Initial Expedition Training
Posted by admin on Saturday 19 March 2005 under 2005 | 
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With the start of Spring, 188 (Ipswich) Squadron, Air Training Corps held their first Initial Expedition Training (IET) camp on 19 – 20 March 2005. Rather than learning expedition skills in a sterile classroom environment the squadron’s Adventure Training plan is conducted on a graduated programme of weekends repeated three times a year. New recruits undertaking the First Class cadet qualification attend the IET camp and then progress to Basic Navigation elsewhere in the county before finally completing an Advanced Navigation course in Wales.
Day 1 saw the new recruits undergo training in a wide range of subjects from pitching a tent to equipment requirements and emergency procedures. Cadets were also introduced to the 24-hour ration pack as part of the lesson on food and cooking and had a taste of the varied delights cooked up by Flying Officer Rob Hillier. After a short revision period the 9 boys and 4 girls, aged between 13 and 16 then sat an exam as part of the First Class cadet syllabus.
The evening was given over to socialising around a camp fire with potatoes, popcorn and marshmallows being either burnt to a crisp or heated to perfection depending on individual skills or taste.
Day 2 started early at 07.00hrs with a quick lesson on personal hygiene followed by a compulsory breakfast. With the lessons and exam out of the way the day is given over to taking part in a High Ropes course – a series of aerial challenges running through the tops of some sturdy pine trees. The High Ropes course is a great tool for building personal confidence as well as team work with plenty of shouted words of encouragement from down below and obstacles that can only be completed in pairs. Despite some nervous looks both before and during the challenges, everyone completed the Jacobs Ladder climb, the trapeze jump and aerial walkway.
Held at Thorpe Woodlands, near the Norfolk border town of Thetford the site, run by Suffolk County Council Education, has been used for this activity for the previous two years by the squadron.
