Cadet Force Marks Founders Month in November

The Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF) will be staging a week of activities from November 5 to 11 in observance of Founders Month.

Speaking with the JIS News, Commandant of the JCCF, Colonel Errol Johnson, said the commemoration serves to showcase the journey and growth of the Cadet Force, which came into being on November 1, 1943.

He noted that the JCCF is one of the oldest youth organisations in Jamaica. It caters to the holistic development of young people aged 12 to 18, providing mental, moral and physical training so as to build discipline and character and instil in them the idea of service to community and country.

The week will begin with the cadet corps’ 74th anniversary national church service and parade on Sunday (November 5) at the Old Harbour New Testament Church in Rhoden’s Pen, St. Catherine, commencing at 8:30 a.m.

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Senator the Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr. will host a luncheon on November 8 in Montego Bay; JCCF officers will travel to cadet units across the island; and the battalions will be showcasing their drills and skills in their communities.

Training Officer, Major Simoan Foster, said the JCCF will be supporting the Jamaica Legion by assisting with the national poppy appeal.

“The cadets will engage the public by soliciting contributions to assist the veterans, who fought in World War two, and ex-members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), who are at Curphey Place in Manchester,” she told JIS News.

She informed that JCCF members will be staging two parades in St. Catherine and Port Maria to mark Remembrance Day on November 11.

Major Foster said the cadets will also have an opportunity to share with and sensitise persons about the programme.

“We will be having a cadet forum, and the aim of the event is to highlight what the cadets have been doing and how they have been contributing positively to the society, and how they have benefited just by being a part of the programme,” she explained.

During Founders Month, members of the JCCF’s Bands and Drums will be taking the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) examination at Up Park Camp.

ABRSM is an examinations board based in London, United Kingdom (UK), which provides music assessments at centres around the world.

The JCCF is in expansion mode, with just over 75 cadet units in 60 post-primary schools.