Special to Arm training gives Officer Cadets the opportunity to get a taste of what different regiments and corps in the British Army specialise in.

Within the CEUOTC, the emphasis is on the Royal Engineer, Royal Artillery and Royal Logistics Corps, although any cadet who expresses a wish to learn more about a corps trade can establish a sub-unit for that particular speciality.

The Gun Troop

Equipped with 105mm light guns our cadets learn a range of skills to fire 25lb shells 8 miles at ranges in the north and south of England and in the Falkland Islands.

As well as training on live fire missions, our gunners have the honour of firing a 21 gun salute from Edinburgh Castle on the birthday of the Duke of Edinburgh every year.

The Royal Artillery sub-unit is renowned in the corps for being the oldest and most passionate of the sub unit troops. Cadets have the opportunity to train with local TA gunnery units and experience live firing on the L118 105mm light gun.

They make an annual appearance at the King George VI competition at Larkhill, the competition hosted by the RA to all UOTCs on a yearly basis.

Perhaps the most prestigious event that any cadet can take part in during their time at CEUOTC is the Royal Salute at Edinburgh Castle. The 21 gun salute celebrates the birthday of our royal honorary colonel HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, in front of thousands of tourists on Mills Mount at Edinburgh Castle Garrison.

The Royal Engineers

Our cadets build bridges, carry out explosive demolitions and operate engineer boats across the UK. Last year the troop won the inter-UOTC bridging competition and carried out community engineering projects in the Cairngorm Mountains and Edinburgh Zoo.

First and foremost, cadets must complete a module called Basic Field Engineering. Here, you learn the fundamentals of being a combat engineer, including the use of hand tools, combat power tools and knots and lashings. Ultimately, you be qualified up to a B1 Combat Engineer while getting paid for all your time.

Annually, there is the Royal Engineers recruiting competition held at Minley, which sees all UOTCs gather to compete in various engineering tasks. The CEUOTC has an exceptional record of success and is looking to repeat this at the upcoming competition this year.

Additionally, those interested in the engineering aspects of the Army can take part in Military Aid to the Civilian Community (MACC) task. In previous years, CEUOTC has helped out communities in Jersey, Balmoral, Lake District, and a slightly uncharacteristic MACC task helping out the primates of Edinburgh Zoo!

Combat

Members of our Infantry and Armour section take part in the world famous Cambrian Patrol in Wales each year. 44 miles over the hardest Welsh mountains is a test for the toughest members of the corps. Cadets also learn to drive the armoured vehicles of the Queen's Own Yeomanry on attachment, and two have recently attended selection for the UKSF (R).

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers/Royal Logistic Corps

Our drivers, navigators and mechanical engineers have taken part in driving competitions for more than 15 years, winning many trophies. Last year our cadets won EXERCISE ROADMASTER, the British Armed Forces championship event at Catterick, beating teams from the Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force, both Regular and Reservists in two days of gruelling driving and navigation.
 
Officer Cadet Mike Eldridge also navigated for the Armed Forces Rally Team on the Wales Rally GB, the British round of the World Rally Championship (WRC). His second place in class was enough to win the demanding inter-services 2008 Land Rover challenge.

OCdt Eldridge, a 3rd year computing student at Edinburgh University, said: "Wales Rally GB was the icing on the cake this year - to compete in a round of the WRC with the likes of Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg was amazing. To finish 44th overall in a field of 80 high performance rally cars, using a two-tonne Land Rover in extremely icy conditions was very rewarding."

The year started with Rally Almere in Holland, then 6 rounds of the British Rally Championship, a trip to Iceland on Rally Reykjavik and finishing with the British round of the WRC.