The most memorable part of my stint in the Combined Cadet Force
Unknown location
Cyprus
1982/3
The most memorable part of my stint in the Combined Cadet Force, aged around 13/14, was when we went on exercise.
Far west of Dhekelia, perhaps even as far as Akrotiri.
No idea where we went. I do remember eating breakfast with perhaps the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders so maybe somewhere near their base.
We were in the canteen and I sat down with these older, 'battle hardened' soldiers. The oldest, a middle aged veteran, was eating rice crispies and began to let them fall out of his mouth, dropping into his bowl, simultaneously moaning and mashing his teeth, no longer eating. Some kind of weird initiation? Trying to scare us young lads! Such is The Army.
Outside in the fresh morning air I remember the distinctive smell of strong 'British Army Tea' brewing in large, stainless steel canisters.
We would go out on daylight patrol carrying our torturous backpacks, wearing old WWII-like webbing and carrying black SLRs - self loading rifles, the magazines loaded with blanks.
Once we came across the dried out carcass of a dead donkey on the path in the middle of nowhere, oozing out some black putrefied liquid. This was Bondoo 2.0. Kind of reminds me of the film Starship Troopers.
Back at camp we ate our assorted ration packs, with various codes. Ooh, look what I've got! Curry!
In the evening it was making tents for the night and planning wargames.
Several hours passed. It was pitch black and we were waiting in ambush for some other group. Suddenly I was awoken by gunshots and mayhem. I had fallen asleep waiting - fail!
I have vague memories of being near the coast and us all jumping feet first off some cliffs into the sea. Not absolutely sure about that. And oddly enough, latrines.
The climax of the trip was when we were taken for a ride in a helicopter by some dashing pilot - I think he was Scottish with a moustache.
He would take us up in small groups, I don't know if everyone. We put on our seatbelts. But the most terrifying thing was when high up in the sky he tilted the machine to the side so you were looking down through the wind swept open 'window' to the ground far below, only the centrifugal forces keeping you inside (along with that backup harness).
Does anyone else have memories of that trip?
Cyprus
1982/3
The most memorable part of my stint in the Combined Cadet Force, aged around 13/14, was when we went on exercise.
Far west of Dhekelia, perhaps even as far as Akrotiri.
No idea where we went. I do remember eating breakfast with perhaps the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders so maybe somewhere near their base.
We were in the canteen and I sat down with these older, 'battle hardened' soldiers. The oldest, a middle aged veteran, was eating rice crispies and began to let them fall out of his mouth, dropping into his bowl, simultaneously moaning and mashing his teeth, no longer eating. Some kind of weird initiation? Trying to scare us young lads! Such is The Army.
Outside in the fresh morning air I remember the distinctive smell of strong 'British Army Tea' brewing in large, stainless steel canisters.
We would go out on daylight patrol carrying our torturous backpacks, wearing old WWII-like webbing and carrying black SLRs - self loading rifles, the magazines loaded with blanks.
Once we came across the dried out carcass of a dead donkey on the path in the middle of nowhere, oozing out some black putrefied liquid. This was Bondoo 2.0. Kind of reminds me of the film Starship Troopers.
Back at camp we ate our assorted ration packs, with various codes. Ooh, look what I've got! Curry!
In the evening it was making tents for the night and planning wargames.
Several hours passed. It was pitch black and we were waiting in ambush for some other group. Suddenly I was awoken by gunshots and mayhem. I had fallen asleep waiting - fail!
I have vague memories of being near the coast and us all jumping feet first off some cliffs into the sea. Not absolutely sure about that. And oddly enough, latrines.
The climax of the trip was when we were taken for a ride in a helicopter by some dashing pilot - I think he was Scottish with a moustache.
He would take us up in small groups, I don't know if everyone. We put on our seatbelts. But the most terrifying thing was when high up in the sky he tilted the machine to the side so you were looking down through the wind swept open 'window' to the ground far below, only the centrifugal forces keeping you inside (along with that backup harness).
Does anyone else have memories of that trip?
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