to sit and chat to a cadet who wanted to join up, and we would make sure they understood all the bad stuff as well as the good stuff. The guard duties for example cos there ain't no recruiting poster tells a youngster about standing outside a gate 2 on 4 off in the rain in the middle of winter, or about working in a wood in the pitch black, freezing, soaking wet, hungry, and totally peed off. In my experience the ACF is not a recruiting pool although the military do advertise their wares, just as they do on the high street, it was only a few of the many cadets who actually signed up, most of them did not.

 

[locum76]

admittedly my dad was in the cadets and said he enjoyed it and the fife air cadets do a heck of a lot of environmental work...

http://www.snh.org.uk/biodiversitycommstoolkit/assets/pdfs/tools/general_public/Fife_Air_Cadets.pdf

...which is nice.

 

[Crowe]

Apart from all the arguments and each has its merits. What a wonderful way to plough army or government money back into the community !

 

[Lordyosch]

lordyosch: it must great for your young team to get out of bradford and play, and you must enjoy your job.

It is great to get the kids out of their comfort zones (in a structured/safe manner) without an Xbox or the internet they're totally lost -at first, but they start to get there at the end of the week.

Some of the kids who went last year have shown a massive improvement in their self-confidence, motivation and behaviour (naturally some have not...)

I also take them canoeing when the weather is better. I'll do anything to avoid teaching! -just ask my colleagues.

I'm off again this week but not for fun reasons. Grrr.