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Preston Royal Marines Cadets where out in the field last weekend (7th & 8th March 2015) in preparation for this years CATSEA. The course was ran by Sgt (SCC) K Dowd, the detachment commander, SGT (SCC) C Lettherd, the detachment commander and SGT (SCC) R Smalley.

The weekend also gave some members of the Sea Cadets to experience some of the training the Royal Marine Cadets detachment. All the cadets in attendance certainly went home tired by the end of the weekend (and the staff to!)

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Sunday 18th January 2015 saw Preston Sea Cadets visit HMS Portland, a Royal Navy type 23 frigate.

She was built on the Clyde and was launched by the Ship’s Sponsor, Lady Heather Brigstocke on 15 May 1999. HMS Portland was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 3 May 2001. Based in Portsmouth and Devonport, the ships were designed to deal with the Soviet submarine threat – but in the 20 years since the fall of Communism, the frigates have proven their versatility by dealing with virtually every mission imaginable in the four corners of the globe. The 13 Type 23, or Duke-class, frigates are the core of the front-line Fleet. They can be typically be found east of Suez, safeguarding Britain's vital maritime trade routes or Britain's interests in the South Atlantic. With a top speed of 28 knots and a compliment of 185 crew HMS Portland can cover a range of 7,800 nautical miles. She is equipped with an MK 4.5 inch medium gun, The 4.5in main gun, found on the forecastle of all the Royal Navy's destroyer's frigates and destroyers, it is the most obvious provider of punch and firepower. The gun can fire up to two dozen high explosive shells, per minute, weighing more than 40kg (80lbs) at targets more than a dozen miles away - and nearly 18 miles if special extended-range shells are used. The main purpose of the gun is Naval Gunfire Support – artillery bombardment of shore targets. In this role the gun is capable of firing the equivalent of a six-gun shore battery. She is also equipped with the Harpoon Long range anti-ship missile. Harpoon is the long range lance of the Type 23 Frigate, capable of destroying enemy ships far beyond the horizon. Fitted to all Type 23 Frigates the Harpoon is a sophisticated anti-ship missile capable of striking targets more than 80 miles away. Harpoon uses a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing to attack it's prey. Cruising at Mach 0.9 and carrying a large high explosive warhead it is powered by a lightweight turbojet, but is accelerated at launch by a booster rocket. As well as the Seawolf Guided missile. Seawolf is the shield of Britain's frigate fleet against air attack. In service more than 30 years it has proven itself in battle and remains a potent weapon to this day. Seawolf is intended to defend an individual ship rather than a task group. It is fired from a vertical Silo and guided on to its target by a tracking system on the ship. Seawolf can track and destroy a target the size of a cricket ball travelling at three times the speed of sound. For many of our cadets this was the first time they have visited a RN ship. 
The tour was amazing and we all feel privileged to have been shown around.
Some of the cadets attending have plans to join the Royal Navy in the future and found it an invaluable experience to talk first hand to some of the ratings and officers of HMS Portland and get their perspective and advice.

Preston Sea Cadets won overall Sunday 14th December 2014 at the North West Lancs District football competition. The unit entered a Senior boys team, Junior boys team and a junior girls team. The junior girls team and senior boys team won and will now represent the district at the North West area competition on Sunday 25th January 2014. The unit has also been asked to team up with another unit within the district for a Senior Girls team.

All those cadets that took part in the competition are a credit to the unit and should be very proud of themselves. The staff and committee congratulate them all. A very well done!

Thursday 11th December 2014 saw members of Preston Sea Cadets serve as guard of honour at a commemorative football match between a group of English and German school children at Bamber Bridge football club. The football match was organised to commemorate the Christmas football match between English and German troops around Christmas day 2014. 

The Christmas truce was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front around Christmas 1914. In the week leading up to the holiday, British and German soldiers crossed trenches to exchange seasonal greetings and talk. In areas, men from both sides ventured into no mans land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to mingle and exchange food and souvenirs. There were joint burial ceremonies and prisoner swaps, while several meetings ended in carol-singing. Men played games of Football with one another, giving one of the most enduring images of the truce. However, the peaceful behaviour was not ubiquitous; fighting continued in some sectors, while in others the sides settled on little more than arrangements to recover bodies.

Spectators where asked to make a donation of around £1.00 each on the gates, this entrance fee was in aid of the Royal British Legion which along with money raised during November will help serving and former members of the Armed Forces.

Cadets assisted at the main gate and handed out programmes with the flags of either Great Britain or Germany on the rear. Spectators were asked to support whichever country was on the rear of their programmes. Before the game started cadets formed an Honour Guard at the mouth of the tunnel whilst players from both teams ran onto the pitch and during a two minute silence.