Seventeen-year-old Keoni Jones has been appointed as the most senior ranking cadet of the Army Cadet Force (ACF) in Caithness.

Keoni, from the Castletown detachment of the 1st Battalion The Highlanders, has been promoted to cadet Company Sergeant Major for the county.

Since starting with the ACF in September 2015, CSM Jones has climbed through the ranks and taken advantage of everything being a cadet can offer, from representing the battalion in shooting competitions to even taking part in adventure training courses.

As the most senior ranking cadet within the Caithness Company part of the young Company Sergeant Major's responsibility will be mentoring his fellow cadets.

CSM Jones is not the first member of his family to have held this position, Keoni follows in the footsteps of his older sister Lani Jones, who held the rank in 2018 and is now an adult volunteer with the Army Cadets.

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He was officially appointed to his new role during a Caithness Company training weekend, held in Halkirk at the start of the month by the battalion’s commandant Colonel Mike MacDonald.

Following the presentation of his Sergeant Major promotion, CSM Jones was also awarded his 4-Star Certificate by Colonel MacDonald – the highest star level that a cadet can achieve within the Army Cadets which builds upon all of the skills he has been taught over his six years with the organisation.

1st Battalion the Highlanders ACF is a youth organisation which provides challenging adventure, sporting and community activities aiming to inspire young people to achieve success in live while having fun at the same time.

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