:''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 future officer in the military. The term is often used by
uniformed services.
The term may also refer to a person who is junior in some way.
Etymology
The word is recorded in English since 1610, originally for a young son, identical to the French, which is itself derived from
Gascon (French Basque dialect of
Gascony in southwest France) ''capdet'' "captain, chief," in turn from the Late Latin ''capitellum'', the diminitutive of Latin ''caput'' "head" (hence also chief). 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 the 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 weapon from the father's which is passed on unaltered only to the (usually firstborn) heir.
Military context
''Also see:
Officer Cadet''
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.
In
Germany, the rank ''Cadet'' (
German: ''Seekadett'') 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
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, and members of the
Reserve Officers' Training Corps officially rank as "Cadet" while holding varying cadet ranks in their individual organizations.
Youth cadet corps
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), and the
Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC).
Canada
Canada has evolved three separate cadet services, the
Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, the
Royal Canadian Air Cadets and the
Royal Canadian Army Cadets.
Collectively, they programs are administered by a subdepartment of the Department of National Defence (DND) in partnership with the Air Cadet League of Canada and known as the
Cadets Canada movement.
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
Boys Brigade,
Girls Brigade,
Scouts,
Girl Guides,
St. John and
Red Cross.
United Kingdom
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.
In the
United Kingdom, the cadet forces are the
Sea Cadets,
Army Cadet Force and
Air Training Corps (each is a stand alone youth organisations) and the school-based
Combined Cadet Force. Cadets also represent
St. John Ambulance in the line of public duties and first aid. Many services have a
Police Cadet Corps.
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 Forces
Russia
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, but are not regarded as practical military training. The
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a youth citizenship program with units administered by either the Army, Air Force, Navy, or Marine Corps 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.
Civilian context
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 of cadets became major officials and even
Hong Kong Governors. At later stage of colony ''cadets'' were young
policemen under training in
Royal Hong Kong Police Force.
In
Switzerland, ''cadet'' (
German: ''Kadett'') refers to a participant of the programs of a corps of cadets (
German:''Kadettenkorps''), 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 (
German: ''Kadetten Schweiz'') includes Kadettenkorps offering the following programmes: general sports (including the national league handball club ''Kadetten Schaffhausen''), trecking (like
scouting), march music bands (
German:''Kadettenmusik'') and traffic regulation (
German:''Verkehrskadetten''). Kadettenkorps offering traffic regulation only, are represented by the Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association (
German:''Schweizerischer Verkehrskadetten Verband'').
In the United Kingdom, a similar usage exists for personnel in training to become
fire and rescue service officers.
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. An example is the
NYC police cadet corps.
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 aslo 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''.
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 Three of the
Big 4 accountancy firms (
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, ditzy or
dim. For example; "That guy is cadetting it." The phrase was inspired by
science fiction author
Robert A. Heinlein's juvenile novel ''
Space Cadet.''
Cadet may also refer to someone belonging to "The Cadets" a Division I Drum and Bugle Corps, who have been Drum Corps International World Champions numerous times and currently hold that position.
See also
★
caddie, Scottish for a messenger-boy, and particularly one who carries clubs at golf.
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Sea Cadets
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Royal Canadian Sea Cadets
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Royal Canadian Army Cadets
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Royal Canadian Air Cadets
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St. John Ambulance Brigade of Ireland Cadet divisions
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The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
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Medical Cadet Corps
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Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets
Sources and external links
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[1]
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American Cadet Alliance
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Army Cadets
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United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps
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UK Sea Cadet Corps
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Canadian Cadet Movement
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Web Cadet Corps
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Australian Cadet Site
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Civil Air Patrol
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Swiss Cadets Association
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Swiss Verkehrskadetten Association