By Capt Amber Lawson, Public Affairs Officer, National Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers Support Group
When COVID-19 restrictions were announced, the National Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers Support Group had their work cut out for them. They now had to create meaningful training and engagement opportunities for youth across Canada – in a virtual environment.
Wanting to promote proper public health measures the first social media campaign was a series of challenges that cadets could do from home. Cadets were challenged with competitions which included new ways to maintain good citizenship, stay connected, and have fun. Thousands of cadets participated in this series of stay at home challenges and shared their results on social media.
This launched into the development of a Cadet Learning Portal that was designed for cadets to do self-directed activities, againfrom their homes, and stay connected. More than 100 activities were posted leading up to
summer with cadets having easy access to activities such as museum tours, leadership activities, and creative challenges like building a paper boat.But it was not all fun and games, members from across Canada rose to the challenge to find new ways to commemorate important military history events. Capt Billie Sheridan from Williams Lake, BC, came up with a virtual Vimy Ridge memorial that swept the nation. More than 500 Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers took part in the event – simply sharing a photo – holding a candle in remembrance. Similar activities followed with the Battle of Atlantic, and Canada Day. It was clear cadets recognized the important of remembrance and wanted the country to know.
Following the difficult announcement that Cadet Training Centres would not be running in the summer of 2020, the staff got to work on virtual offerings in a variety of areas. Cadets were offered courses, such as web programming, cyber security, backyard field exercises, and drones to name a fewWith a staff from across the country, cadets were taught a variety of new skills in a virtual environment that gave them important life skills, but also ones that would benefit their cadet careers. Some air cadets even completed an entire online ground school course delivered by professional flying schools. More than 6000 cadets participated in these new summer courses.
Brigadier-General Cochrane, Commander National Cadet and Junior Canadian Rangers Support Group, shared with cadets and staff, “I understand that this is not the traditional Cadet Training Centre experience that you have become accustomed to, however, it is our way to show you that we remain committed in provided unique, fun and challenging experiences and that we are looking forward to ensuring that we can continue to do so in the future.”
As we move forward with an eye on resuming in person training on October 1st, the focus is on how we safely maintain in-person activities without being a vector for the spread of the COVID-19 virus remains at the top of mind. Our new virtual tools will allow the Cadet and JCR Programs to move forward in a new and modern direction – while maintaining appropriate public health measures.
The COVID period has demonstrated one thing for certain, that the Canadian Cadet Organizations, are extraordinarily resilient in challenging times – and can still offer experiences you can’t get anywhere else.
Online registration is now available at www.canada.ca/join-cadets