I didn't expect my bid for the RAF Akrotiri camp in early 2014 to succeed,
as these camps are a privilege. On top of this the camp was subsidised
by Wing and so really was excellent value for money. For these
reasons I was ecstatic to be informed I was
to attend the ten day camp in the Mediterranean.
We arrived late and so most of the formalities had to be postponed,
apart from being assigned a flight and it turned out I was the
designated Flight Commander for ‘Athena Flight’.
The first day we did a familiarisation exercise to get to know the
base we would be staying in. This was shortly followed be swimming tests
to ensure we were able to take part in all the water activities
planned. To get to know our peers we all went down
to the beach and took part in various ice breakers.
FS Partovi in the cockpit of a Griffin Helicopter
The next day was a great one - Waterpark!
One of the more interesting parts of the camp was a First Aid simulation. A surprise scenario was sprung on the cadets mimicking a car
accident using real trauma dummies, this was an excellent team building exercise. followed closely by a tour of the Bomb
Disposal unit.
The second day took us to the water park where we spent the day.
At a local Army Barracks we spent the morning practising on their
Dismounted Close Combat Trainer (DCCT) - Electronic range, as well as
using their climbing wall. that evening we played sports on the beach
followed closely by a delicious buffet.
FS Partovi taking on the WWO for C&E Yorks Wing at Table Football
To follow was a visit to the Dog section and the Fire Section, both
very interesting. that afternoon we were allowed the opportunity to go
clay pigeon shooting which was great fun, as well as a short walk down
the mountain near a place called Troodos.
while one half of the group were shooting the other half were taken to
explore some local ancient ruins, sadly we didn't have enough time to see
them all; they were massive!
We returned to the beach to go Banana Boating followed by a Barbeque.
The next day we visited the Red Arrows, and then had a boat party.
FS Partovi with one of the Red Arrows' Hawk aircraft
All in all this was an experience of a lifetime and I would recommend it to anyone considering applying for a place.
No comments:
Post a Comment