Join RGS Royal Navy Cadets to Set Sail for Adventure!
The Combined Cadet Force is celebrating 75 years shortly and RGS has offered the opportunity for pupils to develop their skills of leadership and teamwork over that time.
If pupils choose to join the Royal Navy (RN) section they can look forward to enjoying an exciting range of activities. Commander J M Shorrocks leads the Royal Navy section and shares an insight into the exciting opportunities available for those who join the section:
“I joined RGS in 1981 and was immediately involved with the RN section. In fact, I was a qualified S/Lt before even teaching my first lesson as I had been on the Officer’s Initial Course during the Summer Vacation.
In 1988 I was offered the opportunity to lead the RN section and did so with great pleasure for the next 30 years before retiring in 2018. Then again an opportunity to return and lead the Section occurred and so I have been at the helm for the last three years.
I can therefore safely say I have probably seen and done most things that the Navy can offer cadets. From flying in Sea King helicopters to driving the fast Patrol boats (the P2000’s), there have been many highlights. Being flown out to Tenerife with four cadets courtesy of the RN to join up with our then affiliated ship HMS Alacrity and sail back to Blighty on board was a great thrill. Sleeping in the humming gyro room and being on a night watch in the ops room was also very exciting. On another occasion at HMS Osprey we boarded a Sea King, dressed in our Sea Survival Once Only gear, to join HMS Montrose which was out in the channel. Myself and the six cadets were then air dropped off the helicopter to land on the flight deck!
The opportunities for RGS RN Cadets to join these activities continue to this very day at HMS Raleigh (the land based training establishment for Ratings in Plymouth). Here we have experienced Sea Survival training, the obstacle course and high / low ropes course as well as several sessions in the Damage Repair Instructional Unit (DRIU) which simulates a missile strike. In the DRIU the task for the cadets is to fill the holes in the walls of the room that they are in before it fills with water. To date every cadet has thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Powerboating at Jupiter Point is always a particular highlight.
This year we are renewing our acquaintance with RNAS Culdrose (also known as HMS Seahawk) which is our affiliated Naval Base from which our Summer camps are based. Here we get a week’s experience of being on a base and visiting the various aspects of a Naval Station from the Air Traffic Control Centre to the Bird Watch Centre and the Dummy deck, where they practice manoeuvring planes on a deck. The Fire Station and the Sea King simulators were also great fun for the cadets. But it was whilst visiting one of the Naval Squadrons on the base that we got an opportunity to fly.
As for sailing within the RN we have a fleet of Toppers as well as two large Bonsun dinghies. Our intention is to set up our sailing at Top Barn, Holt Heath where we can utilise their water based facilities as well as sail in our own RGS dinghies.
I will never forget an email I received before Christmas from an RGS pupil who was about to leave the RN after 30 years of service and he wrote to thank me for taking him on a ship visit and setting him on his way – not that we are in any way, shape or form an RN recruiting agency, but it was great to read.”
CDR J M Shorrocks