Issue 87 - NWRFCA - Northwest Reserve Forces & Cadets Association

manchester and salford university
Otc
Lt Col Suzanne Anderson presents OCdt Harriet
Bailey with the NW RFCA PR award 2011
OCdt Beaney
observing the enemy
on the final assault
Maj Quegan tackles the monkey bars
was ably provided by Liverpool University
OTC who fully entered into the spirit of their
role.
The two weeks were a great success and of
course finished with the final inter platoon
competition , culminating in a March & Shoot
and the obstacle course. The Camp will be
the final exercise for a number of the 3rd year
Officer Cadets and we wish them all the best
in their future endeavours. We say farewell
to the CO, Lt Col Suzanne Anderson, and also
to RSM Jolley, Capt Banks, CSGT Huxley and
WO2 Rumis and would thank them for their
dedication and support to MSUOTC.
no-one was injured. As we progressed down
the river, the jumps got steadily higher and
more exciting, until I found myself staring
down at a pool 40 feet below and wondering
why I joined the OTC in the first place. After
the excitement of the canyoning, it was back
to the rafting company’s building for a quick
lunch, then onto a relaxing paddle down the
river in canoes, interspersed with white-water
mayhem (may not actually involve mayhem or
white water).
The final day of AT for my Platoon involved
a hike up a mountain to bag ourselves three
Munroes (peaks in Scotland that reach over
3000 feet). The hike up was as beautiful and
difficult as the mountain biking, but we
had the chance to show off our navigational
prowess. However, the weather quickly
turned on us, and it was clear that instead
of outstanding natural beauty, we would be
staring at the rain or the person in front of us
for the entire trip, wondering if that rise ahead
was indeed the summit or yet another trick
by Mother Nature. Once we had bagged two
Munros, the group decided to abandon hope of
collecting the third and make our way down to
the minibus for lunch and the return journey
(we put that down to the AQMS’s concern for
our safety, rather than our lack of enthusiasm
of course). Once down, we had time to reflect
on what he had achieved even though we
couldn’t see it through the fog. The AT phase in
general had brought us together as a platoon
over the four days we spent in Dunkeld,
cementing us as a body of friends rather than
random Officer Cadets thrown into the mix.
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