"We also had to be positively vetted by the police in order to work with young people ( moreso in my case as I controlled an armoury with live ammo.)"
Hmm I would have thought there would have been another reason.
The sharpest drill I have ever seen was the "Kings Class" Royal Marines on their graduation parade. I have never seen any unit not even the Guards who could come close to them. At the time these were 17 year old cadets who were bound for sea duty with the RN. The Adjutant even road a horse on parade.