By Louise Sandher-Jones

One of the great privileges of my job is seeing firsthand how Britain’s cadet forces transform thousands of young lives every year.

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They offer a world of opportunity to people between the ages of 12 and 18, regardless of their background or financial circumstances.

We already have 138,000 cadets who have seized that opportunity. Now we want another 40,000 teenagers to join the force by 2030. To help reach that goal, I’m announcing the first-ever National Cadets Week.

Cadets enjoy a huge diversity of activities, from learning how to sail, fly gliders, operate the latest drones or tackle survival courses, and working towards important qualifications like BTECs or The Duke of Edinburgh Award.

In my own constituency in North East Derbyshire, I’ve seen that serving in a cadet........

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