The Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Sir Isaac Brock is looking for Niagara youths, between 12 and 18 years old, to join their training program.
“We don’t have the kind of presence that an army unit does,” says training officer SLt Meliah Wray-Brauweiler, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “It’s the side that no one sees. Everyone watches ‘Saving Private Ryan.’ There’s not a lot of navy movies and stuff so people don’t actually see the other side.”
The army cadet programs in Canada center on air, land, or water, and hope to promote several different qualities.
“We try to promote physical fitness, citizenship, feeling together as a community, and to instill some kind of interest in the Canadian Armed Forces whether or not they pursue that path after they get out of high school,” Wray-Brauweiler says.
The sea cadet program, which is completely free, has many different components.
“We do sailing twice a year out of the Hamilton Harbour,” says Wray-Brauweiler. “We have training where we learn parts of a sail boat. We supplement that sometimes with power boating. First aid as well. We do navigation so you learn how to map a chart on the water. We’ve been doing a lot of joint activities with the other units in the area so we do a field training exercise. [It's] kind of like camping but military style.”
The program completely transforms the youths who pass through it, according to Wray-Brauweiler.
“It floors me every year watching how these kids come in, how they act and who they are at the end of the year,” she says. “It’s really mesmerizing almost, just watching them change and come into themselves. I’ve seen one candidate go from standing in a corner really shy to trying to run for class president. Because of cadets they learned how to be confident in themselves and go for what they want.”
The Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Sir Isaac Brock are sometimes referred to as the Welland Canal Sea Cadets because the St. Catharines-based unit also serves Thorold and Welland, who don’t have a sea cadet program of their own.
Wray-Brauweiler wants more teenagers in Niagara to be aware of the opportunities afforded by the program.
“There are exchange programs and there’s summer training that is all over Canada,” she says. “You can get high school credit as well, you can get scholarships. I would love to see the youth of Niagara tap into it. It’s just that they aren’t aware. If there were more sea cadet units in the area it would be more prevalent but it’s just us in St. Catharines and there’s one other in Niagara Falls.”
By putting out a Niagara-wide call for cadets, Wray-Brauweiler hopes to enrol more youths than ever.
“Not only will you make friends, but you have a chance to make them across Canada," she says. "You have the opportunity to experience things that are costly otherwise. You can get your sailing licence completely free. Through cadets you have opportunities you wouldn’t have normally.”
The sea cadet program runs from September until June. For more information, head over to their website.
