Smart uniforms, big ambitions and a looming national test set the tone as Tiverton Sea Cadets came under the spotlight during a formal Royal Navy inspection.
The inspection took place at the Tiverton Sea Cadets base at the Tiverton Canal Basin on Wednesday, March 19. The event formed part of the unit’s biannual inspection by the area officer. The weekday and date combination has been checked against the uploaded calendar.
Commander Gary Mills, area officer for the South West Sea Cadets, said the Royal Navy review process was designed to make sure training and support across the organisation remained at the required standard.
He said: “The Royal Navy invests in Sea Cadets, both in people and in finance.
“It’s my responsibility to ensure the training and support to the Sea Cadets is assured and I do that on behalf of the Royal Navy, so every year each unit has a unit review.
“Every two years they have a formal Royal Navy parade and so tonight it’s Tiverton’s turn to have that Royal Navy parade and it’s great to be here.”
Gary said Sea Cadets helped young people develop while providing an inclusive environment.
He said: “The cadets are representing the best in youth, in my opinion.
“In Sea Cadets they can be who they want to be, they can be themselves, they get a welcome and it’s all about inclusivity and challenging themselves to be the best they can be and to basically reach their potential because we can do that and support them as they reach adulthood and hopefully become rounded citizens.”
He also praised the adults who support units across the country.
Gary said: “The important resource behind that is the volunteers, both the uniform volunteers and the trustees who underpin every Sea Cadet unit in UK of which there’s 400.
“Each unit is a charity and that’s why they have a unit management team and they make sure the units is compliant with the charities commission, it’s safe and legal, their premises they reside in and that’s a really important part of what Sea Cadets offer.
“Without those uniformed and the non-uniform trustees, Sea Cadets would not be what it is today. It’s a wonderful organisation to be part of.”
Warrant Officer Andrew Middleton, from Tiverton Sea Cadets, said the inspection would help determine the unit’s grading for the year and what award it received.
Andrew said: “This evening is our biannual inspection by the area officer.
“This will be a formal inspection that will give us our grading for the year and that will also dictate what sort of award we get.”
He said the Tiverton unit currently had about 48 cadets, although more instructors were still needed.
Andrew said: “It’s all going well at the Tiverton Sea Cadets as you can see by the numbers of cadets here.
“So I think we’re running around our 48 cadets altogether, but we can always do with more instructors.
“They can get involved by coming up to the unit, or go online and the Sea Cadets will actually provide training.
“So if you want to get qualified in power boating, sailing, canoe, etcetera, that will be provided free of charge.”
He added that the unit’s Royal Marine Cadet detachment had already won the area drill competition and would now compete at national level.
Andrew said: “Next for us, our Royal Marine Cadet detachment, they’ve just won the area drill competition and they’re heading to the nationals competition.
“So we are up against the five other areas in the UK.”
