Combined Cadet Force

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The Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to "provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility, self reliance, resourcefulness, endurance and perseverance". It is not a pre-service organisation, although it acknowledges that one of its objectives is "to encourage those who have an interest in the services to become Officers of the Regular or Reserve Forces", and a significant number of officers have indeed had experience in the CCF. Prior to 1948 cadet forces in schools existed as part of the Officers' Training Corps framework, but in 1948 the Labour government founded the Combined Cadet Force as a separate entity on the grounds that the previous name was deemed elitist.

1 Contingents
2 Cadets
3 Officers
4 Training
5 History
6 Alternative organisations
7 External links

[edit] Contingents

The first CCF to be established was at Eastbourne College. Unit contingents exist in UK independent schools, some grammar schools and a handful of comprehensive schools.

The CCF is distinct from the Sea Cadet Corps, Army Cadet Force, and Air Training Corps.

The Royal Navy Section wear a distinct CCF Cap Badge .
Army Sections wear the cap badge of their associated regiment or corps,
The RAF Sections of the CCF wear the RAF cap badge.

Pupils normally join around the age of 13 or 14, with both sexes taking part. A school contingent may have any combination of Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force sections, and rarely Royal Marines sections. The Army Section is almost invariably the largest. There is also a very small 'out-of-school' contingent of the Royal Marines, that meet together. These cadets are from different schools. The contingent was set up due to the lack of many Marine sections in schools, but there is a number limit of 70 and therefore places are highly contested.

[edit] Cadets

Section	Number of Cadets	Number of Schools
Army	25,724	238
Royal Air Force	9,439	185
Royal Navy	5,347	124
Royal Marines	inc. in Navy	18
Total	40,509	565

Source: Hansard.

Cadets mostly hold standard non-commissioned ranks, prefixed by "Cadet". The highest ranks are usually Cadet Coxswain (Royal Navy Section), Cadet Contingent Sergeant Major or in Household Cavalry Units, Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major (Army and RM Sections) and Cadet Warrant Officer (RAF Section). These ranks are considered to be of equal parity.

Some contingents may have Under Officers in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Marines sections, although the RAF generally do not recognise this rank. To give total parity of ranks among the different sections, the RAF section has a special rank - that does not exist in the regular RAF (or in the Air Training Corps) - of Cadet Junior Corporal, equivalent to Cadet Lance Corporal in the Army section.

To become a Junior Under Officer (JUO) in the CCF RN, the cadet must have applied to enter the Royal Navy and have had a successful interview with a Regional Royal Navy Careers Officer, the candidate must have been asked to go to the Admiralty Interview Board (AIB) or to have another interview with a RN Careers Officer. After the successful interview with the Royal Navy, the cadet in question will automatically be promoted to a JUO and will be presented with JUO insignia (Cadet Under-Officers wear a white linen flash behind the cap/beret badge and a strip of white linen 12 mm wide across each CCF shoulder badge, just inside the CCF logo), by the CCF section that the Cadet belongs to. The reason for this promotion is so they can be recognised by regular RN personnel in military establishments, also to achieve authority and the respect of his/her fellow cadets, so the JUO can exercise leadership to greater affect, which will be vitally important in their future career in the Royal Navy. Under Officer are seen as the Midshipmen of the CCF and are to be addressed as ‘Sir’ by their fellow cadets, but not by Officers who are more senior or Senior Under Officers (SUO), or by any other regular Royal Navy Personnel. JUO’s are still to call CCF Officers, SUO’s and other Regular RN Personnel by their Normal titles (i.e. Officer’s – ‘Sir’). If the JUO becomes Head of Section he/she is to be automatically promoted to Senior Under Officer (SUO) or promoted if the Commanding Officer sees fit.

[edit] Officers

CCF officers are generally teachers from the school, and are not normally eligible to be called up. They hold commissioned ranks up to and including lieutenant colonel or its equivalent in the other services, although there are a small number of officers above this rank (This can only occur where the Officer concerned formerly served in the regular forces and has been allowed to retain his/her rank on retiring.) (JSP313, CCF manual). Unlike in the external cadet organisations (ATC/SCC/ACF), all instructors are commissioned, by tradition as instructors are generally teachers and so 'professionally qualified'.

Officers hold commissions in the reserves of their own force. RAF officers commissions are Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) (RAF VR(T)), and they wear a VRT pin on their rank braid to signify this. RN Officers have specific CCF commissions, designated RNR(CCF), and their rank braid is 'wavy' to signify this. Army officers hold commissions in the CCF specifically, and have a CCF marking on their rank slides.

The exception to the 'all instructors are commissioned' rule is the 'SSI' (School Staff Instructor), who is an ex-forces SNCO or Warrant Officer (usually Army), who retains their rank as a reservist, assigned to the school to instruct and assist in the running of the Contingent. There is usually one SSI per Contingent, and they are often also employed by the school on a part-time/casual basis.

[edit] Training

The different sections naturally have different syllabi, but have a certain amount in common. All cadets are trained initially to fire the Lee-Enfield No. 8 rifle, or the L98A1 Cadet General Purpose rifle. Later there are also opportunities to fire the L86 LSW, the L85A2 rifle, and the L81 Cadet Target rifle. All the sections instruct fieldcraft, navigation, drill, leadership and first aid. Cadets in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines sections receive instruction in boatwork and other naval subjects (including flying with the Fleet Air Arm) (see also Combined Cadet Force (RN)). Army section cadets are able to specialise in various subjects such as signalling and infantry tactics, and are trained accordingly. RAF section cadets are given the opportunity to fly in both powered and unpowered aircraft. All sections can undertake leadership courses at Frimley Park, Nesscliff or RAF Stafford, as well as adventurous training. The Royal Navy also offers many CCF courses such as Royal Marines Amphibious Training and Range Firing which are open to any members of any CCF, regardless of section. The army section also has "special to arm" courses, such as advanced weapons theory, Royal Signals training, and REME courses. Parachuting courses are also available, though their attendance is said to have slumped of late^{[citation needed]}. Cadets in the Royal Air Force section can undertake glider pilot training and flying courses identical to those available to Air Training Corps cadets.

[edit] History

The CCF was created on 1 April 1948 by the amalgamation of the Junior Training Corps (formerly the Junior Division of the Officers Training Corps) and the school contingents of the Sea Cadet Corps and Air Training Corps. CCFs are still often referred to as "the Corps".

[edit] Alternative organisations

Some schools recognise that pupils may not wish to participate in CCF activities and so alternative organisations exist, such as the Community Service Organisation, which allows pupils to volunteer to help in hospitals, schools, and charity work. A few other schools make CCF attendance voluntary - this tends to reduce numbers compared to compulsory contingents, but potentially results in a more uniformly dedicated membership that responds well to training.

Example: City of London School. Example: Calday Grange Grammar School