Please tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Cadet Sergeant Ophelia O’Brien, I’m 17 and attend Benenden School and the John Wallis Academy Combined Cadet Force (CCF).
What was your initial motivation for joining as a Cadet?
My father is an officer in the British Army, and I wanted to be a part of the tight-knit community that comes with joining the CCF.
What training/qualifications have you done with the Cadets? Have they helped you in any way outside of the Cadets?
I currently hold the qualifications of Marksman for the GP Rifle, Basic First Aid Training, CFIT, CCS 3*, as well as achieving Cadet Sergeant. CFIT and First Aid have both helped me the most when it comes to volunteering opportunities at events where leadership and basic medical knowledge are very valuable skills to acquire.
What do you enjoy most about being a Cadet?
The best thing about being a cadet is the community. CCF builds unbreakable bonds between young people which they otherwise may never experience. Learning to trust and rely on your peers but also for them to be able to trust and rely on you, is a quality that every cadet gains. No matter how large or small, every cadet is responsible for the support and wellbeing of one another both in and out of sessions.
What advice would you give to anyone considering becoming a Cadet?
Your contribution matters. Cadet Forces are made up of individuals with varying skills and qualities, whilst also being a singular body of strength and co-dependency. Such different young people join cadets all over the country for so many different reasons, but together we share experiences and opportunities that forge a community and environment where these differences do not divide us, but unite us further both in Cadet Forces and nationwide.
Do you have anything else you would like to share about your time as a Cadet?
Things may not always go as planned. During a residential field trip, our Section Commander took a ‘short-cut’ across an open field in pitch-black darkness trying to find our camp, whilst the senior cadets (Year 13) went looking for us junior cadets (Year 10-12) with torches. As we saw two senior cadets approaching we all proceeded to lay on the ground with our enormous Bergens on our backs for what felt like an eternity. By some miracle they did not see us and we managed to get to the camp just in time for a ration pack supper!
There are CCF contingents in over 500 secondary schools all over the UK, offering young people a broad range of challenging, exciting, adventurous and educational activities.
Our aim is to enable the development of personal responsibility, leadership and self-discipline. Each CCF is an educational partnership between the school and the Ministry of Defence, and a CCF may include Royal Navy/Royal Marines, Army or Royal Air Force sections.