Has anyone else noticed an increase in the number of new cadets who faint on parade?
We recently had a new intake and average about 25 of them on a parade night. Of that number, at least 2 will faint when they are on parade and stood for more than 5 minutes. This has not been the case with previous intakes and we don’t think it can be attributed to mask wearing as the enrolled cadets don’t faint.
Is it just a generational thing? Are they not used to standing for more than 5 minutes? Are they not eating and drinking properly?
Not noticed any increase. Still consider it very rare for a cadet to faint on a normal squadron night parade. Have you got a carbon monoxide alarm at your unit with a dead battery?
Haven’t noticed anything with ours - can’t remember the last time we had a fainter - but it stands to reason that most kids have completely lost whatever levels of fitness they once had (or didn’t have).
Have any who fainted had their vaccine jab that day?
We have had one faint after their jab & others who have asked for a chair when they’ve felt a bit dizzy - notable more than standard.
If you combine this along with new cadets who don’t know what to do on parade or how to flag up that they’re feeling giddy you might have a bit of an increase.
Also if you’re indoors in face masks it may be they’re getting a lot warmer a lot quicker hence the fainting.
I don’t know of any with a gas supply either tbh, but I know a lot of camps that I’ve been on where everything is gas, so wouldn’t be surprised if they’re some squadrons too!
Is it the same kids every time? Is it boys and girls equally? Is it when they are at the attention? If it’s this then they need to be told it’s OK to ‘move’.
Is it tiredness? Like many, the cadets have been dossing around at home, without a proper routine and not doing a lot for a long time and now many are back into a proper day. Getting up at a proper time and doing a proper day. A few people at work have said they have been feeling more tired than they remember, so if adults are feeling the effects why not cadets? It’s just that we don’t routinely have adults standing around for extended periods of time.
In all my years of D&C, I find that actual faints are fairly rare. You’ll get some on any big parade but it’s usually no more than 4 or 5 out of 400 on a bad day.
I’ve only seen a couple of actual faints on sqn first/final parade in 27 years.
What is more common is the “I feel faint” [not actually feeling faint - they’re just not used to standing still for more than 5 minutes] occurrences; but I’m not sure I have seen or heard of any particular increases in either locally.
People should ascertain if it is fainting or just drowsiness.
Are cadets showing signs of sleepiness during the night if sat in a lecture/lesson, given they will be sat in these longer than any sqn night “parade”.
Open doors and windows for forming up at the end of the night, if this is when they are “fainting”.
The school I work at many of the kids get buses and are stood for as long as it takes and there has been no “fainting”. If there were there would be all staff emails asking for more people man the bus stops.
I think this is as I said a feature of the life many have experienced over the last 18 months, in respect of WFH and doing things largely at their leisure interspersed with something else, and now having to get used to full days again.
Commandant highlighted it as an issue over the summer with 3/20 x F492s being related to fainting. Although didn’t actually give any context as to whether this is an actual increase…
Not noticed an increase here, but ask me again after the Remembrance rehearsal and parade. Though it will be easier this year with less time on parade - 2018 was the killer as they stood (at ease) while the head read out all 245 names of old boys killed in WW1…
One cadet went down in 2019 and again in 2020, but he’s opted out this year. He does seem particularly prone. (Boom boom!)
Context is everything, in everything. Partial information like this, just leads to knee jerk actions and as the Cmdt’s made a note of it, you can see a pile of additional things for us to do, when in reality there’s no need.
You have to wonder about the reasons: warm weather; kids kept hanging around formed up unnecessarily some fall over.
But the current spate noted above needs a bit more work locally to see why, before calling it fainting.
