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Everyone gets excited about fieldcraft. But what is it?

Put simply, Fieldcraft is the art of living and working from "the field", or wherever you happen to be "deployed". Of course, we don't get deployed, but we do use military training areas for several weekends a year to give our cadets a small taste of what it's like to have to sleep outdoors, keep themselves fed all the while completing the many missions and challenges set for them.

This is where Air Cadet training gets closer to what RAF personnel do in their training. The principle is the same - think on your feet, adapt to your situation and work to your team's strengths.

Fieldcraft exercises vary widely and each places emphasis on different aspects of how to survive and conduct yourself in the field. Many involve two teams being pitted against each other. You and your team might need to move quietly, avoiding detection as you sneak upon an 'enemy' installation. Sound easy? Think again. Speed might also be a big factor of your success. Do you risk exposing your position at the cost of achieving your objective more quickly? Decisions like these are challenging and need to be made 'on-the-fly'.

A massive advantage of fieldcraft exercises is that they force you to use your own initiative, sometimes affecting your teammates. What would happen if the commanders of your team ‘went down’? Would you take control?

If you have natural leadership qualities, they'll definitely show themselves here.

The exercises are created by the directing staff, and usually involve elements of what it's really like to live in the field for a weekend. You'll be fed 24 hour ration packs, just like the RAF would, you'll cook them yourself, you'll put up your "basha" yourself and sleep under it at night, all the while immersed in a fake scenario designed to make you compete against 1 or more other teams, completing various missions as required, such as retrieving a downed pilot, observing enemy movements and scouting out new territory.

You'll be wearing camoflauge gear, carrying all your kit with you and trying not to be seen. Think you can do it? Why not give it a go, it's hard work but definitely worth the effort!