Cadets train for Gold Star expedition
Seven Fort Simpson youth return from weekend course at Alberta national park
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, October 20, 2016
ALBERTA
Seven members of the 2860 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, based in Fort Simpson, spent a weekend in Alberta to challenge the Gold Star Expedition Course.
Warrant Officer Akhildas Damodharan was one of seven cadets from Fort Simpson to head down to the Gold Star Expedition course near Edmonton. - photo courtesy of Capt. Steve Nicoll
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The course saw cadets from across Canada head out to Lost Lake Campground at Elk Island National Park, just east of Edmonton, to practise their leadership, navigation and interpersonal communication skills.
Warrant Officer Akhildas Damodharan, Sgt. Connor Sanguez, Sgt. Trenton Diamond-C, Warrant Officer Delainea Anderson, Sgt. Teagan Zoe-Hardisty, Sgt. Zehro'h Waugh and Master Cpl. Bryce Hardisty-Phillips all went on the course.
Cadets' training gauged
Capt. Steve Nicoll said the course's purpose was for the cadet organization to evaluate Gold Star Cadets from corps across Canada to make sure they have achieved expected levels of competency.
He said it also gives the cadets perspective into their own level of training.
"They'll be much more confident in their abilities, will see how well-trained they are and how they can compare themselves to other corps," Nicoll said.
The course also acts as a "gatekeeper," he added. Once cadets complete the Gold Star Expedition, they can apply to higher-level expeditions, including climbing in the Rocky Mountains and paddling in the Yukon.
"It also opens up the possibility of more advanced training such as international exchanges," he said.
"In a nutshell, it shows that they're fully trained and ready to go."
Snowstorm hampers course
Akhildas Damodharan, a fourth-year cadet with the rank of Warrant Officer, said the course didn't run as long as it was meant to, due to a snowstorm that kept them indoors in Edmonton on the first day of the expedition. The next morning, cadets headed straight to Elk Island National Park, where they practised navigation and leadership roles.
One of the exercises they had to complete was finding the shortest and safest route between two points.
Damodharan said while he showed strongest in leadership skills, he also found navigation to be easy.
"It was no problem for me, since I've been doing it since I was younger," he said.
The cadets also had to solve personnel problems, such as keeping teammates from acting out.
"What I really learned is, the smaller the group, the easier leadership is. The bigger the group, the more advanced you'll have to get," Damodharan said.
Aside from testing skills, Nicoll said the course was also a way for cadets to meet other youth from across Canada.
"(The cadet organization) wants kids, especially from isolated regions, to meet other people at their level so they're not just living in isolation," he said.
"They make very close friendships down there. It surprises me that they can be that close with people they've met a couple times."
