American Cadet Alliance

American Cadet Alliance
Active	10 April 1909
Country	United States
Role	Youth Mentoring
Size	Brigade
Part of	American Military Cadet Corps
Garrison/HQ	Millersburg, Kentucky
Commanders
Chief Executive	Jay Whitehead

The American Cadet Alliance (ACA), formerly the United States Army Cadet Corps (USAC) was founded under the name "Colonel Cody's Boy Scouts" by Captain James H. C. Smyth at the First Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, New York. The ACA holds the distinction of being the oldest nationwide Cadet program in the United States. It is the National Cadet Program branch of the American Military Cadet Corps (AMCC), its parent Organization. ACA and American Military Cadet Corps is an Independent National Cadet Program (similar to the Young Marines) and therefore is not a governmental agency and is NOT an official entity of the United States Army.

The ACA (former USAC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit youth education organizations.

History

The American Cadet Alliance was founded as the Colonel Cody’s Boy Scouts by Captain James H. C. Smyth on 10 April 1909, at the First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York. Shortly thereafter, the Colonel Cody’s Boy Scouts was reorganized as the American Naval and Marine Scouts. The American Naval and Marine Scouts continued to evolve and on 16 August 1927 the organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York as the New York Junior Naval Militia, Inc. Early in 1929, the organization split and its founder, as well as a number of senior officers, incorporated the Junior Naval Reserve, Inc., on 19 February 1929.

Early in 1938, during the heightening of World War II, the War Department instructed the Secretaries of State to require all organizations using the words Naval, Militia and Reserve as a part of their corporate name to rename their organizations so as not to cause public confusion regarding their relationship to the Armed Services. To comply with this request, the Junior Naval Reserve, Inc. reincorporated on 14 June 1938 as the American Nautical Cadets, Inc., and on 2 November 1938, the New York Junior Naval Militia, Inc. changed its name to the Maritime Brigade, Inc.

As a result of reorganization, due in part to a number of mergers with other, smaller, Cadet Organizations, the American Nautical Cadets, Inc., reincorporated on 3 October 1956 as the American Nautical Alliance, Inc. The organization came full circle on 15 September 1960 when the American Nautical Alliance, Inc. and the Maritime Brigade, Inc. merged to become the American Cadet Alliance, Inc.

The USAC (United States Army Cadet Corps) was created in 2000 and it was the fastest growing Brigade in the ACA, in comparison with the Naval Cadets and Marine Cadets.

Then in 2007, the decision to phase out all of the brigades except for the Army was made. This decision was made due to the high interest in the Army brigade and lack of interest in the Marine and Naval brigade. Along with the support from the US Army Reserve and Army National Guard, in April 2009 this transition was completed. After several years of problems, and mismanagement In 2015 with the re-organization of the ACA, the decision to bring back Marine Cadetting, and Naval Cadets was made in keeping with the spirit of the original intent of the founders of the program. Some of the Former Commandants of the American Cadet Alliance Include:

• CAPT James H.C. Smyth (Founder)
• RADM Gilbert G. Murdoch
• BG Peter Genovese
• BG Charles Tournow

Organization

The ACA is headquartered at Millersburg Station in Millersburg, Kentucky and organized into several districts, each district being made up of several battalions and these battalions being made up of several individual companies. As of mid–2006 the ACA's organizational model is largely nominal and has been established to accommodate an expected upswing in membership and unit activation's.

A unit will be given a name reflecting its locality, as well as a unit designation indicating the company, battalion and district. For instance, the designation of the Military Cadets of Selfridge (Michigan) is B Co., 5/1 or Bravo Company, Fifth Battalion, 1st CTR..

Most units drill on military installations, military reserve centers or National Guard armories and most receive a great deal of cooperation and support from their host units. Drills are generally on the Guard/Reserve model, with one weekend drill per month.

Cadet membership

Members of the American Cadet Alliance, who come from all over the United States, spent three weeks in July conducting their annual training at Camp Atterbury.

Cadets are members, who are between the ages of 12 and 20 (although 11-year-olds can be accepted after 5th grade). They must be enrolled in school and receiving passing grades, be drug and crime free, weight must be proportional to his/her height. The applicant can not be overly obese. The prospective Cadet should be able to do basic exercises like push-ups, sit-ups etc., and be able to run. Also the applicant must be able to pass a "Sports type" Physical Exam by a Doctor and can not have any communicable diseases, chronic health problems or severe allergies. Once a Cadet turns 18, they can choose to stay in the program as a cadet or become a junior cadre member. If they stay as a cadet, they can stay in the program only until they turn 21.

One of the features of the Cadet application process for the ACA is that the Cadet himself or herself must volunteer and sign for themselves. The parents still must sign the appropriate permission forms, but overall the Cadet applicant cannot be forced to sign up. The ACA is not a delinquency program and the organization has strict policies regarding this issue.

The Cadet rank system in the ACA is the same as the U.S. Military enlisted system. Just like the US Naval Sea Cadets, the Young Marines, the Royal Canadian Cadets, and the British Cadet Programs, Cadet ranks only encompass Enlisted ranks and no officer ranks. Cadets enter at grade Cadet C-1 and work their way up to Cadet Sergeant Major (Army/ Marine Military Cadets) or Cadet Master Chief (Navy Military Cadets) C-9. However cadets that continue in the program when they enter college can become an Officer Cadet until they turn 21 at which time they become an Officer Candidate. The title of each grade is based on the branch they are enrolled in, but all ACA Cadets begin their time in the program as 'recruits'. The new ACA Cadets remain 'recruits' until their first Summer Camp, where they are given the chance to earn the title 'Cadet'. They can promote to C-2 before that first Summer Camp, but that promotion is provisional. Once at Summer Camp, a provisional E-2 will remove his rank and again become an C-1 recruit. Only after graduating from their first Summer Camp can a Cadet be actually called 'Cadet' and be permanently promoted above the rank of C-1. They also hold company positions such as the company first sergeant, platoon sergeant, squad leaders and various other positions. The most senior ranking cadet is a Command Cadet that serves as the Senior Cadet Advisor to the National Staff with the rank of Cadet Command Sergeant Major (Army Military Cadets), Cadet Sergeant Major (Marine Military Cadets) or Cadet Command Master Chief (Navy Military Cadets).

Adult membership

Membership in the ACA Officers’ Corps is a privilege reserved for those individuals who desire to promote the objectives and purposes of the ACA and who meet the appropriate eligibility requirements. Leadership and command of the ACA, at all levels, is provided by a dedicated corps of non-paid professional officers, adult noncommissioned officers (NCO) and instructors. Each Officers’ Corps applicant must complete a series of prerequisites and a thorough screening process prior to receiving a commission or appointment as an officer or NCO in the American Military Cadet Corps.

There are several categories for the Officer Corps which are outlined below;

Instructor

Appointment as an instructor may be granted to individuals who wish to participate in ACA activities in a non-military capacity. Instructors do not wear a Military uniform but are required to dress in appropriate ACA attire. This category of membership is extremely flexible and its requirements are not as high as a uniformed staff member; but a high level of professionalism and moral integrity is always required.

Adult Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO)

An appointment as an Adult Non-Commissioned Officer it open to those individuals who have served honorably in the U.S. Military in grades E-4 through E-9 who prefer to maintain their status as non-commissioned officers rather than to apply for a commission in the ACA Officers' Corps. Those individuals choosing to remain as Non-Commissioned Officers, will be appointed to a grade comparable to the highest enlisted grade held while in the military. Adult NCO are assigned a position within the unit, comparable with their rank and billet while on active duty or in the reserves. Adult NCO are always needed in a training capacity to work directly with the Cadets.

Warrant Officers

A commission as a Warrant Officer is open to those individuals who are specialists in a field of endeavor and who desire to instruct in technical skills, or perform a single function within the unit, causing them to be best suited to apply for commissioning as a Warrant Officer in the ACA Officer's Corps.

Commissioned Officers

A commission as an ACA Officer is open to those individuals who have the Desire, Self-discipline, Self-confidence, critical judgment, and moral integrity to put on the uniform. The American Cadet Alliance Officer Corps take this uniform seriously and expect any prospective commissioned officer to as well. ACA Officers are held to a higher standard.

Millersburg Military Institute

ACA expanded upon its mission by opening Millersburg Military Institute, a preparatory school for young men and women in 6th through 12th grades. The Institute has existed since 1893 and had closed in 2006, but was reopened in 2008 under the name Forest Hill Military Academy.

Individual Training Company (ITC) Membership

ITC Cadets are Cadet members of the organization that are not located near a drilling unit. These Cadets and Officer Corps members function largely on their own throughout the year, often coordinating through their local military recruiter for assistance tasks and training. The ITC members go to Annual Training in the summer with the rest of the ACA as a whole. ITC Cadets are invited after going to Military Adventure Camp. The ITC is open to anyone that wishes to join the program (with parental consent and paperwork) and will then be enrolled into the program as a member of ACA.

Controversy

In March, 2013 a Pendleton County, Kentucky mother filed a lawsuit stating that her son and daughter were sexually molested while attending summer camps at the USACC Millersburg campus. The suit described two separate cases of abuse starting in 2010 - sexual advances by a camp instructor against her son, and misconduct against her daughter by a fellow cadet. Filed 5 March 2013, the suit alleges negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring and improper training and supervision by the corps. The employee, a non-instructor staff member, was fired from his position and investigated by law enforcement.^[1]

In June 2013, Paris Fire Department Inspector Battalion Chief Mike Duffy ordered the U.S. Army Cadet Corps to evacuate about 70 teenage cadets and adult staffers from two buildings at the corps' Millersburg campus after an anonymous complaint. Electrical wiring problems and other issues were discovered by the investigator. Among the reported problems were "bare walls down to the studs", "electrical wiring dangling from the ceiling", and "kids sleeping within inches of exposed electrical wiring sticking out of the wall". Chief Duffy also cited other problems including out of date, empty and missing fire extinguishers, inoperative fire alarm systems and missing or defective smoke and heat detectors.^[2][3]

USACC spokesman Brian Lehnhardt said the situation involved the Rankin and McIntyre buildings, both more than 80 years old. According to Lehnhardt cadets and adults had been living in the buildings temporarily during summer camp and the buildings were to be renovated. Despite the findings of the fire inspector's investigation Lehnhardt stated that "at no time were any of our cadets, recruits or staff in any danger" and that the USAC leadership believed the building were up to code and safe.

In July 2013 the Army Cadet Corps announced plans to tear down the Rankin Building. Lehnhardt stated "There's just been one issue after another finding more problems with the building than we expected". The adjoining McIntyre Building was to be renovated and brought up to modern fire codes. A press release from the time stated that "After careful re-evaluation by the state and county building inspectors, it was deemed that the only way to save the adjoining McIntyre building would be to demolish Rankin".^[4]

Reorganization

Following the Controversy from the incident that happened at the Forest Hill Campus, The leaders of the USACC resigned their positions and the United States Army Cadet Corps name was dropped. However the Forest Hill Military Academy maintained itself and the cadet units and renamed itself the American Military Cadet Corps(AMCC)^[5] AMCC is not endorsed by the U.S. Army, and it has no relationship with the U.S. Army.^[6] The AMCC has all new leadership that was not with the previous administration but have experience in the military, leading cadets and youth, and is going in a much different and better direction, with the Academy returning with the original historical name, Millersburg Military Institute. It continues the summer military adventure camp as well as a small winter camp, and has cadets coming in from countries all around the world. In June, 2015, it was announced that a merger would occur between the AMCC and another Cadet program. Additional information and details would be announced at a later time, but the Headquarters would remain at the National Cadet Training Center in Millersburg for the time being. The AMCC name would remain as the Corporate name for the Umbrella of the 3 programs under its command: The National Cadet Program which will be returning to its previous name of American Cadet Alliance, The Military Adventure Camp (the youth military summer camps and training for both cadets and youth not currently affiliated with the program), and the Millersburg Military Institute itself serving as the Headquarters.

References

External links

• United States Army Cadet Corps Homepage
• Forest Hill Military Academy
• Military Adventure Camp Homepage