By: Lt Col Martin Myers-Allen |
Twenty-two cadets turned up for the CCF Army Field Weekend in glorious weather to experience an action-packed 48 hours at Merville Barracks Colchester and Fingringhoe Ranges at Mersea. The whole thing started at parachute training school where every cadet was placed in a parachute simulator and taught to cope with everything from exiting the aircraft to landing with full kit and rifle. Then they were thrown over an assault course before firing full bore on a 25m range with the LA98A2 assault rifle.
After a hasty lunch they were driven to a patch of wilderness to set up bashas before being whisked out to carry out a snap ambush. A night navigation orienteering exercise kept them busy until midnight, followed by sentry duty until Mr Witham broke their slumber at 0600 to carry out a number of section attacks on the enemy. Then they were put in full amour and taught FIBUA skills (Fighting in a Built Up Area) and then let lose on a five story building packed with hostages and further enemy forces. It was an exhausting weekend and those that did not manage to come missed out on an a great experience that will stand the test of time.
