AIR cadets from Sandy went wild last weekend when they attended an exercise at the army s training area in Thetford, Norfolk. The cadets, from 22 Dandy Squadron experienced some of the coldest nights of the winter out in the open countryside. They had to

AIR cadets from Sandy went wild last weekend when they attended an exercise at the army's training area in Thetford, Norfolk.

The cadets, from 22 Dandy Squadron experienced some of the coldest nights of the winter out in the open countryside.

They had to be up at the crack of dawn at 6am for physical training and breakfast before experiencing the hard slog of basic training in the open.

The cadets were given practical lessons in field training subjects like how to build and use a shelter, use a cooking stove to provide a hot drink and a meal, and instruction on using modern Army field ration packs which provided enough calories to keep the cold at bay.

On Saturday, instructors took small groups of cadets out into the wild countryside for map-reading skills, communications and field signals.

Team-building and leadership exercises were provided in the afternoon and during the evening cadets used their map-reading skills to successfully complete a night navigation exercise.

They had to brave the sub zero temperatures during the night and the odd snow flurry but were again up at first light for more physical training and to make their breakfast.

The Sandy cadets loved their week so much they all told the Army they would volunteer to go again.