This year I completed my 2 Star with two testing days and a weekend camp. The 3 Star sounds like a real challenge. After my 14th birthday, I signed up to the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. You earn badges: bronze, silver and gold, by completing different stages. First we walked to Blacklands Farm and did activities from rock climbing and kayaking to high ropes and assault courses.

Annual camp this year was on Salisbury Plain. We spent the first few days of 3 Star training being assessed. Then it was FIBUA (Fighting In Built Up Areas) where we learnt how to 'clear houses' and assault villages. Senior cadets pushed us to our limits and brought out a real sense of teamwork and bonding.

Being a girl in the ACF, shouldn't, but does, make a difference. You don't get treated any differently from the boys, but I felt I had a point to prove. On day three, at breakfast, after an early ambush and clearing the village, I burst into tears. I couldn't take any more. However, a motivational talk later, I was back in and completed the exercise. I could face anything, it was a real turning point for me.

Post-exercise, we chilled out and we relived our ‘war stories'. During final parade, I received my first stripe. I was made a Lance Corporal!

Next year »