The Minister for Home Affairs, Hon. Juan Watterson MHK, has officially opened the new training centre for the local Cadet Forces. The project has been a joint effort with funding from the DHA and the North West Reserve Forces & Cadet Association (NW RFCA). The Minister welcomed Colonel Gerry Wells-Cole OBE DL, Chief Executive of the NW RFCA who visited the Island specifically for the ceremony.

The new building replaces an old portacabin which was originally the former Fire Safety office and was donated by the Fire and Rescue Service in 2000. The old building gave good service for over ten years but gradually became uneconomic to use.

The training centre was named after the former Lieutenant Governor Air Marshal Iain Macfadyen CB OBE some years ago and the new facility will still be known by that name. Air Marshall Macfadyen was Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man from 2000 to 2005 and was appointed following a successful career in the Royal Air Force spanning almost 40 years.

A project to replace the old building was initiated over two years ago and resulted in this new facility being delivered at the end of 2011. The building is a modular steel-framed building supplied by local company Viking Containers Ltd. It is designed to be functional and maintenance-free and will provide a joint training venue for all cadet organisations.

More than 220 cadets and a number of volunteers are active in the Island’s cadet organisations – the Army Cadet Force, the Sea Cadet Corps, the Air Training Corps and the Combined Cadet Force.

Minister Watterson welcomed the opening of the new facility, stating “I am delighted that my Department and the NW RFCA have been able to deliver this project to completion.  The Island’s cadet forces are dynamic organisations which provide great opportunities for young people to gain skills and make a contribution to society which is particularly valuable during difficult economic times.”