National Army Cadet commander Brig. David McCammon meets Albany’s 505 Army Cadet Unit on WA regional tour

Albany’s 505 Army Cadet Unit welcomed the national commander of the Australian Army Cadets, Brig. David McCammon on Monday during his tour of regional cadet units across WA.

Brig. McCammon, travelling alongside WA Col Campbell Waterman, visited Albany as the first stop around the State this week to learn about each unit’s activities and discuss the future direction of the program.

The Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that aims to build confident and resilient young leaders in an army-style environment.

The cadet programs are run in 260 locations with about 20,000 cadets and 2000 volunteers across Australia.

Brig. McCammon said the visit highlighted the important role of the program in providing training opportunities for young people in regional communities.

“The intent of the program is to assist people in their leadership skills, and give them opportunities to grow,” he said.

“The program is designed to get kids to have the opportunity to be better versions of themselves by the time they finish.”

Next year, cadets will be involved in exciting new camps and activities, and learning new skills.

“In 2026 we are going to have a futures camp where we are going to do a bunch of drone training and probably some robotics,” Brig. McCammon said.

As well as the futures camp, the annual field exercise (AFX) is the biggest camp in WA, during which cadets from across the State do a range of activities like abseiling, camping and navigation to improve their skills.

Albany 505 cadet under officer Hayleigh Cronje said the AFX camp was one of her highlights.

“The training is really good, and the programs and opportunities you get from AFX are great.”

Ms Cronje said she had loved being apart of the 505 unit.

“Cadets is the best thing you can join,” she said.

“It’s helped me in life so much like my mental health, resilience and people skills.

“My confidence has fluctuated since I started cadets.”

Warrant officer Katie Howard has been part of the Albany cadets for about five years.

“My favourite thing about cadets is all the experiences and opportunities you get, all the places you go and the people you meet and the friends you make,” she said.

Brig. McCammon urges everyone to give the cadets program a go.

“It can look confronting to people, but I just want to highlight that the program is not about being in the army,” he said.

“The program is about individual growth, leadership and resilience, and if you’re interested, come and give it a try, and you’ll see what a great program it is.”