The Daily Gleaner, Monday 23 June 2008
Foreign cadet Instructors love the Training, lukewarm on the weather
Second Lieut. Donovan Smith never wants to see a canoe again, and fellow Lieut. Rita Evans finds 20-degree weather to be a little too chilly for her liking.
The Daily Gleaner/James West Photo
SHARING LEARNING TECHNIQUES: The Barbadian flag flies at full mast while, from left, Capt. Amanda Stanley, 2nd-Lieut. Donovan Smith, officer cadet Laurence MacKenzie and Lieut. Rita Evans pose for a photo in parade square at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown recently. Both Smith and Evans came to Canada from Barbados to take part in the eight-day cadet instructor program.
But that didn't stop these instructors from the Barbados Cadet Corps from taking part in an exchange program that saw them leave their sun-drenched slice of paradise for eight days of training at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown.
Smith and Evans worked alongside members of the Canadian Cadet Instructors Cadre, a sub-component of the Canadian Forces Reserve, which is responsible for the supervision and training of new cadets.
And after successfully completing the course, which provided instructors with extended training in a variety of disciplines, the Barbadian pair became the first foreign cadet instructors to train in Atlantic Canada.
"It's an honour and a pleasure to be the first to train here," said Smith.
"We carried our flag with pride, exchanged some information and made some great friends. I'm not too sure about the weather though, and the field training we did canoeing on the river is a once-in-a-lifetime, never-to-happen-again experience."
Evans echoed those sentiments.
"The only real complaint that I have was the weather. It's not too bad today but, believe it or not, I still find it a little cold," she said.
The eight-day program was intended to help develop skills necessary in the instruction of youths participating in the army branch of cadets, with a focus on leadership, map and compass, and field craft skills.
"The training program was a really wonderful experience and I definitely learned a lot," said Evans.
"The teaching tactics that the Canadians use with their cadets was interesting and I hope to apply a lot of what I saw to the 150 or so cadets that are in my training unit back in Barbados."
A graduation parade for the instructors was held at Gagetown's Argonaut Training Centre on Friday. Instructors said goodbye to their Barbadian colleagues, who flew back to the Caribbean later that evening.