Cambridgeshire ACF represented our region at the Army Cadet Force national First Aid competition over the weekend of the 21st – 23rd October 2022 and won both categories (cadets and young adults).
The competition involved the teams responding to a range of medical conditions and accidents including, diabetes, anaphylaxis, poisoning, asthma, seizures, burns and scalds.
The Army Cadet Force’s newest ambassador, Honorary Colonel Sir Jonathan Van-Tam, handed the winners their awards.
First aid is offered to army cadets at all levels; when they first join the are taught Basic First Aid at Basic level, 1-Star level, 2-Star level, revision at 3 Star, then at 4 Star level the cadets complete an industry-recognised First Aid at Work Course. In basic cadet training this amounts to safety awareness and ensuring that every cadet knows how to contact the emergency services.
Many cadets and adult volunteers have used their first aid skills to save lives in real situations, for example:
- Cadet Willcox, 15, from Cambridgeshire ACF, assisted an injured cyclist in July,
- Courtney Powdrill, 15, from Beds & Herts ACF, saved the life of a young man who was stabbed near her home in Luton and was awarded the British Citizen Youth Awards (BCyA) at the Palace of Westminster in 2018,
- Chris Bridgeman, an adult volunteer for Suffolk ACF, received a Royal Humane Society award for saving the life of a casualty on the M25 motorway.
Sir Jonathan Van Tam is best known for his role as Deputy Chief Medical Officer during the pandemic, but was also a ACF medical officer for 12 years, during which time he was awarded an MBE for his design of medical response equipment for cadets taking part in arduous activities.
Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force operates thirty locations across the county for the benefit of young people. Currently over 720 young people aged 12-18 are part of the Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force, trained weekly by 170 volunteer adults who provide a safe, challenging and rewarding cadet experience.
Cambridgeshire ACF is supported by a small team of RFCA Permanent Support Staff (PSS), who deliver the administration of the membership of cadets and the adults who train them, provide logistics of equipment and fleet, and clerical support to enable the Cadet Force Adult Volunteers (CFAV) to deliver cadet training.