NCC CADET REPORTS

- Arpit Dedhia

The last quarter of the month of August proved a fruitful one for us NCC cadets of St. Joseph’s High School, Wadala.  We were posted at Military station, Wadala (E) from 22^nd to 31^st August 2012 for the Maharashtra Naval Unit Annual Training Camp.

NCC training is all about work, exercises and discipline. The time table at the camp was so designed to give us training in all these aspects, besides some regular moments for games and recreation that were interspersed in the daily schedule.  The day would begin as early as 6 am with PT and drills.  During the day, we would have the regular muster, parades, lectures on health, hygiene and discipline, and cleaning of the surroundings.  There was a special visit to the lion gate, where the majestic Indian naval ships could be viewed in all their splendor and glory. We were shown the naval ships INS Virat, INS Teg, INS Delhi, INS Trishul and INS Talwar.  We were fortunate to take a look at six submarines too. Some other interesting and engrossing features of our camp were the snake show, where we were briefed on the different types of snakes on display, and a peep into the disciplined march past of our seniors with rifles SRL8.  Brain and brawn were both tested at the elocution and tug-o-war contests.  We a trifle disappointed when the rifle shooting event and training was not held due to paucity of equipment (rifles).  The last night at the camp was a colourful one with cultural events and contests for the participants.

The NCC training camp provided us with the training of the necessary skills in parades, naval orientation, first aid treatment, social service, rope knots and semaphore (signal communication).  Together with Mr. Raj Reddy, our NCC master – who made it a point to visit us on a couple of occasions during the camp – we are ready (and certain) to scale greater heights in the naval skills and training.