W Company

The first County Cadre Weekend of the year is rapidly approaching. The weekend will focus on SCIC training, 2-Star training, adult first aid, adult D of E and adult shooting coaching.

Transport timings this Friday (10 Feb 2012) are as follows:

Berwick: 1830 hrs
Belford: 1850 hrs
Alnwick: 1915 hrs
Rothbury: 1940 hrs
CTC Otterburn: 2010 hrs

Cadets are to ensure they are at their designated pick up times promptly, with all the uniform and equipment they'll need for the weekend.

We shall depart CTC Otterburn at around 1400 hrs on Sunday, 12 Feb 2012.

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Timings for the cross country this Saturday are as follows:

Outward journey:
0800 hrs Alnwick (3 cdts)
0815 hrs Rothbury (5 cdts + 1 adult)
0845 hrs Otterburn (Border Reiver)(max 7 cdts)
0945 hrs Cramlington

Return journey:
1330 hrs Cramlington
1430 hrs Otterburn (Border Reiver)
1500 hrs Rothbury
1515 hrs Alnwick

All cadets attending will need running kit, including something warm and waterproof, and a packed lunch.

Unfortunately, given a lack of drivers and transport, we only have the one bus which SSI Dullaghan will be driving.

To that end it is necessary to make some compromises on the transport front:
- The Belford cadet is asked to make his own way to Alnwick. If he can't get to Alnwick then he can stand down from the event.
- The Bellingham cadets, no more than 7, are asked to make their own way to Otterburn Border Reiver. If they can't do that then they are to stand down from the event.
- Other Detachments not mentioned on the transport plan above are not to send cadets to the event.

Transport timings for the JNCO Cadre at Alnwick this weekend are as follows:

Minibus 1 (SMI Guthrie to drive):
Broomhill 0800 hrs
Amble 0810 hrs
 
Minibus 2 (Major Ewart to drive):
Berwick 0715hrs
Belford 0745 hrs
Rothbury 0830 hrs

Cadets attending are reminded to bring their overnight kit, including sleeping bag. The Regimental Dinner is now cancelled, but there will still be food and entertainment on the Saturday night.

Please stay tuned to this website and the Company Twitter feed for any last minute changes. It's getting to that time of year when we need to think about the possibility of bad weather.

_The County's annual 6-a-side football tournament was held at the Parks Leisure Centre, North Shields earlier today.

Team W Company put on a good show, but as our team was short of numbers we didn't finish very highly. As a Company of junior cadets we tend to struggle entering older competitors to events and today was no exception.

The following cadets represented W Company in the junior age category and are commended for their efforts today:
- LCpl Joe Miller (Broomhill)
- Cdt Adam Lewis-Douglas (Belford)
- Cdt Andrew Carr (Belford)
- Cdt Ryan Carr (Belford)
- Cdt Jonathan Hayton (Alnwick)
- LCpl Teri Hall (Alnwick)
- LCpl Kirstyn Crate (Alnwick)
- Cdt Georgia Laidler (Alnwick)
- LCpl Caitlin Craik (Amble)

Y Company, from Newcastle and the south west of the County, won the tournament overall, giving them an important early lead in this year's Champion Company competition. There's always next year!

Photos of the event appear in our 2011 photo gallery.

One hundred W Company cadets from as far afield as Berwick in the north and Bellingham in the west attended an action packed weekend at Otterburn. 

Despite storm force winds the cadets battled against the elements to improve their skills on the ranges, obstacle course and practical navigation. 

Below are some comments from the cadets who attended the weekend:

_The Company welcomed SSI John Gaskin to Otterburn for his first Company weekend. Reflecting on the weekend, SSI Gaskin said: "I have enjoyed working with the cadets and staff and I have been impressed with their level of training.  The food and accommodation were good and I look forward to working with W Company in the future".

Three cadets were presented with their newly earned APC Star badges on final parade. Cadets Joe Hale and Zak Summers completed the final assessments towards their APC 1-Star and Cpl Kevin Straughan received his 3-Star badge.

The Company Commander, Major Mark Ewart, said: "Once again it is a pleasure to report a very successful weekend. The cadets took the opportunity to experience a diverse range of challenging exercises over the weekend.  I was very impressed by their technical ability, efforts and general humour at all times".

Transport arrangements for the journey up to the Cadre weekend this Friday are as follows:

Minibus 1 (SMI Guthrie to drive):
Broomhill, 1930 hrs
Amble, 1940 hrs
Alnwick, 2000 hrs (including 2 x Belford cadets)
Rothbury, 2020 hrs
Otterburn, 2100 hrs

We will depart Otterburn at about 1500 hrs on Sunday for the reverse journey home.

Speak to your DC if you have any questions.

Cadets from Y Company, Northumbria ACF have won the annual 15 (NE) Brigade cadet military skills competition, Colts Canter, which was held in North Yorkshire earlier today.

The team, led by Cdt CSM Liam Arnot, were incredibly worthy winners, having spent months of effort on painstaking preparation to make sure everything went right on the day. Their efforts weren't in vain, with the team scoring highly on several of the competition events.

Our cadets, from W Company, came in 13th place overall from a field of 25 ACF teams based between Humberside to the Scottish Borders.

The final cut for team W Coy were:
- Sgt Will Young (Alnwick)
- Sgt Ellie Tribe (Alnwick)
- Cpl Ed Inkster (Alnwick)
- Cpl Josh Truman (Broomhill)
- LCpl Brandon Mayes (Broomhill)
- LCpl Joe Miller (Broomhill)
- LCpl Bethany Charlton (Bellingham)
- LCpl Jake Douglass (Bellingham)
- Cdt Teri Hall (Alnwick)
- Cdt Matthew Witherley (Broomhill)

Reserves were:
- Cdt Kirstyn Crate (Alnwick)
- Cdt Jess Campbell (Alnwick)
- Cdt Matthew Nixon (Broomhill)

The team was accompanied by adult team manager Lt Barry Lister, ably assisted by SI Andi Allan. The 2IC W Coy, Capt Tom Jackson, also attended the event as DS on the first aid scenario.

The cadets battled it out on Catterick training area, with wind so strong it was sometimes a struggle to stand. They began the event by having their kit inspected and taking part in theory tests on fieldcraft, skill at arms and fieldcraft. The teams then had to deal with a simulated first aid incident, which this year included a gunshot wound and hand laceration.

A huge thank you to all of the W Company cadets involved with this tiring weekend. Despite finishing 13th we're a lot wiser for the experience and know where to focus our efforts next time.

Photographs of the event will be added to our 2011 gallery shortly, so stay tuned for their arrival.

The Champion Company Colts Canter team is as follows:

Sgt W. Young (M) Alnwick
Sgt E. Tribe (F) Alnwick
Cpl E. Inkster (M) Alnwick
Cpl J. Pendrich (M) Alnwick
Cpl J. Truman (M) Broomhill
LCpl B. Mayes (M) Broomhill
LCpl J. Miller (M) Broomhill
LCpl B. Charlton (F) Bellingham
LCpl J. Douglass (M) Bellingham
Cdt M. Nixon (M) Broomhill
Cdt M. Witherley (M) Broomhill
Cdt T. Hall (F) Alnwick

We will move to Otterburn this Friday night, spend Saturday on last minute training and take part in the competition on Sunday. All cadets will need weekend kit plus competition kit.

Transport times for Friday (Lt Lister driving):

Alnwick: 1830 hrs
Amble: 1850 hrs (if anyone to pick up)
Broomhill: 1900 hrs
Otterburn: 2000 hrs (drop off)
Bellingham: 2030 hrs

We will return late on Sunday - it's difficult to give a time, but the last cadets are unlikely to be home before 1900 hrs.

The High Sheriff of Northumberland, The Reverend Fiona Sample, visited Berwick Detachment, Northumbria Army Cadet Force, on Tuesday 20th September.

Holders of the office of High Sheriff are appointed as the Sovereign's judicial representative in the county they serve.

The Reverend Sample spent two hours with the cadets, first of all carrying out an inspection of the cadets, then she went around various stands covering topics from Fieldcraft, Adventurous Training, and the cadets' recent trip to Belgium before finally taking part in .22 shooting on the indoor range.

The High Sheriff is pictured with LCpl Natalie Spence in the image above.

More pictures of the visit can be viewed in the 2011 gallery.

Just a quick reminder that the Admin Area contains many of the routine forms that cadets and adults alike might need to use.

Please browse over there and see what's available for download.