Approximately 900 cadets will make their way to town between Thursday and Aug. 18 to take part in activities at the Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Centre.
And it’s Master Cpl. Blair Hiscock’s job to make sure the cadets are safe.
Hiscock and two others are the badge-carrying members of the camp’s military police.
“We’re responsible for defence establishments and enforcing regulations, federal and provincial,” said Hiscock who was introduced to Vernon media on Monday.
“Our main goal is the safety of the personnel that we’re responsible for.”
Hiscock, from Shilo, Man., and his two other officers will protect Vernon Army Camp property and investigate any incidents on the Department of National Defence property that houses the army camp.
Should they have to leave the base, they have a memorandum of understanding to interact with the Vernon RCMP detachment.
“They have powers within our jurisdiction and we accept their police officer status in Vernon,” said Vernon RCMP Cpl. Gerry Kovacs.
“We welcome them working beside us. It’s a very close working relationship.”
Dealing with teenagers and young adults aged 13 to 17, Hiscock said most of the issues military police deal with in Vernon are dealt with in-house. If a cadet gets into some problems off the base, that’s where the working relationship with the RCMP comes in.
With the cadets about to arrive for the summer, Hiscock has a favour to ask local residents.
“We’re asking the public to keep down their speed on Highway 97 and Mission Road by Camp Vernon,” said Hiscock.
“We’ll have signs out saying ‘Marching troops.’ We’ll have teenagers and young adults marching back and forth over the roadways because of their separation from the camp.”
Training activities at the army camp will close Aug. 18 with a public graduation ceremony at 6:30 p.m. at the Dieppe parade square.
Hiscock and his crew will be working until the end of August.