The government may have done a (welcomed) U-turn and reinstated the TA budget; they have not done the same with the Army Cadet Force and the £4million
cuts made in this year's ACF budget remain in force. The Army Cadet Force Association is now very concerned that, with the inevitable squeeze on the Army budget, this year's cuts may be repeated again next year - or even worse. This would have a seriously damaging impact on the facilities and opportunities available to the UK's 47,000 Army cadets and, importantly, on the resolve of the 8,500 adult volunteers to continue, particularly with the reductiion in instructors' paid training days and annual and weekend camps.
The ACF is a valuable training ground not only for future Army intake but also for the country's young people as a whole. The ACF helps teenages develop personally, physically and socially by providing challenging and adventurous opportunities in a structured, disciplined environment. Through the ACF young people learn the core values of self discipline, respect for others and team work. In other words the ACF teaches our young people the personal and social skills which our schools are lamentably failing to do.
Indeed up until recently Brown, Balls, Ainsworth and Co. had been announcing that the government had plans to expand the ACF and had been extolling the benefits the ACF could bring to children from all backgrounds.
The Army Cadet Force Association rightly says that each year the Army's cadets put a great deal of effort into supporting the Service community and Service charities. It, in turn, is now seeking all the support that it can get to increase awareness of the dangers that a repeat of this year's cuts would have on the ACF movement.
Army Cadet Force Association
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