Corporal Logan Cane reports on his recent attendance on the SNCO Course at RNZAF Base Ohakea:
From the 27th of April to the 4th of May I attended the Senior NCO Course for Central Area cadets, which was held at RNZAF Base Ohakea.
Spending a week living at Ohakea in itself was a different experience to being at home. When I first arrived I was pleased to find that we were assigned our own rooms in the barracks, however this meant that we were individually responsible for keeping the rooms tidy and to the standard required for regular inspections.
Our days consisted of getting up at 6am. (which I’m not going to lie was sometimes difficult…). We would then go to the mess to have a breakfast that mainly consisted of bacon, eggs, spaghetti, hash browns and breakfast sausages. After that we would march down to the NZCF training centre to start carrying out the days training. Lunch and dinner which were also at the mess.
During our training we were instructed in three different subjects (similar to the Junior NCO Course but to a higher level). These were Instructional Technique (Lesson Presentation), Leadership and Drill, all three of these being core skills needed by a SNCO.
During the training I felt I learnt a lot that I could take back to the Squadron and apply. Personally my favorite subject of these three was the Instructional Technique, because I could show off the skills I had already learnt at the unit when giving lessons. As a result I achieved an almost perfect mark for my lesson (50/52). I also enjoyed the leadership tasks as they were really enjoyable and easy to apply our new leadership skills to.
The highlight of my course was the final parade. As with my JNCO course I was proud to pass the course and receive my certificate. However the parade on this particular course was extra special not just for me but for everyone for a couple of reasons. First of all we had a Brigadier General inspect the parade and talk to us, which was a good experience for me as it gave me an insight into what he does for his job and the interesting stories he had to share. Secondly, as we were about to start the parade inspection we were treated to a low fly-over of three of the air force’s air trainers (possibly with pilots from the red checkers) flying in a V-formation over our parade. This made me feel really proud and grateful for being selected for the Senior NCO Course.
