Army cadets say their farewells to Tristan and Kieran

Army cadets from 1st Battalion The Highlanders’ Caithness Company have said their farewells to two of their peers who have reached the upper age limit of the organisation.

At a company training day in Thurso, 17-year-olds Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major Tristan Jack, from Farr detachment, and Cadet Sergeant Kieran Sutherland-West, from Castletown detachment, were honoured for all their hard work in the cadets prior to them leaving on their 18th birthdays.

Tristan and Kieran have notched up a number of achievements over their five-year career with the army cadets.

Both were part of the top Army Cadet Force winning team in last year’s Scottish Cadet Military Skills Competition, held near Dundee, and both have been centre stage of the World War I centenary events by taking part in battlefield tours.

As well as being appointed the most senior cadet of the battalion, Tristan has taken part in international exchanges. In 2018 he was part of the Army Cadet Force’s annual Canadian exchange Exercise Oak Leaf where he spent the entire six weeks of the summer holidays living in Canada training alongside his counterparts of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets.

Both Tristan and Kieran were presented with sgian-dubhs by the company training officer, Sergeant Instructor Brian Dods, during the training day at Thurso Cadet Centre.

1st Battalion the Highlanders ACF provides challenging adventure, sporting and community activities seeking to inspire young people to achieve success in life while having fun at the same time.

The battalion has almost 600 cadets and 120 committed adult volunteers across 34 detachments covering the Highlands and Islands.

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