Your experience. Their Future     

Your experience. Their Future     

Off By Ed Hanna

Even after you’ve left the Forces, you’ll always be a Veteran, and that means you’ll always have outstanding skills and qualities that could add real value to the lives of young people. Volunteering with the Army Cadets is a great way to give back

It’s hard to leave the embrace of the Forces Family but by volunteering with the Army Cadets after you’ve left the Services, you don’t have to. Instead, you can still enjoy guiding young people towards the skills and attributes that made you who you are today. While not every cadet will want to take up a career in the Forces, every one of them will take valuable lessons and fantastic memories with them.

There are around 11,200 adult volunteers involved with the Army Cadets, an incredible organisation that caters to around 74,000 12–18-year-olds around the UK. 

Volunteers
Without volunteers, the Army Cadets cannot run the activities, camps, expeditions and all the other opportunities that offer so much to young people. All of these things require responsible, trained adult volunteers prepared to give their time and share their knowledge. Many of our volunteers will have had no Service experience, therefore the value of volunteers from the Forces community is key in passing on vital knowledge and experience. 

Switching things around for a moment, it’s also true to state that without the Army Cadets, adult volunteers wouldn’t have the opportunity to develop life-long friendships or learn new skills or gain nationally recognised qualifications in a range of subjects that can improve career prospects or enjoy the massive satisfaction of supporting young people to learn, develop and achieve.

It’s also worth mentioning that Army Cadets volunteers consistently recommend getting involved simply for the pleasure they get from helping their communities.

Experience
The Army Cadets is all about creating experiences for young people. To make those experiences as incredible and memorable as possible, the organisation aims to find the best possible volunteers. The ideal volunteers are people who are interested in inspiring and leading young people from within their communities and helping to shape the lives of a future generation. With this in mind, Service-leavers are prime candidates, given their experience, skills and ethos. While there are many reasons a Soldier may choose to leave active Service, this does not need to mean leaving the wider Forces Family. For those who retain a genuine love and gratitude towards the Armed Forces and what it has taught them, volunteering for the Army Cadets offers the opportunity to give back and make a difference for young people. It’s worth noting that all of these rewards cost as little as a couple of evenings a week and the occasional weekend away.

As an adult volunteer in the Army Cadets you will have the opportunity to learn about, take part in and organise an enormous range of activities. 

During their time in the Army Cadets, cadets work towards the Army Cadet Syllabus 21 (ACS21) which challenges young people across five progressive levels and covers a broad range of topics from personal standards and team tactics to map reading, community work, fieldcraft and weapons handling, all lessons that are supportive in sharing the key delivery of the values and standards, which are very similar to those of the British Army.

What it takes
As a Veteran, should you choose to pursue becoming an Army Cadets volunteer, you’d be ideally placed to guide cadets through the syllabus. By pooling the various skills, qualifications and experiences of your fellow volunteers, cadets benefit from a breadth of mentors.

While there are key differences between Military training and the instruction of cadets, even those who have never worked with young people could still play a vital role. Your prior experience as a Veteran will be taken into consideration when planning out your training, however you will be invited to attend a familiarisation and assessment in the first instance alongside other potential volunteers from non-Military backgrounds. 

Successful applicants will become a cadet force adult volunteer (CFAV) and will receive a comprehensive introduction to the organisation alongside other new volunteers. Although, as a Veteran, you may be exempt from some aspects of the training, know that support is never far away either from other volunteers or tutors.

What next?
Growing up today is tough. If you want to vest young people with useful skills, self-esteem and decent values, this is the best opportunity around.

The Army Cadets is waiting to hear from you…
For information on joining the ACF fill out the online enquiry form, visit: 
www.armycadets.com/find-a-detachment

Visit: www.armycadets.com