CADETS in Bunbury required to cover up their uniforms while in public to avoid becoming a target of terror attacks will not be overly affected and will do the right thing, according to a local airforce cadet.
A new directive from the Australian Defence Force means cadets cannot wear their camouflage uniforms in public at all and service dress – commonly used for official events like Anzac Day commemorations – must be hidden from view with a jacket.
It also means cadets have to do the same on public transport, like TransBunbury buses, and while travelling in private cars.
Hayden McDonald, an 18-year-old cadet in Bunbury’s 710 squadron, told the Bunbury Mail that local cadets were taking the orders seriously.
“The way we see it is the cadets will do the right thing,” Mr McDonald said.
“We as a whole really appreciate and value the whole system and how it operates so any cadets that breach that know they will be punished appropriately.”
He said most cadets did not use public transport to get to and from training and events anyway.
Bunbury Airforce Cadets flight lieutenant commanding officer Phil Dickson – who helps coordinate the squadron’s activities – said a ramp up of security checks at events would also not overly impact local cadets and their parents because most were done in “secure locations.”
“I don’t think these measures are going to have any effect there because we already do security checks on the areas we use,” flight lieutenant Dickson said.
“It is not to scare people but it is a good thing to err on the safe side and the safety of our cadets is at the forefront.”
The directive comes a week after Forrest MP Nola Marino advised Bunbury residents to continue practicing common sense in the face of an elevated national terror risk.
