The Federal Cadets of the Year assessments were held online again this year.
This occurred on Sunday, 11th February 2024, and the following candidates are congratulated for being nominated by their respective Groups and for all putting in a strong performance on the day, and all can be considered winners.
The candidates were:
Candidates for the Female Award
- Corporal Willow Plenty of Victoria Group;
- Corporal Neha Krishna Kumar of Queensland Group;
- Corporal Kit Yi Lee of South Australia Group;
- Leading Cadet Aura Bhatti of New South Wales Group.
Candidates for the Male Award
- Sergeant Justian Stoican of Victoria Group;
- Sergeant Alexander Finnegan of New South Wales Group;
- Corporal Lochie Anderson of South Australia Group.
A similar rigorous process was used as in previous years, again using the capabilities of MS Teams and from the comfort of the candidates’ (and assessors’) homes. In one case, one of this year’s candidates was at a family wedding in India and took part in MS Teams from there in uniform.
The selection process included the following contributing components which were weighed to produce a result.
- Knowledge Test 15%
- Inspection 10%
- Presentation 30%
- Interview 35%
For the presentation, each candidate prepared a fifteen-minute audio-visual presentation delivered to the activity coordinator (Acting Federal Education Commissioner, Gp Comr. Brendan Willard) a week before the event and marked by members of Federal Staff. The presentations were all well done, and candidates were congratulated on the quality of the preparation and execution of that task.
As usual, it was a tough decision for the selection panel, with all of the candidates impressing in one way or another. They represented both their Squadrons and Groups very well.
At the end of the afternoon, the results were announced:
Federal Cadet of the Year (Female)
- Corporal Neha Krishna Kumar of Queensland Group;
Federal Cadet of the Year (Male)
- Sergeant Alexander Finnegan of New South Wales Group;
Acting Chief Commissioner Greg O’Brien, MSA congratulated all the candidates and especially the winners and runners-up on their great efforts and achievements. He further congratulated Group Commissioner Willard, Commissioner Grinter, DSA, MSA on the organisation of the day and Chief Commissioner King, MSA for stepping in at the last minute, he also thanked everyone who assisted with the assessments.
As, for obvious reasons, no presentation could take place on the day – certificates, badges and trophies will be presented at an appropriate opportunity in the not-too-distant future.
