'Cadet force has given me a future I want'

An army cadet taking part in an exclusive training course said being part of the service had "made him a better person overall" and given him a direction in life.

Seventeen-year-old Noah said being part of the army cadets "gives me a future I want", saying he had developed social and leadership skills since joining over four years ago.

Speaking at the Master Cadet training course in Frimley Park, Surrey, he said although he had initially joined under duress from his family, the group had now shaped the career he wanted to pursue.

Noah said: "I used to be quite lazy and anti-social. Now I'm quite sociable."

He added: "It's set me a pathway for what I want to do with my future."

Noah, part of the South West London cadet force, said he joined after his mother, who was also previously a cadet, forced him to when he "wasn't that sociable".

Since joining, he said he had travelled to multiple different countries with the group, including an exchange programme in Canada where he was one of 20 cadets picked to travel from a group of over 1,000 applicants.

Noah said he originally wanted to go into banking, but now wanted to secure an army bursary to go to Sandhurst College after completing his A-levels, and later go into the arms industry.

The Master Cadet course, hosted at Frimley Park since 1989, includes physical exercises, fieldwork, and study including tactical briefings and deployments.

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