Combined Cadet Force
From Free net encyclopedia
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.
It exists almost entirely in UK independent schools, although a few grammar schools and a handful of comprehensive schools also have contingents.
The CCF is distinct from the Sea Cadet Corps, Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps. The RAF Sections of the CCF wear the RAF cap badge, whereas the ATC wear a separate cap badge.
Image:Combined Cadet Corps Flag.png
Contents |
Sections
A school contingent can have any combination of Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Marines sections (although Royal Marines sections are rare), with the Army Section almost invariably being the largest.
Cadets
| Section | Number of Cadets | Number of Schools |
|---|---|---|
| Army | 25,724 | 238 |
| Royal Air Force | 9,438 | 185 |
| Royal Navy | 5,347 | 124 |
| Royal Marines | inc. in Navy | 18 |
| Total | 40,509 | 242 |
Source: Hansard.
Pupils normally join around the age of 13 or 14. Both sexes take part in CCF activities.
Cadets mostly hold standard non-commissioned ranks, prefixed by "Cadet". The highest ranks are usually Cadet Coxswain (Royal Navy Section), Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major (Army and RM Sections) and Cadet Warrant Officer (RAF Section). These ranks are considered to be equal. Larger contingents may have Under Officers in any or all of the three sections. In the RAF section, for parity of ranks among the different sections, there is a special rank, that does not exist in the regular RAF, of Cadet Junior Corporal equivalent to Cadet Lance Corporal in the Army section.
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.
Training
The different sections naturally have different syllabi, but a certain amount is common between them. All cadets are trained initally to fire the Lee-Enfield No. 8 rifle, then the L98A1 Cadet General Purpose 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). Army section cadets are able to specialise in various subjects such as signalling, and are trained accordingly. RAF section cadets are regularly given the opportunity to fly in both powered and unpowered aircraft.
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".