I became the county DofE Officer in August 2011. I was in this appointment for 6 years until I became a company commander in July 2017. Even thou I changed rolls I was still physically involved with the Bronze and Silver Expeditions.
I found the roll challenging and very awarding helping the cadets achieve their Bronze/Silver award. It was rewarding to see the cadets who came from different walks of life and companies gel over a weekend expedition. They came together as strangers but left as friends.
I have many stories to tell during my six years but the one I will tell is about a cadet on a Practise Bronze expedition weekend. This cadet did not want to be there, he was not mixing, and he was not being helpful to his fellow team members. During the walk he moaned about the walk the way the rucksack felt. After 2 miles of moaning about the rucksack digging into him, I reminded him he had the packing lesson and packed the rucksack himself. After another half mile of moaning, I stopped the walk and I unpacked his rucksack, then together we repacked his rucksack. When he put it on his back, he said he was more comfortable, and he did not complain anymore about the rucksack. From that moment he started to mix with his fellow team members. At the end of the weekend when I ask each cadet what they achieved, this cadet said he was looking forward to the qualifying expedition.
Sadly, to say during COVID 19 my DofE activity was restricted as county were not doing expeditions and also during this period, I retired from the Army Cadets Force.