Local army cadet continues to benefit from experience

Life as an army cadet continues to provide Caitlyn Cavanagh-Dollard, Centreville, with plenty of life experiences that will help her as she follows her planned career in Canada’s armed forces.

Caitlyn, a Grade 12 student at Northeast Kings Education Centre, is in her final year as a member of the West Nova Scotia Regiment army cadets and holds the rank of Warrant Officer.

She spent seven weeks this summer at Camp Argonaut, part of CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick, where her duties included lifeguarding at two swimming pools and the water site on the Saint John River. “I have all my national pool and waterfront certificates,” she says.

The highlight of Caitlyn’s summer, though, was spending two weeks on the Royal Canadian Army Cadet National Domestic Expedition, a wilderness training experience at Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories.

During the expedition – the first week was spent training and briefing, followed by the expedition from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3 – 16 cadets from across Canada pushed themselves to the limit paddling the Nahanni River, exploring caves and hiking Sunblood Mountain.

The adventure, guided by Cadet Instructor Cadre Officers and a civilian contractor, is, according to a Canadian Forces news release, “more than most people will achieve in a lifetime.” Caitlyn agrees. “It was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me,” she says. “You have to apply, then they take into account all your experience and choose 16 from all of Canada,” she explained. Caitlyn was the only participant selected from Nova Scotia.

The Army Cadet Expedition program allows young men and women to apply many of the skills they have acquired over the course of their cadet careers.

Senior cadets had the opportunity to practice leadership, navigation and wilderness field craft skills while exploring the unique culture, heritage, geology and ecology of Nahanni National Park by canoe and on foot.

As one of only 16 cadets chosen for the expedition, Caitlyn “demonstrates the attributes of citizenship, leadership and physical fitness that are the hallmarks of the cadet program,” according to a press release.

Already a leader at 2444 West Nova Regiment as a cadet, she has participated in silver star and gold level expeditions as well as the Maple Leaf exchange program, through which she spent time in England.

Caitlyn especially enjoyed canoeing the Nahanni River, which she described as “a real destination for all canoeists.”

Other highlights included the chance to climb 5,000-metre-high Sunblood Mountain and portage around Virginia Falls, the largest waterfall in the Northwest Territories and “twice as high as Niagara.” “As a group, we had so much gear, it took us three or four trips” to complete the entire portage, she said. “It was tough going, and you had to watch your footing, but that’s why we all have our gold fitness levels.”

It was not Caitlyn’s first experience of this kind. “I’d done other things like this before,” she said, “but not to this level.” “I expected it to be an amazing trip, and it was even more than I thought.” Among their wildlife sightings were a mother bear and her cub, mountain lions, moose tracks and “a lot of wild buffalo, often in herds.” Adding,“I had never been out West before, and the scenery was amazing.”

Caitlyn acknowledged, “all I’ve gotten to do has been because of cadets. The opportunities are there, you just have to be willing to do them.”

Her proficiency, and her willingness to participate and improve herself, is the reason she is one of the most decorated army cadets in Nova Scotia.

This summer, she received the latest in a series of major honours, the Major General Howard Award, presented to the top cadet in the province on the National Star Certificate exam.

She also has an Exemplary Service Medal, an award for Excellence in Drill and Ceremony and an Army Cadet Proficiency Award.

Caitlyn “has already started the application process” to attend the Royal Military College in the fall of 2010, and has already had interviews. “I’d like to take a degree in chemical engineering,” she says, “as part of a career in the military.” She also plans to enroll in the Officer Training Plan.

Caitlyn has been in the army cadet program for six years. She noted, “the most important thing I’ve learned is leadership. Everything you learn helps you in life,” whether it ends up being a life in the military or not. “My experiences have definitely made me a better person, and a better leader.”