The 3064 Rocky Mountain Ranger Army Cadets in Williams Lake is growing.
That from Commanding Officer Captain Bill Sheridan who said there are 15 cadets in the program this year.
“The Army Cadet program is part of the Cadets Canada organization that is partially funded by the Department of National Defence and partially funded by within its own community,” Sheridan said.
“The officers that oversee the program are Canadian forces members in the community here in Williams Lake. Currently, there are three of us-two in the army cadet movement and one in the sea cadet movement.”
The Army Cadets program is open to youth from the ages of 12 to 18 with Cadets at the age of 19 provided the opportunity to join the primary reserves in either Vancouver, Prince George or Kamloops.
“When I first joined I thought I would be down in the mud all the time and having fun, but I learned more self-discipline,” said army cadet Braden Thiessen who noted the program provides the opportunity to meet people, make friends, and have an exchange in England, France, or Australia as well a three week history tour in Europe.
“I was doing pretty bad in school, and as soon as I joined Cadets I started getting better at school.”
Since the Cadets inception in Williams Lake in 2000, Sheridan said there have been three cadets that have had international tours-two went to Europe last year with one in the past going to Australia.
The Cadets who are currently working on their citizenship training for their star level trainings attended this week’s Williams Lake regular Council meeting to learn more about their community, policy making, and laws within the City of the Williams Lake.