The Cadets Corps has begun student recruitment for the 2015-16 year under the auspices of the Cayman Islands Cadet Corp Committee (CICCC) and the Commandant of the Cadet Corps.

Former High Court Judge Andre Mon Désir is the Chairman of the CICCC with Mrs. Annita Cornish serving as Deputy Chairman. The other members are Cadet Corps Lieutenant Colonel Bobeth O’Garro, Training Officer Lieutenant Commander Robert Sutherland, Second Lieutenant Teresita Ebanks, and the Assistant Chief Officer for Youth and Sports Joel Francis.

Youth Minister Osbourne Bodden recently met with the CICCC, and encouraged them to meet, and exceed, the high standards which have been set over the years. “Perhaps at no time in our history is such an organisation more-needed, to provide our young men and women with positive guidance and modelling in important developmental areas such as personal responsibility, civics, discipline and national pride,” said Minister Bodden.

The main roles of the CICCC are to advise the Minister on policy matters relating to the Cadet Corps; and on any other areas matters referred by the Minister or by the Commandant. It also makes recommendations with respect to promotions and the appointment to, and withdrawal of, commissions.

Chairman of the Committee, Andre Mon Désir commented: “I consider it a great honour to serve as Chairman of the CICCC. As a former Cadet and senior military officer myself, I know first-hand the value of being in an organization such as this.”

He said that among the many benefits to young people that the Corps has to offer are a wide range of life-skills, such as the ability to plan, command and organise tasks; to make decisions under pressure; and to work as effective team players – as well as independently.   “Wearing the uniform”, he said, “becomes a tremendous honour; and the responsibility that goes along with it, a great source of humility.”

The Chairman added that the Corps produces young people with a strong sense of self-confidence, self-discipline, duty to country and a commitment to academic and personal excellence. “We have a great team and I believe there are many, many exciting weeks, months and years ahead of us. I therefore look forward to working with my colleagues to help make the Cayman Island Cadet Corps an organization that truly fulfils its mandate to our young people and, by extension, to the Cayman Islands as a whole.”

Recruitment is now open for all government schools, including those on Cayman Brac. Students at Triple C School can enrol at their school, as usual.

Anticipating new developments in the near future, Minister Bodden added, “My vision is for the Cadets to grow in size with support of the Ministry responsible for Education, through the schools,; and for it to develop marine and aerial units, and become a body of disciplined youths that we can reliably use to recruit for our uniformed services. To this end, we will be working towards them having their own compound and training center in 2016/17.”

Cadet Corps Produces Leaders

The Cadet Corps is a youth development organisation with a membership comprised of both male and female high school students aged 12 to 17. Over 3,000 young people have passed through the programme since it was launched in 2002.

While the organisation has full-time members of staff, it is mostly made up from enthusiastic volunteers from a cross-section of the Caymanian community, who serve in the adult-officer and non-commissioned officer ranks.

Based on the British Army Cadets Force’s four-star progressive training system, the cadet programme offers the requisite subjects at all four-star levels. A cadet who serves four years in the Corps and completes the programme gains an Army Proficiency Certificate (APC) for each level.

The Cayman Islands Cadet Corps is working with the Cadet Vocational Qualification office in the United Kingdom to add a vocational training element that will result in qualified cadets gaining the BTEC First Diploma in Public Service, which is equivalent to passes in four subjects at the GCSE level.

Established locally in 2003, the functions of the Cadet Corps include providing a formal, well-regulated and highly-disciplined organisation operating within school and youth communities.

It seeks to instil in Cadets “spiritual, moral, national and humane values of honesty, justice, discipline and social responsibility”.

The “progressive, challenging and exciting” training fosters physical and mental development, as well as camaraderie.

For more information on the Cadets programme, visit: http://www.cicadetcorps.ky/

Photo Credits: Lennon Christian / Government Information Services

(From right) Chairman Andre Mon Désir, Mrs. Annita Cornish Deputy Chairman, Youth Minister Osbourne Bodden, Lieutenant Colonel Bobeth O’Garro, Chief Officer Dorine Whittaker, Second Lieutenant Teresita Ebanks, and the Policy Advisor Joel Francis. Missing is Training Officer Lieutenant Commander Robert Sutherland.