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The Army Cadets #1
The Cadet Corporal
Now in his 2nd year as Army Cadet, trouble-maker Graham Kirk is faced with the biggest crisis of his cadetship. The annual field camp has begun and over nine gruelling days he will be forced to face challenges and temptations that test his integrity, courage and loyalty to the limit. Top of the list is Pigsy and his gang, soured by jealousy and resentment. And of course the girls. Will they stand in the way of his promotion to sergeant or will he rise to the challenge and become the leader nobody thinks he can be?ABOUT THE Cummings is a Vietnam veteran, teacher, parent, traveller, Officer of Cadets, and author of 35 books. Bushwalking, history and travel have added depth to his experiences. He grew up in Cairns and Cape York Peninsula, experiencing many adventures in the North Queensland bush and at sea in his father’s ships, adventures he has woven into his books.
345 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2011
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August 2, 2023
this entire publication was a complete fever dream……
/
My opinions are not endorsed by the AAC nor a reflection of its policy.
/
I do think it is best to interpret this work as satirical and just enjoy it that way 😭 it is quite a far cry from the pretentious litfic I like to read, in fact it is more similar to fanfic… I’m just so lost for words I spent 2 hrs last night reading this instead of studying for trials… HOWEVER there are still serious things to be said about this publication regarding a few themes, and so we continue.
Purpose
Clearly this work was written to entertain people familiar with the culture of the AAC and in this regard it delivered 100%. I was enraptured by the plot & the detailed representation of certain procedures and activities (eg. THERE IS AT LEAST A PARAGRAPH DEDICATED TO EVERY SINGLE TIME GRAHAM TAKES A PISS OVER A 9-DAY ACTIVITY). Needless to say I was absolutely hysterical by the end of this book.
That being said, there is quite a significant barrier to entry (mb - typing this up in economics) to enjoying this publication; not only will the rank structure (a main plot point and driver of conflict) potentially be confusing to those who are not familiar with the AAC system (although everything is explained quite well admittedly) but the entire novelty of this work comes from identifying the universalities of the AAC experience through the joy of comparison.
Characterisation
We really get a clear picture of who Graham is in his capacity as a cadet corporal. We follow the uncertainty and self-doubt that he has to face and overcome throughout his frankly horrifying experience in the field. Conflicts unique to NCOs (such as the challenge of maintaining a professional attitude when friends are screwing around) are addressed and depicted realistically (although conflicts are honestly very scary and unlikely to occur at least in the units that I am familiar with) making Graham on the whole quite a relatable character MINUS the lustful thoughts which seem to occur every second paragraph (some of us are too caught up with memorising procedures to look at women in a sexual context every 5 seconds THANKS - will get a bit more into this later).
We see a really consistent depiction of Graham’s self-growth. He struggles with being perceived as weak due to his inability to control his section, and finds it difficult to maintain authority because his unit as a whole is quite undisciplined (I suspect this is a top-down issue but also a regional one, intended to represent specific experiences the author has previously had, cos I was like “how are these people at each other’s throats THE ENTIRE TIME?”). I also enjoyed the representation of how the judgement of leadership (the OOCs etc) affected Graham’s perception of himself and how he was performing.
Most of the conflict in this book stems from the fact that this guy really, REALLY wants a promotion to cadet sergeant. This makes him self-centred to a fault in the way that I’m sure most people his age are (realistic depiction +1) however due to this he ends up brushing off some honestly quite serious concerns about wellbeing which could’ve been elaborated upon further… More later.
Overall, Graham is a very realistic and relatable character (for the most part) & the book is centred around his self-growth. However, the other characters are not really… there, and instead are written like means to an end. The bullies are two-dimensional homophobic cunts, Kirsty (more later) is overly sexualised, the relationship with his best friend and 2ic is barely-there and leadership just… yells for the most part and gives sparse praise. I literally cannot remember the name of the other character that was explored in depth, but onto the next point we go!
Representation of mental health
One of the main conflicts revolves around Graham’s relationship with the guy who got PUSHED INTO A DROP TOILET IN CHAPTER 3. I cannot remember his name sorry but he literally was so he stayed on annual, spent the entire time crying/wishing he was dead and in the end he which like… god. This unit is wild and there is a horrible, criminal lack of focus on wellbeing.
This is a fair premise for the in that we clearly are given a reason (shitty parents, isolation, lack of friends and support) why this guy’s mental health is so bad & the
HOWEVER the ending was very abrupt and Graham-centred & it feels like which is a bit scummy??? I cant even get started on the lack of concern for safety so I won’t!! All I can say is
tldr: more effort should’ve been devoted to that plot point, shouldn’t have just been a means to an end
Representation of women
Graham is literally the MOST LUSTFUL 15-year-old I have ever met and his blossoming sexual romance with A RECRUIT (Kirsty) is another one of the major conflicts within this work (because fraternisation is frowned upon AND FOR GOOD REASON TOO). He has a lot of internal monologue about how her breasts are small but her hips and waist are nice which is really disturbing because she is 13 and a recruit (ie. the power dynamic is skewed as they literally met in the field and she is directly under his command). Most of the women in the unit are depicted in a similarly sexualised way & it would’ve been great to see more representation of women in leadership positions (though I do know that other books in this series explore this in greater detail).
Also I don’t really get how some cadets were literally getting intimate with one another late at night like how does nobody hear them at all esp. when everyone is so close to one another and otherwise completely silent??? wb the insects in the bush and such 😭 & don’t they have better things to do… like sleeping???
The main thing is that I’m pretty sure Graham was being sexually harassed by Kirsty for most of the book which is not really addressed at all. Even though his lustful thoughts are uncontrollable and take up more space than they are worth, he clearly does not want her advances (as he wants to maintain a leadership role) and verbally indicates so on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, which she ignores. Even though we get a pretty good representation of Graham’s guilt after they kiss when they’re not supposed to etc, the sexual harassment aspect where Graham’s boundaries are disregarded from time to time again is just brushed off because it is normalised otherwise & seen as ‘his loss.’
A more complex exploration of this issue should’ve been included within this work in order to avoid possibly perpetuating harmful narratives (even though there was a lot of nuance seen thru the unreliable narrator which… i mean, fair).
/
Overall, can’t wait to read the next instalment in this series (screaming)
/
My opinions are not endorsed by the AAC nor a reflection of its policy.
/
I do think it is best to interpret this work as satirical and just enjoy it that way 😭 it is quite a far cry from the pretentious litfic I like to read, in fact it is more similar to fanfic… I’m just so lost for words I spent 2 hrs last night reading this instead of studying for trials… HOWEVER there are still serious things to be said about this publication regarding a few themes, and so we continue.
Purpose
Clearly this work was written to entertain people familiar with the culture of the AAC and in this regard it delivered 100%. I was enraptured by the plot & the detailed representation of certain procedures and activities (eg. THERE IS AT LEAST A PARAGRAPH DEDICATED TO EVERY SINGLE TIME GRAHAM TAKES A PISS OVER A 9-DAY ACTIVITY). Needless to say I was absolutely hysterical by the end of this book.
That being said, there is quite a significant barrier to entry (mb - typing this up in economics) to enjoying this publication; not only will the rank structure (a main plot point and driver of conflict) potentially be confusing to those who are not familiar with the AAC system (although everything is explained quite well admittedly) but the entire novelty of this work comes from identifying the universalities of the AAC experience through the joy of comparison.
Characterisation
We really get a clear picture of who Graham is in his capacity as a cadet corporal. We follow the uncertainty and self-doubt that he has to face and overcome throughout his frankly horrifying experience in the field. Conflicts unique to NCOs (such as the challenge of maintaining a professional attitude when friends are screwing around) are addressed and depicted realistically (although conflicts are honestly very scary and unlikely to occur at least in the units that I am familiar with) making Graham on the whole quite a relatable character MINUS the lustful thoughts which seem to occur every second paragraph (some of us are too caught up with memorising procedures to look at women in a sexual context every 5 seconds THANKS - will get a bit more into this later).
We see a really consistent depiction of Graham’s self-growth. He struggles with being perceived as weak due to his inability to control his section, and finds it difficult to maintain authority because his unit as a whole is quite undisciplined (I suspect this is a top-down issue but also a regional one, intended to represent specific experiences the author has previously had, cos I was like “how are these people at each other’s throats THE ENTIRE TIME?”). I also enjoyed the representation of how the judgement of leadership (the OOCs etc) affected Graham’s perception of himself and how he was performing.
Most of the conflict in this book stems from the fact that this guy really, REALLY wants a promotion to cadet sergeant. This makes him self-centred to a fault in the way that I’m sure most people his age are (realistic depiction +1) however due to this he ends up brushing off some honestly quite serious concerns about wellbeing which could’ve been elaborated upon further… More later.
Overall, Graham is a very realistic and relatable character (for the most part) & the book is centred around his self-growth. However, the other characters are not really… there, and instead are written like means to an end. The bullies are two-dimensional homophobic cunts, Kirsty (more later) is overly sexualised, the relationship with his best friend and 2ic is barely-there and leadership just… yells for the most part and gives sparse praise. I literally cannot remember the name of the other character that was explored in depth, but onto the next point we go!
Representation of mental health
One of the main conflicts revolves around Graham’s relationship with the guy who got PUSHED INTO A DROP TOILET IN CHAPTER 3. I cannot remember his name sorry but he literally was so he stayed on annual, spent the entire time crying/wishing he was dead and in the end he which like… god. This unit is wild and there is a horrible, criminal lack of focus on wellbeing.
This is a fair premise for the in that we clearly are given a reason (shitty parents, isolation, lack of friends and support) why this guy’s mental health is so bad & the
HOWEVER the ending was very abrupt and Graham-centred & it feels like which is a bit scummy??? I cant even get started on the lack of concern for safety so I won’t!! All I can say is
tldr: more effort should’ve been devoted to that plot point, shouldn’t have just been a means to an end
Representation of women
Graham is literally the MOST LUSTFUL 15-year-old I have ever met and his blossoming sexual romance with A RECRUIT (Kirsty) is another one of the major conflicts within this work (because fraternisation is frowned upon AND FOR GOOD REASON TOO). He has a lot of internal monologue about how her breasts are small but her hips and waist are nice which is really disturbing because she is 13 and a recruit (ie. the power dynamic is skewed as they literally met in the field and she is directly under his command). Most of the women in the unit are depicted in a similarly sexualised way & it would’ve been great to see more representation of women in leadership positions (though I do know that other books in this series explore this in greater detail).
Also I don’t really get how some cadets were literally getting intimate with one another late at night like how does nobody hear them at all esp. when everyone is so close to one another and otherwise completely silent??? wb the insects in the bush and such 😭 & don’t they have better things to do… like sleeping???
The main thing is that I’m pretty sure Graham was being sexually harassed by Kirsty for most of the book which is not really addressed at all. Even though his lustful thoughts are uncontrollable and take up more space than they are worth, he clearly does not want her advances (as he wants to maintain a leadership role) and verbally indicates so on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, which she ignores. Even though we get a pretty good representation of Graham’s guilt after they kiss when they’re not supposed to etc, the sexual harassment aspect where Graham’s boundaries are disregarded from time to time again is just brushed off because it is normalised otherwise & seen as ‘his loss.’
A more complex exploration of this issue should’ve been included within this work in order to avoid possibly perpetuating harmful narratives (even though there was a lot of nuance seen thru the unreliable narrator which… i mean, fair).
/
Overall, can’t wait to read the next instalment in this series (screaming)
Displaying 1 of 1 review