Kelly-Marie Lawrence has been appointed to the county Logistics role in Cambridge Army Cadet Force starting in January 2024.
Kelly joined East Anglia RFCA in April after a 12-year career in logistics in the RAF. Originally applying for the Administrative Officer post at Cambridgeshire Army Cadet Force (ACF), her skills and experience were recognised as valuable from her application.
Alison Falcon, East Anglia RFCA Deputy Chief Executive, said: “Kelly-Marie came to us and we immediately recognised her potential; Logistics is a really important element of our administrative support to the ACF. Getting the right people into these posts means we’re helping cadet force adult volunteers provide the best cadet experience for young people in our region.”
East Anglia RFCA employs 24 Cadet Administrative Assistants (CAAs), who provide logistics support to the Army Cadet Force in our region. Kelly has enjoyed an extended handover period with the incumbent county CAA, Richie Phair. Richie was successful in applying to move to Suffolk ACF from Cambridgeshire ACF; it’s closer to him for him and will offer him a better work-life balance. Kelly has enjoyed working closely with Richie and the rest of her team, most notably on Cambridgeshire ACF Annual Camp.
The logistics behind Annual Camp are on a large scale, and are complex; 509 cadets and cadets force adult volunteers (CFAV) took part this year. Kelly said: “It was a great time to join the RFCA, because in preparing for annual camp, everyone came together as a team, and I was immediately welcomed as part of that team.”
“I really enjoy preparing for company training weekends”, said Kelly. “Our team receives an equipment and supplies list through the system. The CFAV in Cambs ACF are really active, so there’ll be at least one coming through every week. I’ll check and prepare all the equipment to make sure it’s in good condition and make sure everything on the list gets to the right place at the right time and in the right quantity.”
Kelly added: “When the weekend activity is here at Waterbeach, I get to see how everything I’ve prepared is put to use by the CFAV to put on an amazing weekend for the cadets. Afterwards, everything is returned to our stores, ready for the next group that needs it.”
Col Leona Barr-Jones, EA RFCA Chief Executive said to Kelly and all the CAAs at their annual meeting this week: “The work you’re doing is having a huge positive impact on the experience of Cadets and CFAV at every one of our sites.”
