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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 86 - Monday September 04, 2006
Barbadian cadets Visit Dominica
Sgt Austin T


On Monday, 24 July 2006, the star 4 cadets departed Barbados for what would be a memorable journey to Dominica. We had no idea of what was awaiting us in the nature island of the Caribbean, Dominica.

It started when we first landed; it was totally different from what we know, and were accustomed to, here in Barbados. As the plane touched down and we disembarked, we were amazed at the fact that all around us was full with lush, green vegetation.

The runway was surrounded with mountains on all sides. We proceeded to the arrivals lounge, or rather room, where we were greeted by a friendly reception from the Dominicans.

Waiting outside the airport was a small van, similar to those we have in Barbados, waiting to take us to our new home for the next ten days at Portsmouth Secondary School.

The journey to Portsmouth Secondary School was a long and winding one. If we weren�t driving uphill, it was downhill or around a corner. This came as a shock as we were so accustomed to the flat roads of Barbados.

About half an hour into the drive, the majority of persons that were on the first flight were sleeping when suddenly awakened by the loud sound of a truck�s horn.

Our driver was driving on the wrong side of the road and nearly crashed into the truck. This was our first brush with death; however we arrived safely in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth Secondary School was the next challenge on our journey. It was not what we had expected, considering that a local camp had just ended there.

We then worked with the Dominican cadets in cleaning and preparing the school. After we had cleaned and were settled into our Barrack rooms it was time to officially start the star 4 course.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, it was time for physical training. This was our first official tackle with the hills of Dominica.

After this, it was time for breakfast and our first muster parade. We were somehow not totally into the camp mode as yet.

We were behind schedule and late for our first 'muster'. We then had our first taste of pushups and were given a stern warning not to be late for muster again; however it took us at least three other times before we got it right.

Although the star 4 course had its ups and downs it was not all bad. We participated in many interesting activities.

We did a night navigation exercise which was very interesting as we were walking through thick bush and we could hear the rivers flowing right where we were passing.

If anyone had slipped, it would have been a river bath but that made it even more exciting. On the Friday we had a taste of the town of Roseau and the many sightseeing places in Dominica.

After splitting up into our various groups and experiencing Roseau, we went on a tour of the Island. We visited the Fresh Water Lake, the Trafalgar Falls, The Hot Sulphur Springs and the Cabrits National park.

These visits showcased some of the many historical aspects of Dominica.

There was also the range day. We left Portsmouth and traveled on a big open-back truck to the site of the range.

The trip to the range was pretty good, although we were only able to shoot practice rounds as the range became flooded due to heavy rain and we had to leave early.

Towards the end of camp, it was time to go on our adventurous training exercise. We left camp on the Sunday morning at one o�clock. We hiked from Portsmouth to Syndicate Estate where we would rest before attempting �4747�, otherwise known as Morne Diablotins (Devil�s Mountain).

It took us almost seven hours to reach Syndicate. When we reached there, we rested until the next morning when they departed for Morne Diablotins.

It took quite a few hours to get up and back down the mountain. After returning to Syndicate, we hiked to Dublanc and then made the trip back to Portsmouth Secondary School.

When we arrived back at the school, we were on stand down. The next day, we were preparing for the closing ceremony and parade.

We were busy shining boots and preparing kit for the big parade as we knew there would be one more day before we would be returning to Barbados.

The parade was very successful. Afterwards, we marched through the village and back to Portsmouth Secondary School.

The last night, we had a social. We all got together and watched �Pirates of the Caribbean� (filmed in Dominica). Next day we would be departing Dominica.

All in all, the star 4 course in Dominica was a very memorable journey, we will all remember the first night when the males had to get their heads shaved, when we had to crawl through the mud, the night navigation exercise, the hike up the mountain and back, the 'hose down', and the tour of the Island.

Although in Dominica the camping facilities are not like those here at Paragon, it was still very comfortable, enjoyable and memorable.

At first, there was the usual problem of getting the Dominicans and Barbadians to interact and work as a team but this soon changed.

The Barbadians and Dominicans soon began to interact and work as a team. Lots of friendships were made between the two groups. This was an experience that we, the star four pirates will always remember.

Comments about this article? Email:
editor@
thedominican.net
Telephone:
1-703-861-9411
Fax:
1-202-589-7937

Volume No. 1 Issue No. 81
Dominica V Switzerland
Lakschin- Dominica's Ambassador
The case against switzerland
Disneyfication of Caribbean
Life of Rb Douglas




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