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The Mangawhai Cadet Unit takes pride in its teamwork abilities.
The Mangawhai Cadet Unit, made up of nine college students from Rodney, Mahurangi, Otamatea and Bream Bay, has won its third consecutive Skills at Arms Nationals title.
The competition was held at Burnham Military Camp in Christchurch, from October 28 to 30.
“The win is a huge honour,” Cadet Warrent Office Class II Caprice Howard says. “The unit put so much hard work into it so it’s great to see that pay off.”
Caprice, who has been part of the unit for five years and attends Rodney College, won top female and top shot, scoring 99 out of 125.
The Mangawhai unit qualified for the nationals by winning the Northern regional competition for the ninth consecutive year.
Three units compete at the nationals, with winners from Southern, Central and Northern regions.
“I think the family environment we have is what makes us so strong, especially when it comes to the team-work challenges,” Caprice says.
The nationals consisted of both theory and practical exercises with activities such as first aid, a fitness test, radio communication and a memory test.
Training for the unit prior to regionals was every weekend and Wednesday, as well as the first week of school holidays at the Hakaru RSA.
Caprice was also selected to compete as an individual for the Cadet of the Year Competition in Wellington, where she placed sixth out of eight.
Next year she will leave the unit and is looking at participating in the army part-time.
The Mangawhai unit was made up of Caprice Howard, Devon Pride, James Neki-Saunders, Sean Keven, Ariel Hodgson and Rachel Logue from Rodney College; William Green, from Mahurangi College; David Hames from Otamatea High School; and Bryden Melia from Bream Bay College.
