The Canadian Cadet Organizations, marketed under the name of Cadets Canada, are a

youth program Youth programs are particular activities designed to involve people between the ages of 10 and 25. Activities included are generally oriented towards youth development through recreation, social life, prevention, intervention, or education. During ...

known as the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, Royal Canadian Army Cadets, and

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

. The program is sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and funded through the Department of National Defence (DND), with additional support from the civilian Navy League, the Army Cadet League and the Air Cadet League, as well as local community sponsors that include service organizations and parent sponsoring groups supervised by the Leagues.

Overview

Cadet corps and squadrons exist in communities large and small from coast to coast to coast. Cadets are not members of the Canadian Armed Forces, nor is the program a prerequisite for military service. Adult leadership is provided primarily by the Cadet Organization Administration and Training Service, a sub-component of the Canadian Forces Reserve. Members of the

Cadet Instructors Cadre The Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC; french: Cadre des instructeurs de cadets) consists of approximately 7,500 Canadian Forces (CF) officers whose primary duty is the safety, supervision, administration and training of Royal Canadian Sea, Army, and Ai ...

Branch are assisted by Regular Force, Primary Reserve and retired members of all Branches, as well as Civilian Instructors and volunteers who have gone through a thorough screening process. All elements of the CCO are under the command of the Commander, Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers (CJCR). The Commander is directly responsible to the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff.

History

In 1862, five years before

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

, "drill associations" were set up in Canada as a response to the Fenian Raids and the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. These early drill associations served to train

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and were open to people over the age of 13. In 1879, the government authorized the creation of 74 "Association for Drill in Educational Institutions", drill associations that were open to male youth over the age of 14 and which did not entail active service in the military. The Riel Rebellion of 1885 motivated increased support to these youth drill associations. By 1887, they were called the cadet corps and were open to boys over the age of 12. It was not until July 30, 1970 (the result of a change in legislation) that girls were officially permitted to join government-supported cadet corps and squadrons. Until then, girls paraded as "Wrennettes" supported by the Navy League and Air "Cadettes" supported by the Air Cadet League. On rare occasions, girls paraded unofficially with army cadets.

Musical groups

The three Cadet organizations maintain a number of volunteer bands, typically assisted by members of Canadian military bands in the

Regular Force In the Canadian Armed Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Primary Reserve which has more flexibility. There are many bases and wings across Canada, and factors like trade, career ...

and

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the ...

. The bands are primarily staffed by cadets from their respective organizations. The music program of Cadet Canada supports only three types of marching bands: military bands, bugle bands, and pipe bands. The drum major of these bands use a different command style from their counterparts in the CF, with different commands including countermarch and marktime. Corps and squadron that choose to create a cadet marching band must consult with their sponsoring committee which responsible for the maintenance of corps/squadron owned or loaned instruments.

Ranks

References

External links