New International cadet exchange 2010

Senior Cadets from Barbados will attend camps in Canada and England this summer as part of an exchange arrangement with cadets from these countries. These visits will be reciprocating recent visits to Barbados from cadets from Nottinghamshire and Ottawa  in recent months. Below, the Canadians pose on the East Coast of Barbados during their adventurous exercise held during the camp.

The Canadian contingent from 2784 Governor General's  Foot Guards Royal Canadian Cadets during their Barbados visit.

A contingent of seventeen, including three officers, one adult instructor, and thirteen cadets from Canada experienced eight days of camping in Barbados as guests of the Barbados Cadet Corps during the Easter holiday period. The Canadian cadets are members of the 2784 Governor-General's Foot Guards Royal Canadian Cadets based in Ottawa. The group visited Barbados from Thursday April 1^st to the 8^th, and engaged in cultural, social and recreational activities along with the usual cadet camping routines. At a “meet and greet” welcome reception hosted by the Canadian High Commissioner, Her Excellency Ruth Archibald, a number of officials and former cadets met the visitors and expressed their support for the exchange arrangement.

Her Excellency, Lt Col Browne, Senator Boyce, Major Buckler and Major Skeete at the welcome reception for the group.

Coincidentally, another similar group of cadets and officers will also be camping in England during the coming summer, reciprocating a visit from the Nottinghamshire Army Cadet Force to Barbados last year for our International Cadet Challenge Camp 2009.

Senator, the Honorable Darcy Boyce, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's office and President of the Barbados Cadet Association Inc., recalled the exchange arrangement between Canada and regional cadets which existed in the 1960’s and 70’s and pledged his support to the new initiative.

Commanding officer of the visiting contingent, Major Freeman Buckler explained that the exchange developed as a result of the contacts and friendships that were developed between Barbadian and Canadian officers over the past 4 years as Barbadian officers completed leadership training under a program with the Canadian Instructors Cadre (CIC), the body responsible for training the 7000 adult officers who work with cadets in Canada. He said that the camp was a once in a lifetime experience for the cadets and praised the outstanding welcome and excellent arrangements made for the visitors.

Commandant of the Barbados Cadet Corps, Lt Col Trevor Browne was also full of praise for the event. He said that the Barbados Cadet Corps had approach Cadets Canada some 4 years ago in an effort to enhance the training of local officers attached to the Cadet Corps. The response was very positive and the training arrangement for officers so successful, that the level of co-operation between the two cadet bodies had grown to the point where the exchange of cadets was now a reality. Colonel Browne indicated that fifteen cadets and three officers of the Barbados Cadet Corps will be attending a reciprocal camp in Ottawa in August this year, and that numerous other units in Canada were requesting similar exchange arrangements.

Three Canadian and three Barbadian cadets pose for Capt Bascombe's camera at the start of the NavX exercise.