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This article refers to the general definition of cadet. A Cadet may also be a member of the Cadets, a historical Russian political party. For the record label, see Cadet Records.A
cadet is a trainee officer in the
military, a junior branch of an important family, or simply a person who is a junior
trainee.
Etymology
The word is recorded in English since 1634, originally for a young son, identical to the French, which is itself derived from the
gascon Occitan (spoken in
Gascony in southwest France)
capdet "captain, chief," in turn from the
Late Latin capitellum, the diminutive of Latin
caput "head" (hence also chief).
A group of Cadets
Younger sons from Gascon families apparently were commonly sent to the French court to serve as officers; as a rule non-heirs from the European nobility sought careers in the military or the clergy.
Genealogical usage
A cadet is a younger son, as opposed to the firstborn heir. Compare
puisne.
As an adjective, "cadet" is used to signify a junior branch of a family. Thus, the
Orleans line was a
cadet branch of the
Bourbon family.
For the status as such, the noun
cadency exists, as in the heraldic term
mark of cadency for a feature which distinguishes a cadet son's coat of arms from the father's which is passed on unaltered only to the (usually firstborn) heir.
Military has been the traditional career choice of the nobility throughout the centuries, and it has been customary that the firstborn son has inherited the title, lands and possessions, while the younger sons of a noble family went to military, often to be trained as officers. Hence the meaning "cadet branch" for a junior branch of a family.
Military context
In
Commonwealth countries, including
United Kingdom, a
cadet is a member of one of the cadet forces. In the United Kingdom these are the
Combined Cadet Force, the
Sea Cadets,
Army Cadets and the
Air Training Corps. Military officers in training are called
officer cadets.
In
Canada, the term "cadet" refers to an officer in training, with the official rank names as Officer Cadet for the Air Force and Army and Naval Cadet for the Navy. It also refers to any member of the
Royal Canadian Army Cadets,
Royal Canadian Air Cadets or
Royal Canadian Sea Cadets. These three organizations are volunteer youth groups administered by the
Department of National Defence.
In
Germany, the rank
Cadet () only exists in the
German Navy for officers in training. In the Army and the
Luftwaffe, officers in training usually have the rank of a
Fahnenjunker or
Ensign (German:
Fähnrich) before they are promoted into the rank of a
Lieutenant.
In the
Philippines, the term cadet is used in mostly military attached organizations, but it is more distinctive in the service academies of the Philippines, such as these are the
Philippine Military Academy(PMA), the
Philippine National Police Academy(PNPA), and
Philippine Merchant Marine Academy(PMMA). Graduates of these service academies, are automatically given officer commission in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Fire Protection and Bureau Of Jail Management and Penelogy. Graduates of PMMA are given reserve officer status in the Philippine Navy and mostly go the private shipping firms. The term cadet is also applicable to the enrolles of Citizen's Army Training (for high school) and Reserve Officer Training Corps (for college).Service academy cadets are thought to be between the NCO and Officers ranks, and NCO consider cadets as rank higher to them.
In
Ireland,
Cadet is a pupil of the Military College, which carries out officer training for the
Air Corps,
Army and
Naval Service. Training takes 2 years and the Cadets are split into Senior and Junior Grades and Classes.
In
Norway, a "cadet" is a pupil of either of the three the
Krigsskolen ("war schools"), which educate commanding officers for either the Army, the Navy or to the Air Force.
In the
United States,
cadet refers to an officer in training. Students at the
United States Military Academy, the
United States Air Force Academy, the
United States Coast Guard Academy, the Maine Maritime Academy, the
Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the
State University of New York Maritime College, and members of the
Air Force and
Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps officially rank as "Cadet" while holding varying cadet ranks in their individual organizations.
In Australia Cadet also refers to an officer in training. The official rank is Officer Cadet (OCDT) however OCDT's in the Royal Military College - Duntroon are referred to as Staff Cadet (SCDT) for historical reasons.
Youth cadet corps
![Faujdarhat Cadet College]()
Faujdarhat Cadet College
In the British and Commonwealth (formerly Empire) as well as
Russian service, these groups of boys or youths are organized, armed and trained on volunteer military lines.
Australia
In
Australia, a "Cadet" is a person aged between 13 and 20 who is a member of the
Australian Defence Force Cadets (ADFC). The ADFC comprises the
Australian Navy Cadets (ANC), the
Australian Army Cadets (AAC),
Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC), which are funded by the Australian Government via the Department of Defence. Other cadet movements include the St John Ambulance Cadets (First Aid Services).
Bangladesh
In Bangladesh the students of Cadet colleges are called Cadet. The recruits of army, navy and airforce are also called Gentleman Cadet(GC).There are 12 cadet colleges in Bangladesh. Faujdarhat Cadet College is the first cadet college of the country, established in 1958.
Canada
Cadets Canada is the marketing name for the Canadian Cadet Organizations that comprise the
Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, the
Royal Canadian Air Cadets and the
Royal Canadian Army Cadets.
The program is sponsored by the
Canadian Forces and funded through the Department of National Defence (DND) in partnership with the Army Cadet, Air Cadet, and Navy Leagues of Canada.
The term Cadet Movement applies when speaking of everyone associated with the program including the CF, DND, Leagues, Community Sponsors, Cadets, and parents and guardians of cadets.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police use to maintain police cadet partnership with Scouts Canada called the RCMP Rovers and Ventures; however, it has been re-constituted into the RCMP Stetsons and Spurs and is run by various RCMP detachments.
St. John Ambulance in Canada supports a youth division that includes "cadets".
Hong Kong
Two cadet corps are linked to
Hong Kong colonial past:
Both are now funded by the
Hong Kong government and has no ties to either the
British Forces or the
PLA.
Ireland
In Ireland a cadet is a young member of the
Order of Malta Ambulance Corps or the
St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland and trainee army officers are cadets from DFTC.
Singapore
In
Singapore, three national cadet forces exist: the
National Cadet Corps,
National Police Cadet Corps and the
National Civil Defence Cadet Corps. These cadet organisations have a uniform and rank structure which closely mirrors that of their parent body.
In addition there are other non-national cadet organisations, namely the
The Boys' Brigade in Singapore,
Girls' Brigade,
The Singapore Scout Association,
Girl Guides Singapore,
St. John Ambulance in Singapore and
Red Cross Youth.
Sri Lanka
In
Sri Lanka, there is one primary cadet force which is the
National Cadet Corps (NCC). In recent years Air Force Cadet platoons have been established, however its unknown if these units come under the NCC or the
Sri Lanka Air Force. St Peters College and Royal College inaugurated the air force cadet platoons in year 2007
United Kingdom
In
Commonwealth countries, including
United Kingdom, a
cadet is a member of one of the cadet forces. In the
United Kingdom, the cadet forces are the
Air Training Corps,
Police Cadet Corps,
Army Cadet Force and
Sea Cadets (each is a stand alone youth organisations) and the school-based
Combined Cadet Force. At the next level of training there are university cadet forces -
University Officer Training Corps (UOTCs), of which there are 19 across the country,
University Air Squadrons (UASs), of which there are 14, and
University Royal Naval Units (URNUs), of which there are also 14. They are designed to train university students in military leadership, to promote the military across universities and to increase civilian-military relations. Students are not committed to serve in the armed forces, but can gain qualifications and commissions through the organisations. Cadets can gain a Territorial Army (Group B officer) commission through a UOTC, an Acting Pilot Officer commission through a UAS, while URNU students hold the rank of Honorary Midshipman.
Cadets also represent
St. John Ambulance in the line of public duties and first aid.
There are many competitions for cadets within the UK, for example the "Swift and Bold Competition", held at "The London Oratory School", whose CCF still holds the name
Royal Green Jackets long after the regular army and territorial army regiments have been amalgamated into
The Rifles.
New Zealand
In
New Zealand, the cadet forces are the
Air Training Corps (ATC), the
New Zealand Cadet Corps (NZCC) and the
Sea Cadet Corps (SCC). All of these organisations are part of the umbrella organisation of the
New Zealand Cadet ForcesRussia
Russian cadet corps have existed since 1732 and despite being banned by the
Soviet government for their support of the
White movement, were reintroduced after the fall of the USSR.
United States
The United States also has several youth cadet organizations. The
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a youth citizenship program with units administered by either the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard in American high schools. One of the primary functions of the
Civil Air Patrol is to administer a similar cadet program training in elements of leadership, aerospace studies, and search and rescue. There are other programs including the
United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps and the
Young Marines. The oldest cadet program in the United States is the
United States Army Cadet Corps which was created in 1909.
For those who choose to enter a formal program to become an officer, cadet is the rank bestowed on those in the
United States Air Force Academy,
West Point, the
Coast Guard Academy and
ROTC. Members of these programs will be commissioned in the military, with a term of commitment afterwards.
In additon, students at a
senior military college such as
The Citadel (military college), the
Virginia Military Institute, and the
Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets are referred to as cadets - although they may or may not be enrolled in a formal officer commissioning program.
Antigua
Antigua And Barbuda Cadet Corps Consist of students between the age of 12-19. the Antigua & Barbuda Cadet Core (ABCC) is a youth program helps discipline children and is part of the Antigua and Baruda Defense Force They are two catogaries in the Cadet Core the sea cadets and the land cadets, ranks in this force starts from Recruit, Coropal, Staff sargen, Sargen and the highest is WNCO.
Civilian context
Hong Kong
In early colonial history of
Hong Kong,
cadet was a system for training young
Englishmen to be officials for Hong Kong, where they had to learn Chinese culture and sometimes
Cantonese language and
written Chinese in Hong Kong. Some cadets became major officials and even
Hong Kong Governors. Later
cadets were young
policemen under training in the
Royal Hong Kong Police Force.
Switzerland
In
Switzerland,
cadet () refers to a participant of the programs of a corps of cadets (), which are maintained by public schools or private associations. From the late 18th century to the mid-20th century, the Kadettenkorps used to prepare highschool students for service in the Swiss army. Influenced by the "Turnerbewegung" ('Gym movement'), the Kadettenkorps started in the early 20th century to shift their programme towards sports. Nowadays, the Swiss Cadets Association () includes Kadettenkorps offering the following programmes: general sports (including the national league handball club
Kadetten Schaffhausen), trecking (like
scouting), march music bands () and traffic regulation (). Kadettenkorps offering traffic regulation only, are represented by the Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association ().
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, a similar usage exists for personnel in training to become Firefighters, Police officers, Ambulance Technicians or Paramedics .
United States
In the United States,
cadet refers to an officer in training for the
police,
firefighter and
EMT services. Some police and sheriff's departments employ cadets as non-sworn law enforcement officers, either before or after entering a training academy, to allow them to gain experience in law enforcement without becoming a fully-sworn officer. They conduct various duties, similar to the
UK's
PCSOs, ranging from office work to parking and traffic enforcement. An example is the
NYC police cadet corps, which is similar to an internship.
Merchant Navy
In the
Merchant Navy, a Cadet is an officer under training in much the same way as the military context. Cadets choose either one of two branches for professional development.
Deck Cadets train in the fields of
Navigation,
Shiphandling and
Cargo Handling as well as
Maritime Law. They will also receive training in firefighting, first aid and survival techniques.
Engineering Cadets train to become
Marine Engineers, and as such their fields encompass a range of theoretical and practical engineering subjects, including
mechanical physics,
thermodynamics,
control engineering,
applied mathematics,
welding and
fabrication. Engineering practice is mostly learned during the Cadet's assignment to a ship. Engineering Cadets also train in firefighting, survival and first aid. The cadet training scheme differs from country to country, but the learning objectives are always the same. In the
UK for example, Cadets undergo training in a block-release format, spending a shorter time in college before going to sea for a short assignment after which the cadet returns to college. Other countries allow the cadet to finish his/her degree before going to sea, but most countries seem to prefer a system where a cadet completes all of his/her sea time before returning to college for the final year of their degree.
Other usage
Some sports teams also refer to players that are in the process of being built up to play for the team at a later date as cadets. Such players often play for a lesser team in the same club. This is done quite commonly in the
National Rugby League (NRL). The
Serie B, the second most important football league in Italy, is nicknamed
campionato cadetto, meaning
championship of the cadets.
Cadet is also used in short track auto racing for the name of a category of cars. This division is usually an intermediate division that allows drivers to gain experience for faster classes in the future. This name has been used at race tracks in the Western PA/WV/Southwestern NY area and the GA/AL/SC area.
In Australia, the term is also used to describe a person pursuing a career as a Chartered Accountant under the "Cadetship" program, designed to accelerate career progression for motivated students. The programs are offered to students finishing high school or currently undertaking tertiary studies in relevant courses by several
Accounting firms such as the
Big 4 accountancy firms (
Deloitte,
KPMG,
PricewaterhouseCoopers and
Ernst & Young), and mid-tier firms such as
BDO and
Grant Thornton.
To refer to someone as a
space cadet is to imply that they are "on another planet," i.e. foolish or unaware of their surroundings, for example, "That guy is a total space cadet." The phrase was inspired by
science fiction author
Robert A. Heinlein's juvenile novel
Space Cadet."Cadet" may also refer to a member of
The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps, based in
Allentown,
Pennsylvania.
In The Bahamas, it is not uncommon to refer to upper primary or high school students job shadowing various professionals as cadets. E.g. teacher cadet, library cadet, police cadet, nurse cadet and technical cadets.
In The Bahamas, it is not uncommon to refer to upper primary or high school students job shadowing various professionals as cadets. E.g. teacher cadet, library cadet, police cadet, nurse cadet and technical cadets.
See also
