101 Troop ICF are based in Waterlooville, just outside of Portsmouth. We are very lucky to be located so closely to the home of the Royal Navy as the area is steeped in naval and military history. We are very proud of the links we have to Portsmouth and its surrounding areas. 101 Troop was the very first Unit to be born out of the ICF. We therefore have a lot of pride in our unit, knowing just how important it is to be the very first, but certainly not the last.
As a unit, we are a close family. Our staff team are not just volunteers or colleagues, they are close friends and all have a common aim in terms of giving our Cadets the best experience possible. Every one of the 101 Troop team has experience of either being a Cadet at younger age or has experience volunteering for a Cadet organisation prior to joining the ICF. Some of our volunteers have even served in the regular and reserve armed forces, giving our unit a wealth of experience which is used to offer some fantastic activities to our Cadets.
In March 2021, 101 Troop merged with another local independent cadet unit called Training Ship Active, a Naval and Marines Cadet Unit which was established more than 50 years prior. Due to changes within T.S. Active following the COVID-19 restrictions, it was agreed to bring T.S. Active into 101 Troop and therefore maintaining a larger foothold within the community. This merger has subsequently allowed 101 Troop to go much further in what we can offer our current Cadets and future Cadets.
101 Troop meets every Wednesday evening between 18:15 and 20:30 at our unit which is located at 49 Hurstville Drive, Waterlooville. Most evenings, our Cadets take part in the ICF’s Structured Training Syllabus, which is informative yet very ‘hands on’ and a lot of fun. Children spend a lot of their time in the classroom at school, so we do our best to minimise time spent within a classroom setting. Our approach is to provide less time spent watching a presentation and more time doing. This results in a much more fun and vibrant environment for everyone. But not all of our weekly parade evenings are spent learning! On other evenings, Cadets will have the opportunity to go to a local sports facility and take part in a variety of games, activities and team building events. We also do other things, such as Pizza & Film nights and visits to local attractions such as Laser Quest, FlipOut and Rock-Up.
In addition to our weekly parade nights, we also offer weekend events such as camps, adventurous training activities and community support days. These happen as frequently as we can offer them and they are always a lot of fun.
If you wish to join the ICF as a Cadet, you can join 101 Troop today. If you are least 8 years old you can enrol with us and become one of our newest recruits. Our subs are just £10 a month and every new member will receive two free trial evenings prior to fully signing up. You can contact us via the ‘Contact Us’ page or email info@independentcadetforce.org.uk.
We look forward to hearing from you very soon.
Our Team:
Bradley Cox – Commanding Officer (Capt ICF)
Alex Speight – 2 IC / Regimental Sergeant Major (WO1 ICF)
The Most Rev’d Paul Miles-Knight – ICF Chaplain (Capt ICF)
Will Gibson (Lt ICF)
Richard Stevens (WO2 ICF)
Denise Bennett – Designated Safeguarding Lead (WO2 ICF)
Tony Febvre (WO2 ICF)
Kaye Steele – (SSGT ICF) Bravo Section Commander
Carl Lees – (SSGT ICF) Alpha Section Commander
Ben Suter – (Sgt ICF)
Josh Bell (Sgt ICF) – Quartermaster
Holly Suter – (Sgt ICF)
Laura Bucknall (Parent Helper)