A team from Cumbria Army Cadet Force has recently returned from the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean where they discussed the merits of establishing a Cadet Exchange Programme with the Turks and Caicos Islands Cadet Force.
The Cumbria Cadet team was led by Colonel Guy Harnby, the Commandant of Cumbria Army Cadet Force. He was very upbeat about the possibilities following his visit to the islands: In July 2020 we will be sending 12 Cadets from Cumbria, 6 girls and 6 boys, and 4 of our Adult Volunteers to the Turks and Caicos for 10 days. It will be a trip of a lifetime for our young people where they will carry out both military and waterman-ship training with the Cadets of the Turks and Caicos. This time last week I was snorkelling on one of the finest coral reefs in the world, swimming with dolphins and watching Humpback whales with their young. Our Cadets will be doing all this and more, as well as an environmental project to raise awareness of the damage being caused to the oceans.
Whilst on the main island of Providenciales, Colonel Harnby, Major Richmond and WO2 Jones were received by the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Premier Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson and the Minister for Education, Hon. Karen Malcolm.
The Commanding Officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands Cadet Force, Lt Col Ennis Grant, visited Cumbria last year and met with the Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, who is also the Honorary Colonel of Cumbria Army Cadet Force.
Colonel Harnby, from Crosthwaite, commented: “I am delighted to be taking a party of Cumbrian Cadets back to the Caribbean in July and to receiving Cadets from the Turks and Caicos Islands to Cumbria the following year. Exchange programmes are so important in the development of young people, giving them the confidence to explore and travel and see different cultures first hand. I hope it will be a life-changing opportunity for all those involved.”
