During the Easter 2012 school holiday, LAC Kadin Fowler was selected to attend the Junior Leaders Course at Ohakea – he reports on his experience:-
“I was glad and surprised that I had been selected to attend the junior leaders course, the only person in fact who had been selected from my squadron. The junior leaders course is the first of several national courses a cadet will be allowed to undertake and as No. 41 Squadron is within the central region of New Zealand our cadets go to RNZAF Base Ohakea for the course.
Upon arriving at Ohakea we were organised into our barracks where we were required to organise our beds and cupboards into a particular way as part of self management; then all the introductions are given at the Central Area Cadet Force training facility where we were put into three syndicates before training started. I was put into syndicate three which we named ‘the crazy horses’ and I managed to make great friends with everyone there.
For the next seven days we were in a military routine of getting up at 6am and going to bed at 10pm (depending if we were behaving!), and you got pretty used to the routine as well. Our training was organised into several areas which involved terminals – marked assessments which tests each cadet on their leadership abilities, self control and command abilities. The first training area we were taught was squad handling which involved a cadet issuing commands to their syndicate and teaching them drill moves. To prepare us for the terminals the staff hold class lessons before we go and take turns commanding our syndicate outside.
The second part of the course was presentations. Each cadet was required to present their chosen topics to their syndicate which were marked during the terminals; and apparently this is the worst part of the course, mostly because you have to overcome your fear of presenting something to an audience for 10 minutes; luckily I had no problems with this.
Eventually the best part of the course arrived and we began our leadership terminals. This involved us learning the planning acronym TOWNEY (whaT, whO, hoW, wheN, where & whY) inside classroom lessons which we eventually put to the test outside in leadership exercises which involved fun exercises and interesting scenarios.
The leadership terminals went without a hitch and were just as fun as the practise exercises for leadership; then we partied after we realised that was the last terminal we had to do.
As a result the staff decided to treat us with a visit to the hangars to see the brand new NH90s and A109 helicopters which were awesome to see with the engines exposed and the crew working tirelessly on them.
Eventually the closing chapters of the course began on our last day there. The final parade ceremonies were carried out and the parents and caregivers arrived to watch us perform in all our glory on the parade ground. Drinks and snacks were served afterwards and the certificates were handed out to those who had attended and passed the course. I was glad to find out that I had qualified and passed the course, and I was glad that I had the opportunity to make a whole lot of friends there and have such an awesome experience.
Now I feel like I know myself better than ever and I know my strengths, weaknesses and boundaries.
Eventually the worst moment came when we had to say our goodbyes to everyone and board the bus, but I’ll forever remember the experiences I had there.”
Pictured LAC Fowler (LH side 2nd from front) during march passed.
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