Portage Royal Canadian Army Cadets celebrate success at 115th Annual Ceremonial Review

The 19 Portage Royal Canadian Army Cadets ended the year with their 115th Annual Ceremonial Review this past Sunday, June 2nd, 2024. The event included a parade, awards ceremony, and an annual review from special guest RCMP Staff Sergeant Zane Semaniuk, who is the acting Central Plains Area Commander for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Captain Sean Robertshaw, Deputy Commanding Officer of 19 Portage Army Cadets, was proud to see the cadets' accomplishments recognized in front of friends, family, and other corps members.

"It's important because cadets put in a lot of hard work and effort. We see them come out on weekends and engage in various activities, learning skills like leadership, marksmanship, survival, and bushcraft. It's good at the end of the year to say, 'Hey, good job, guys, you had a really good year, you learned some skills. Come back next year and learn some more.' It's very important to acknowledge their accomplishments."

The event also marks Chief Warrant Officer Mckenna Sharpe's final season as a cadet; she is graduating and will be moving on to university next year. "This is my last year with cadets. I started when I was 12, and I'm 18 now, so six years. It is sad, it's a bittersweet moment, and I am going to miss everything. Cadets has been such a major thing in my life; I have met so many new people and had so many experiences that I would never have had without this program. I highly recommend for anyone to come try it out. You might not think you're going to like it, but there is something in there for everyone. It's an incredible experience".

Sharpe says the evening was an important event for her. "Seeing all the cadets grow so much as a corps throughout the year was great. We have a lot of new cadets; just from Covid, numbers are starting to come up, and I was very proud to see them all come out in their dress uniforms. When they first joined individually, they didn't really know anyone, and now we are a unit, a corps together. It signifies how much we were able to grow and learn independently and as a team".

Sharpe extends her congratulations to all members for their accomplishments this year and encourages anyone interested in joining cadets to reach out.