Exercise Shropshire Sweep

This was a 24 hour exercise for cadets from Ellesmere College CCF on the southern end of Nesscliffe Training Area in Shropshire. We have recently been teaching these cadets about orders, particularly the orders process and structure of formal orders. This exercise was designed to give the cadets the opportunity to receive orders, assess how best to fulfill their objectives and deliver their own set of orders before actually putting it into practice.

Preparing to move
Preparing to move

With only having 24 hours, we were determined to make the most of the time available, and each section received orders, gave orders and launched patrols on 6 occasions during the exercise. This  left about 4 hours for sleep, which was a bit of a shock for a bunch of 16 year olds! There was a marked improvement in the quality of the orders that were given, both in terms of confidence of presentation and the thought that went into the detail of the plans. However, there’s always room for improvement, and we’ll be looking to develop this further in the future.

Covering fire
Covering fire

This was also the first time that these cadets have had the opportunity to use the new Cadet GP L98 A2 weapon system on exercise. First impressions were fantastic for a number of reasons. Any manoeuvres involving firing were significantly more fluid, due to the absence of stoppages that plagued the old weapon. The volume of fire power generated was noticeably greater due to the semi automatic nature of the A2, although this also meant that we got through ammunition more rapidly. The fact that, to the untrained eye, it looks identical to the weapon carried by regular British soldiers was also a bit of a buzz for the cadets. The only down side expressed by the cadets was the fact that it’s harder to clean, but it’s a small price to pay for a great bit of kit.

Overall, the cadets seemed to have a lot of fun whilst learning and developing new skills. So, all in all, it was a very positive and effective exercise. All that remains is to catch up on some sleep.

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