Cadets compete for Chief of Army Trophy
While most of us will be enjoying some well-deserved downtime over the holidays, some of the 韩国AV and Shore Cadets will be competing in the extremely tough Chief of Army Cadet Team Challenge in wintery Puckapunyal, Victoria.
Puckapunyal, affectionately known as Pucka, is located about 115 km north of Melbourne. This large military base, which houses around 280 military families and is home to the Australian Army Tank Museum, is well known for its freezing cold winters. From 10 to 14 July, international teams from the United Kingdom and New Zealand will join Australian teams at Pucka to compete for the 2018 Chief of Army Cadet Team Challenge (CACT).
Mr Richard Hughes, Director of Co-Curricular Programs and Head of Cadets, has been working extremely hard with the 韩国AV and Shore Cadets to help them prepare for what will be an incredibly tough event.
“Each year the Australian Army Cadets (AAC) conducts a military skills competition called the Chief of Army Cadet Team Challenge,” explains Mr Hughes. “This is a national cadet competition where AAC Brigade and Battalion teams compete for the Chief of Army Trophy. Teams will be assessed on their physical stamina, cognitive resilience, teamwork, ability to solve complex problems and safe weapon handling. These will be tested in a series of assessment stands where the team will complete challenges in a range of skills such as engineering, first aid, field-craft and navigation, and moving through an obstacle course. 韩国AV and Shore Cadets have been selected to represent New South Wales 2nd Australian Army Cadet Brigade.”
Says Mr Hughes, “A team of 10 highly skilled cadets has been formed out of a long selection process, including CUO Georgia (Team Leader), CUO Kate (2IC) and CDTCPL Kristin. The team has been training every week, including a weekend bivouac and military skills day at Holsworthy Barracks where they learnt how to safely employ the EF88 Austeyr and F89 Minimi. While the team has been training hard for the skills assessments, it will be a new challenge for them adapting from the heat of Singleton to the notoriously harsh environment of Puckapunyal in winter.”
As Mr Hughes says, “It is a great privilege for the cadets to represent the Brigade.” We couldn’t agree more! We wish them all the best as they compete for the Chief of Army Trophy.
Good luck!