Next up was the issue of the ration packs and a lesson on cooking, before cadets had their first taste of a military boil in the bag meal - they all found it delicious! Then it was time for a brief lesson on harbours before setting up their bashas.

As darkness fell, we rehearsed for the recce patrols that would take place later that evening in The Thicket, and RSM Larkin demonstrated some night noises so the cadets could hear how much further noise travelled at night. 

It was then into The Thicket for their recce patrol, to try and obtain as much information about the enemy as possible. Thanks to a cloudy night, it was pitch black under the trees but the cadets did amazingly well considering 12 hours previously they had never even put on a uniform! Each section patrolled in silence to the enemy location, crawled into cover and observed the oscar-worthy performance by 2Lt Richards and CFAV Jon Neil. There were some impressive observations before they patrolled back to their harbour area for a quick debrief and took to their sleeping bags for a well-earned rest.

After breakfast, the cadets had an excellent first aid lesson thanks to Alastair Cole, and experienced trauma medic from Adventure Lifesigns. Both cadets and staff were amazed to hear of the advances in treatment in the field.