VERNON, B.C.
As the summer wears on, one member of the 2860 Fort Simpson Cadet Corps is having the adventure of a lifetime in the wilds of the Okanagan.

Cadet Alex Hale of Lillooet, B.C., and Cadet Trenton Diamond-C of Fort Simpson canoe down the Shuswap River together as part of their canoe expedition on the expedition instructor course. - photo courtesy of Sub-Lt. Morgan Arnott

Trenton Diamond-C, a silver star cadet who has been with the corps for three years, is wrapping up a six-week course at the cadet training centre in Vernon, B.C.

Diamond-C is one of around 60 Army Cadets from across the country taking part in the expedition instructor course. The course tests cadets' outdoor knowledge and survival skills through a series of week-long expeditions.

Some of the expeditions Diamond-C has participated in so far include five days of canoeing and five days of biking.

"The best part, I would say, is the canoeing we did last week," Diamond-C said, speaking to Deh Cho Drum from the training centre in Vernon. He and his teammates paddled up the Shuswap River, completing exercises along the way.

On the first day of the canoe trip, cadets learned a lesson about the power of currents. One exercise had them pretend a white pole was a log while they were swimming in the water.

"The instructors said, 'Basically, what you're going to do is hit the pole and pretend it's a tree,'" Diamond-C recalled.

Through a series of exercises around the log, cadets would determine whether there was anything underneath it.

Once they determined the coast was clear, they would swim as fast as they could through the water.

"You have to go fast, because in moving water when you're in one spot, it starts to take away your clothes," Diamond-C said.

"A lot of people almost lost their shoes and pants."

But three years into his time with the Fort Simpson cadets, Diamond-C is no stranger to difficult exercises. Swimming came easy for him, and canoeing was also a breeze.

Challenges may still be in the cadet's future, though. Diamond-C said one of the last expeditions of the course is a week-long trek up Cathedral Mountain. Aug. 12, each cadet will be on a 24-hour solo stint.

"There's staff around if anyone gets hurt but they're not going to be with us, helping us at all," he said.

Although confident in his survival skills, Diamond-C said Cathedral Mountain may pose a challenge because of its height.

That, he said, might rival a week-long bike trip he completed earlier in the course, in terms of difficulty.

But regardless of the challenge, Diamond-C said he plans to return to Fort Simpson and pass on the skills he learned to younger cadets in the corps.

"I want to be an instructor when I go back to my corps," he said.

"I believe this year or next, I'll be able to start."

Becoming a leader in the corps is daunting, though, for the self-described "shy guy."

"Myself, I'm not a great leader," he said, adding he's not sure he has the confidence yet to be a team leader.

He will, however, be able to help some of the corps' younger members learning new skills.

"Anything that I learned here, I want to take back to my home corps and hopefully be able to teach the younger cadets," he said.

The expedition instructor course is just one of many courses running at the Vernon training centre. Unit public affairs representative Sub-Lt. Morgan Arnott said there are about 1,000 cadets at the training centre currently, including army, air and sea cadets.

Expedition instructor training is a specialty course for the army cadets.

"Part of the goal of the course is to help develop the leadership, (and) give the cadets the skills and knowledge to assist in leading expeditions," Arnott said.

The course began July 10 and will run until Aug. 19.

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