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Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. The term Officer Trainee is used interchangeably in some countries. Some countries refer to naval officer cadets as midshipmen, although in other countries this means something slightly different.
United Kingdom usage
In the United Kingdom the rank of Officer Cadet is held by students in the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell. In Britannia Royal Naval College, the rank is only used in the initial phases of training, after which Officer Cadets are promoted to the rank of Midshipman or Sub-Lieutenant, depending on age.
The rank is also held by members of the Officers Training Corps and University Air Squadrons, and in the first year of training in University Royal Naval Units (after which, they take the rank of midshipman).
Officer Cadets in the British Armed Forces are treated in most respects as commissioned officers, except that Army and RAF Officer Cadets are not saluted.
In the Royal Air Force, a University Graduate is known as a Student Officer rather than Officer Cadet. Apart from their title and pay, both are treated equally.
In the Army, the abbreviation for Officer Cadet is OCdt. In the RAF, it is OC or, in the case of student officers, SO. In the Royal Navy the abbreviation for Officer Cadet is O/C.
Rank insignia
Royal Navy Officer Cadets wear shoulder flashes with a white square. Formerly, the insignia was a navy blue patch on both sides of the coat collar, with a white buttonhole and gold button, similar to a midshipman's patch.British Army Officer Cadets in the Officers Training Corps initially wear no insignia. After passing basic training, a single horizontal bar is worn on the shoulder slide. A Staff wears two bars, a Junior Under Officer (JUO) wears an Austrian Knot above a single bar, and a Senior Under Officer (SUO) wears an Austrian Knot above two bars. All ranks are considered Officer Cadets except within the OTC itself.
Royal Air Force Officer Cadets and Student Officers wear a one inch wide white band on all non-ceremonial uniforms. This white band can have a narrower coloured band across its width indicating which of the training squadrons at the RAF College the cadet belongs to: yellow for 'B' Squadron, blue for 'C' Squadron, and green for 'D' Squadron. A thin grey band on white is worn throughout the Basic phase with the Regiment Training Squadron. 'A' Squadron is currently an NCO aircrew squadron. Members of 'A' Squadron are known as Aicrew Cadets and graduate as Sergeant Aircrew, not officers; this status is denoted by a red band on the white background and the RAF airman's cap badge with a white patch behind. Members of all squadrons who are injured are moved to the Development (formerly Holding) Flight and wear a purple band on the white background.
On the Service Dress Uniform, the cadet wears the braid of the rank they will hold on graduation. However, gorget patches (rectangular white tabs with one triangular end) are worn on both lapels. The only exception for this is the female mess dress, where they are worn on the sleeve. The only other distinctive identifiers are on headdress - a white patch on the beret behind the badge. The cap badge is the same as that worn by a commissioned officer (between the ranks of Pilot Officer and Group Captain), but with a white band around the cap. This band is removed on graduation.
A blue band on the white background is also used to denote Officer Cadets of the University Air Squadrons (UASs) who are receiving Scholarships or Bursaries from the Royal Air Force. UAS cadets who are not in receipt of Scholarships wear just the 1 inch white band with no coloured band. UAS Officer Cadets wear the airmen's headdress with a white band.
Australian usage
The Australian Defence Force follows the same usage as the British military system, using the rank of Officer Cadet for Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force cadets who are officers undergoing initial training. The Royal Australian Navy uses the rank of Midshipman. Unlike Midshipmen, Officer Cadets in the ARA and RAAF do not hold a commission.
Initial Officer training can occur through either single-service institutions, such as the Royal Military College, Royal Australian Naval College, or the RAAF Officers' Training School, or through the tri-service Australian Defence Force Academy. The ranks of Officer Cadet, Staff Cadet, or Midshipman are primary found at these establishments. However, RAAF Officer trainees are often appointed at higher rank while undergoing their intial training course at OTS, if they have prior military experience, either as Officer Cadets prior to their initial officer course, or at Airman rank.
At ADFA, upon completion of all academic training gained at ADFA through the University of New South Wales, military training and subsequent training at other military establishments, Officer Cadets from the Australian Defence Force are promoted as commissioned officers.
Pilots, Navigators, Air Traffic Controllers and Air Defence Officers joining the RAAF directly through the Officers' Training School (without going to ADFA) also start their career as an Officer Cadet. Once they have completed their employment training (2FTS, SAN, SATC and SACTU respectively), they are promoted.
At the Royal Military College, Duntroon, the term 'Staff Cadet' is used to address Officer Cadets, but is the same rank as Officer Cadet.
Canadian usage
British usage also holds true in the Canadian Forces. In Canada the rank of Officer Cadet is held by any beginning officer, as well as students attending the Royal Military College of Canada. For Canadian Naval members of the same rank, Naval Cadet is used in lieu of Officer Cadet.
Officer Cadets in the CF are subordinate officers, but do not carry the Queen's commission and are not required to be saluted.
In French, the titles are Aspirant de marine for Naval Cadets, and Élève-officier for Officer Cadets.
United States usage
The United States Army and Air Force use the term "Cadet" for officer candidates in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and for students at the United States Military Academy and at the United States Air Force Academy. The term "Officer Trainee" is generally used for officer candidates who are seeking their commission by means other than ROTC or a military academy, such as through Officer Training School (OTS). The United States Navy (along with the United States Marine Corps) uses the term "Midshipman" for officer candidates in the Reserve Officer Training Corps, United States Merchant Marine Academy or at the United States Naval Academy, and the term "Officer Candidate" for others seeking a commission as an officer. The term "cadet" may also be used generally to refer to students at a private military academy, or members of a youth group associated with the military who are receiving preliminary training with the intention of joining the military, sometimes at a younger age than they would be able to do otherwise.
Officer Cadets are generally paid below the standard pay rates for junior officers but receive some of the rights and responsibilities of a junior officer during their training. Officer Cadets are nominally in the chain of command and have, in certain battles, been the surviving officer in a unit and thus in command.
Cadets and Midshipmen in the ROTC program hold training ranks equivalent to enlisted soldiers during their first three years of training and officer-equivalent ranks during their senior year, except in the Air Force where they hold officer-equivalent rank during their junior and senior years. Cadets or Midshipmen holding cadet-enlisted rank must salute cadet or Midshipman officers within their own branch of the service. At the service academies, they hold similar ranks (generally for the first two years, they hold simulated low enlisted ranks, then in the third year, senior enlisted ranks, and in the final year, officer ranks). However, at the academies, it is not customary for Cadets or Midshipmen to salute each other regardless of rank, nor will they salute ROTC cadets senior to them. All Cadets and Midshipmen are required to salute commissioned officers.
Cadet officer ranks in the US Army are denoted by "pips" - one to three circular insignia denoting the company-grade equivalents, one to three diamond-shaped insignia denoting the field-grade equivalents *. For Midshipman ranks, both junior and senior officer equivalencies wear 1 to 6 1/4" gold stripes or bars. US Air Force cadets wear stripes much like US Navy officers' sleeve stripes.
Each U.S. military academy has its own unique set of insignia, different from that of ROTC. The rank insignia of the United States Air Force Academy is denoted on a cadet's shoulderboards. The rank insignia of the United States Naval Academy is a combination of sleeve, shoulder and collar insignia, similar to that used by the Navy ROTC units.
See also
Military ranks | Military ranks of Australia | Military ranks of Canada | Military ranks of the United Kingdom | Military ranks of the United States Army | Military ranks of the United States Air Force
"Officer Cadet"