FOUR Gwent teenagers were appointed to the role of Lord-Lieutenant Cadets for 2020 at an awards ceremony in Newport.

Able Cadet Alex Husselbee, 14, from Cwmbran, Cadet Staff Sergeant Daniel Williams, 16, from Newport; Cadet Sergeant Connor Porter, 16, of Abercarn, and Cadet Sergeant Jack Wilson, 18, of Ystrad Mynach received badges of appointment from Lord Lieutenant of Gwent Brigadier Robert Aitken at his annual evening awards ceremony at Raglan Barracks.

Alex, of Torfaen Sea Cadets and Royal Marine Cadets, is a Cwmbran High School pupil, and aspires to join the Royal Navy as an engineer.

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He has a substantial number of boating qualifications and was awarded the prestigious Coxswain Award earlier this year.

He was joined by his mother Leeanne, who was presented with a Certificate of Merit by the Lord-Lieutenant at the awards night.

The four will follow in the footsteps of Able Cadet Luke Lewis, Cadet RSM Joseph Waters, Cadet CSM Toby Pearl, Cadet Warrant Officer Ethan Mallet and Cadet Warrant Officer Sophie Rodway, who were awarded the Lord-Lieutenant’s Certificate and Badge for being the 2019 representatives.

South Wales Argus:

(Leeanne Husselbee; Captain Louise McLeod; Warrant Officer Andrew Davies; Flight Lieutenant Thomas Beach: Lord-Lieutenant of Gwent; CSMI Keith Foster; Mervyn Reece and Mr Jason Hart.(L-R). Picture: Nick Treharne)

Brigadier Aitken said: “What a wonderful organisation the Cadet Force organisation is and you are all great representatives of it.

“What the Cadet Force is so good at doing is providing controlled danger – a degree of excitement in a structured and a safe manner so that the best of those young people can emerge.

“That is the key with teenagers - to give them parameters and say within those parameters you have complete freedom of movement but you step outside those parameters and you are out of order and those are the rules of the game.”

A further 10 people were recognised for their outstanding service and devotion to duty and awarded the Lord-Lieutenant’s Certificate of Merit.

The event was organised by the Reserve Forces’ and Cadets’ Association (RFCA) for Wales – an organisation that has supported the Armed Forces for over 100 years.