{{unreferenced, date=March 2012 Philippine Air Force Citizenship Advancement Training is a citizenship advancement training program in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is comparable to the Aerospace Cadets of the Philippines both are under the command hierarchy of the Philippine Air Force.

Curriculum

The current program of instruction for PAF-CAT is 40% Aviation Education, and 60% Leadership, Citizenship and Military training.

Aviation education

Under Aviation Education, students learn about the history of Aviation and current advancements in the field of Aviation technology. It also covers Philippine Aviation, and Philippine Air Force heroes (i.e. Jesús Villamor,

Danilo Atienza Danilo S. Atienza (April 24, 1951–December 1, 1989) was a Filipino people, Filipino aviator, pilot in the Philippine Air Force. Atienza started out as a Philippine Air Force cadet at Basilio Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, where he was commissi ...

, César Basa and

Antonio Bautista Antonio Marfori Bautista (September 17, 1937– January 11, 1974) was an F-86 Sabre pilot who served in the Philippine Air Force. He served in the aerobatic display team the Blue Diamonds and fought against rebels in the south of the country. He ...

)

Logo

Symbolism

*Triangle – this represents the "holistic" personality of the youth, death, loyalty, injustice, and purity to serve God, country and others. *Three Sides – represent the three domains in the total formation of the youth: knowledge, skills and values. *Three Stars – the three geographical divisions of the Philippines:

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. *The Spaceship at the center of the Philippine map – the desire to stimulate the youth's dreams and aspirations to promote the aviation industry, hand-in-hand with the country's economic development and industrialization.

Colors

*White – honor, integrity, purity. *Blue – patriotism, loyalty. *Red – courage, bravery. *Yellow – charity, truth, love. *Green – justice, hope and awareness

Leadership

Students learn to value leadership by respecting their commanding officers, majority of which are students themselves who have earned their rank through training after school hours. Officers, likewise, have to learn not to abuse their power and learn humility, as well as leading by example. These are the ranks of PAF-CAT, from highest to lowest: *Cadet Colonel (C/COL) *Cadet Lieutenant Colonel (C/LT COL) *Cadet Major (C/MAJ) *Cadet Captain (C/CPT) *Cadet First Lieutenant (C/1LT) *Cadet Second Lieutenant (C/2LT) *Cadet Probationary Second Lieutenant (C/P2LT) *Cadet Master Sergeant (C/MSG) *Cadet Technical Sergeant (C/TSG) *Cadet Staff Sergeant (C/SSG) *Cadet Sergeant (C/SGT) *Cadet Airman/Airwoman First Class (C/A1C, C/AW1C) *Cadet Airman/Airwoman Second Class (C/A2C, C/AW2C) *Cadet Airman/Airwoman (C/AM, C/AW) *Cadet New Recruit (C/NR) However, it is also possible to become a medic, flag bearer (also known as a ''guidon bearer''), or member of the Air Police or marching band of the PAF-CAT. Most students begin at the lowest rank, Cadet New Recruit, when they begin PAF-CAT at their school. It is possible for a Cadet to ascend in ranks if the Cadet's performance is excellent, and it is also possible to receive demotions and lower the rank of a Cadet if he performs poorly or disrespects his commanding officer.

Citizenship

Cadets in the PAF-CAT learn patriotism and pride in their nationality, and are punished for disrespecting their homeland, the

. For example, Cadets are punished if they run during the playing or singing of the

Philippine National Anthem "" ("Chosen Land"), originally titled in Spanish as "" ("Philippine National March"), and commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ("Beloved Country"), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Julián ...

. Cadets are likewise punished even more severely for disrespecting the

Philippine Flag The national flag of the Philippines ( tgl, Pambansang watawat ng Pilipinas; ilo, Nailian a bandera ti Filipinas; ceb, Nasudnong bandila ng Pilipinas; es, Bandera Nacional de Filipinas) is a horizontal List of flags by design#Bicolour, bicol ...

(letting any portion of the flag touch the ground is worthy of a demotion). Cadets are encouraged to sing the National Anthem with pride. Cadets are also encouraged to recite the

Panatang Makabayan The Patriotic Oath ( tgl, Panatang Makabayan) is one of two national pledges of the Philippines, the other being the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag ( tgl, Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat). It is commonly recited at flag ceremonies of schools� ...

and the

Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat The Pledge of Allegiance to the Philippine Flag ( fil, Panunumpa ng Katapatan sa Watawat ng Pilipinas), or simply the Pledge to the Philippine Flag ( fil, Panunumpa sa Watawat), is the pledge to the flag of the Philippines. It is one of two nationa ...

, as well as sing their school's alma mater song with zest and valor.

Military training

Being an extension of the Philippine Air Force, PAF-CAT requires students to learn military commands, drills, punishments, the

military alphabet The (International) Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear code words for communicating the letters of the Roman alphabet, technically a ''radiotelephonic spelling ...

, and obedience to the commanding officer. Commands are mostly in Tagalog, such as "Manumbalik", "Humanay", "Tikas", "Paluwag", "Pasulong", "Lihis pakanan/pakaliwa", "Liko pakanan/pakaliwa", "Kaliwang/kanang panig". Cadets also learn how to handle a

shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made o ...

(however, toys are forbidden in schools, so replicas of shovels are used instead), and the proper use of sticks. PAF-CAT requires students to wear a Clown suit (known in some schools as General Officers Attire or GOAT, and in others as General Officers Uniform or GOU), which is inspected every training day (this includes the proper military haircut of the boys and hair do for girls). Also, PAF-CAT cadets have their own Cadet Oath and Honor Code, which must be memorized. This form of military training is said to give a sense of nationalism and instill self-discipline (the highest form of discipline) in the youth. It is currently so that the youth can be of service to the Philippines.