Well said I think, there are a lot of people who just can’t afford expensive kit so although not ideal but sometimes necessary 1 pair of boots does all should not prohibit a young person from achieving a very worthwhile goal.
I sometimes think there is an elitism style of attitude amoung some staff, if the young person is safe and their kit provides some form of protection (at least supporting the ankles and good grip, protection from the weather) then this should be good enough.
No they should not be dressed to go on section attacks but come on lets have some common sense.
i went to a Wing AT weekend at Oakhampton some years ago where some of the cadets were doing DofE stuff - the anality of the WATTO and the DofE Assessor team (all VRT/SNCO) was such that the kids doing DofE walks weren’t allowed to wear service boots…
there are people in the ACO who really, really need to be gripped hard about what matters and what doesn’t.[/quote]