Nairnshire volunteers Eric Mills and Jonathan McDonald with the Army Cadet Force 1st Battalion The Highlanders’ Nairn Detachment have been presented with Cadet Force Warrants at the company HQ in Inverness
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TWO Nairnshire volunteers with the Army Cadet Force have had their dedication recognised by the battalion commandant.
Sergeant Major Instructors Eric Mills (58) and Jonathan McDonald BEM (54), from 1st Battalion The Highlanders’ Nairn Detachment, were both presented with the Cadet Force Warrant at the detachment’s HQ, in John Street.
SMI Mills joined the Army Cadets in 2007 as an instructor with Ardersier Detachment and was later appointed as its Commander.
He transferred to Nairn Detachment as an instructor in 2010 and is a key member of the battalion’s shooting team.
His role involves training cadets of Moray Company and the battalion in preparation for various shooting competitions.
SMI Mills’s leadership and management abilities of the cadets and fellow adults was recognised in 2017 with his appointment as the battalion’s Regimental Sergeant Major, a position he held until 2019.
SMI McDonald, who is the Nairn Detachment Commander, has been part of the battalion since the 1980s.
He was appointed as the Detachment Commander in 2000.
His dedication to the young people of the Highlands was recognised in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours where he received the British Empire Medal.
The Cadet Force Warrant was created in August 2020 after consent from the defence minister.
It is designed to recognise the value placed by the Ministry of Defence on the work done by the senior non-commissioned adults within the UK’s cadet forces.
