Supporting Your Cadets From Home
A great cadet experience also comes from the support that cadets get at home. Here are some helpful pieces of information to help plan your schedules and make your experience as a cadet parent as good as possible.
Attendance
The expectation is for cadets to attend any and all training activities that are deemed mandatory. These include Tuesday night training, Field Training Exercises, and some weekend training.
Training is not done on a “drop-in” basis, it is continuous and full immersion is what determines successful outcomes of our program.
Please note that the success of a cadet depends on their attendance. If a cadet does not meet sufficient attendance requirements, they may fail their training level. In extreme cases, they may be removed from the cadet program.
Weekend Activities
Cadets at 2381 BCR (Irish Fusiliers) will often have a variety of weekend activities available to them. These include:
- Parades and Ceremonies
- Professional Development
- Citizenship Activities & Community Engagement
- Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) Familiarization
Cadets will typically need to provide their own transportation to the location of the activity. If the activity is outside of the metro Vancouver area, the drop off point will usually be somewhere local (ex: YVR Airport, Sherman Armoury) and they will be transported by bus from that location.
We will make sure that we communicate any requirements to families as early as possible to help you plan ahead.
Skills at Home
Cadets are expected to maintain their uniforms at home and have them presented at a high standard. Cadets will be taught all the skills required for this, but having the additional support at home will greatly help your child in succeeding.
Cadets will be expected to:
- Polish their boots
- Iron their uniforms
- Hem uniform trousers to adjust for length
- Sew badges
We recommend supporting your child for the above instead of doing it for them, as these are valuable life skills that they will take into their adulthood.
The standard requirements for uniforms is available for reference here:
Field Training Exercises (FTX)
Field Training Exercises (aka “FTX”) are weekend outdoor training activities that are typically held off-site.
For most FTX’s, cadets sleep outdoors in tents/shelters. We provide all items and supervision to make sure your child is safe during these activities.
Things to note for FTXs include:
- Pickup/Drop-off: Pickup and Drop-off times will be communicated to you in advance of the activity. Pickup and drop-off will usually be at the Sherman Armoury. Cadets are dropped off on Friday night, and can go home Sunday afternoon. We provide transportation (bus) between the training site and the Armoury.
- No running water/power: All offsite FTX do not have running water or power. There should be no expectation of being able to charge phones or other devices during the weekend. Any electronics or valuables brought with cadets are done so at their own risk, and the program is not liable for replacement costs or any damage. Drinking water is brought on site and portable toilets are also available on site during the weekend.
- Clothing: We issue a field training uniform (“FTU”) to cadets that they can safely train in outdoors. This includes an issued sweater, heavy rain jacket, and a toque. Cadets are permitted to bring their own additional clothes from home, but issued items are usually enough to keep cadets warm and dry. An equipment list will be given to cadets to take home before the exercise so that you can plan to pack anything else that may be required.
- Equipment: We provide all shelters (tents), sleeping bags, and air mattresses to cadets. There is no need buy or bring your own. Cadets are required to pack all items they are bringing in a bag that they can carry for a considerable distance over rough ground. A backpack is the recommended. Cadets should not bring rolling suitcases or other difficult to carry items. For an FTX where hiking with a pack is required, we will provide military rucksacks (backpacks) for cadets.
- Meals: Cadets will be fed the following meals on exercise. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner on Saturday; Breakfast on Sunday. Cadets must have dinner on Friday at home before coming on the exercise. Meals take the form of military field rations. If cadets have any food allergies, families must provide their own meals to cadets to bring with them on the FTX. These will be kept safely in a locked truck to keep food away from animals. Please note that there is no method of reheating food aside from steaming/boiling.
- Medication: If cadets require daily prescription medication, or emergency medication (ex: Epi-pen), they must bring these with them on the FTX. Medication will be safely kept locked up on site so it won’t be lost unless it must always be carried on the cadet.
- Emergencies: Our staff are trained to provide first aid for any injuries, and we ensure that we are always within driving distance to a hospital for any emergencies. Though extremely rare, if a medical emergency does occur, parents will be notified as soon as possible.
2381 Army Cadets 