Commissioning Course Oct. 2008

[PLTOFF A Healey]

There was considerable build up the weeks leading up to Commissioning Course Oct. 2008, Mr Dyer, Ms Flintoff and myself were putting our heads together to get through our task books and get through the psychological pressure of going on the toughest of the courses held by NZCF.

It all came to a head as we met in Hamilton Airport, all our gear packed, looking at each other with that nervous but confident smile you get in these sorts of times. The flight to Auckland was alright. On board we met our peers from Hamilton City Cadet Corps and Te Awamutu Cadet Corps, and already started building friendships, joking around to ease the tension.
The wait in the Auckland Airport Koru Club lounge really set it straight. Free food and drink was a really nice touch. A big thanks to Mr Dyer and Ms Greenough for getting us in there.

After a two hour wait, away we went on the way down to Palmerston North, where we were met by CPO Hannah, Area Advisor for Central.
Everyone in a van, we shot off to Ohakea, where we congregated at Central Area Office and the training rooms there. We had our photo taken, and our Officer Cadet rank slides issued.

The rest of the week is some what of a blur. The amount of information doled out in the first few days was immense. Getting through topics like Public Relations, RAMS, IT, Drill, Leadership, Duty of Care, the list goes on. The amount of paperwork we all wrote and got given filled up an entire ring binder. Our heads felt heavier every night back at barracks, and there wasn't an early night anywhere. Study was to be done and assignments to be handed in. We all worked together to get each other through the arduous tasks we had issued, and we all got there in the end.

Unfortunately, early on in the week, Ms Flintoff had a relapse of an old injury, and required hospital attention, which, very sadly had her removed from course. We all missed her dearly, as everyone was a part of the team, and we all wish her the very best the next time she goes on the course, hopefully early next year. Some might say shes got a hefty advantage over others, because shes got the answers for parts of it haha.

Parts that stood out from it all was the regular trips to the Officers mess, where, three times a day, every day, we were waited on by kitchen staff, had our food brought to us, and taken with a smile. The mess was a great place for bonding with peers, sharing stories, passing jokes. There were people from all over the country from every walk of life on course so you made a diverse group of friends and learned a lot about others and even ourselves.

On the Thursday of the course was Exercise Endurance. We all got shuttled out in vans into the middle of the Santoft Forest, where we tramped around, got our feet dirty, and did our hour and a half long leadership activities in our syndicates. The weather was great, the atmosphere was electric. The theme of the day was a pilot had crashed somewhere in the area and it was our job to find and get him out.
My task was to lead the group in assembling an 8m tower radio antenna to relay information back to base. Physical hands on of actual military equipment was quite exciting, and putting it up was an excellent experience. A good day had by all, especially the Huey trip back to base at the end.....

Lastly, the celebration after our graduation was awesome. Held in the officers bar, a great night was set in motion. Without going into too much detail... the drinks in the bar were heavily subsidised, to the extent a glass of coke for a dollar will get you 40c change... Awards were given out, just as a humourous activity, where people received an award for something they were remembered for on course. The Commandant got the Action Man award, while Mr Dyer received Most Improved on course, something to be proud of, and myself, I got Best Scrubbed Up out of uniform, which, of course, I was quite chuffed about...
Good music, good company with new friends, great social event, and will be remembered for a long time...

A hard, rough, stressful, exhausting, tiring, brutal, stretching course, but without the word of a lie, the best course I have been on in my career in ATC and NZCF. Highly recommended for anyone having thoughts about it. I have made friends that will last a lifetime, learned so much about the duties of a Cadet Force Officer, about others, about myself, about life really, and I know that sounds cheesy and cliche, but its true. Best course.

To all those thinking about applying for any course NZCF offers, do it, go for it. You will have a ball, and learn so much doing it. Well, well worth it.

Any questions, feel free to throw them at me, I will be more than happy to answer.

Cheers

[SargeShadez]

What type of food sir?
What did you eat?

[2LT S Stapleton NZCF]

I went on my Commissioning course October last year, and I can second everything said. My personal favourite is being told "time is your own" at 2100hrs, but you KNOW you won't get to bed before midnight with all the assignments that are due the next day. All in all, a great course that I can assure you won't forget quickly.

As an aside Pilot Officer, did you have to wear "L" plates on the Saturday night after being commissioned?

[2lt K]

Lastly, the celebration after our graduation was awesome. Held in the officers bar, a great night was set in motion.

Very true for TF Commissioning Courses too!