Combined Cadet Force

History

The CCF was created in 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 occasionally referred to as "The Corps". On 12 May 1859, the Secretary of State for War, Jonathan Peel, sent out a circular letter to the public schools and universities inviting them to form units of the Volunteer Corps. The first school cadet corps was established at Rossall School in February 1860, initially as an army contingent only. Felsted already had an armed drill contingent at the time of the War Office letter under the command of Sgt. Major Rogers RM; its claim on these grounds to be the oldest school corps was upheld by Field Marshal Earl Roberts in a letter to the Headmaster of 1904. Other corps were very quickly formed in 1860 at five further schools: Eton, Harrow, Hurstpierpoint, Rugby and Tonbridge. In February 1861 the Oxford City Rifle Cadet Corps was founded, with five companies, the first of which was composed of pupils of the Linden House School, a private school in Headington. In 1908, the units were re-titled the Officer Training Corps (OTC). A school contingent may have any combination of Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and sometimes Royal Marines sections, the army section is almost invariably the largest.

Independent and state schools

The CCF movement is dominated by the independent sector with 200 contingents still being based in independent schools with only around 60 in state schools. It was reported in 2008 that some private school CCF detachments would be opened to pupils of local state schools however there was no resultant change.

In February 2014 it was announced that public schools will lose millions of pounds of funding and support for cadet forces under plans to divert the money into the state sector. Under the plans, 100 state schools will set up cadet units by the end of 2015. A further 250 are expected to follow suit. Unlike established CCFs, the MoD’s model to expand cadet forces into schools require new schools with cadet units to either sponsor their own cadets or find a third party sponsor who can meet some of the cost to the MoD of funding and training Cadet Forces. Therefore, costs to schools involved are considerable, at over £200 per cadet per year and many thousands of pounds more for a cadet force to become an independent unit.

Funding

In July 2014 the following changes to CCF funding were proposed:

A Memorandum of Understanding, setting out what the MOD and each school are expected to provide, is under development.

In January 2015, the proposal was shelved, and all funding was to remain in place, as well as removing the requirement of CEP cadets having to pay an annual fee.

Royal Navy Section

The Royal Navy Section wear a distinct CCF Cap Badge. The two regulation uniforms for RN cadets are No. 4 working dress and No. 3 parade dress. These are differentiated from regular RN uniform by the wearing of brassards (one on the right arm with any qualifications & the Contingent title, one on the left with any rank the cadet may have) and the 'CCF RN' rank slide. They may be issued with combat uniform if required and some schools have No 1 uniform for senior cadets.

Royal Marines Section

Royal Marines sections wear the bronzed Royal Marines badge with a red "tombstone" backing on a blue beret with MTP (Multi-Terrain Pattern) clothing, and either brown or black boots.

Army Section

The Army Section dress regulations are similar to those of the ACF and can be found in the same chapter of the Army Dress Regulations. The cadet wears the headdress of their affiliated regiment or corps, or their school cap badge on a dark blue beret. Cadets are issued with PCS CU MTP uniform, and are to wear their qualification badges on the blanking plate on their uniform on the right arm. A contingent badge may be worn on the left. All cadets wear an olive green or MTP rank slide with the word 'CADET' in embroidered red capital letters at the top. Any rank is then shown underneath in black. Additionally, cadets may be given permission to wear a stable belt of CCF, school, or affiliated unit pattern.

Royal Air Force Section

RAF cadets wear a version of the No.2 dress. This consists of either light blue shirt and tie or a dark "working" blue shirt, blue-grey trousers (male cadets) or skirt/slacks (female cadets), a blue-grey jumper: V-neck or round neck version, and an RAF blue beret with the RAF cap badge. They also wear a brassard to distinguish themselves as cadets. Excepting the cap badge, this is identical to the uniform of the ATC and regulations for its wear can be found in AP1358C. Most RAF sections issue cadets with combat clothing, most still wearing the old CS95 whereas some are being issued with PCS CU MTP uniform.

Cadets

In October 2007 the under-secretary of state for defence gave details of the total number of CCF sections, and the number present in state schools. As of 2012 under the Cadet Expansion Programme (CEP) 100 new CCF Units were created in State Schools.

Cadet ranks

Most Cadet ranks are standard non-commissioned ranks, prefixed by "Cadet", for day-to-day administration the "Cadet" prefix is often omitted. The highest rank depends on the size of the contingent, but are usually Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major, (Army and RM Sections) and Cadet Warrant Officer (RN and RAF Sections). Some contingents may have Junior (and sometimes Senior) Under Officers. Cadet Under Officers' rank badges are blue bands 12 mm wide across each shoulder slide, with the addition of the letters CCF underneath.

The 'Cadet' prefix is omitted from all ranks during the day-to-day running of activities. Cadet Warrant Officers are to be addressed as “Warrant Officer” and all other cadets by their rank, “Flight Sergeant”, “Sergeant” or “Corporal”, as the case may be. In some contingents it is tradition for cadets to refer to Cadet Warrant Officers and Cadet Company or Regimental Sergeant Majors as "Sir or Ma'am".

The CCF is separate from the Community Cadet Forces; the Sea Cadet Corps, the Army Cadet Force and the Air Training Corps. Pupils normally join at the age of 13 or 14 (Year 10 or S2), with both sexes able to take part.

Cadet Force adult volunteers

Unlike in other cadet organisations (ATC/SCC/ACF), most adult volunteers are officers, the exception often being the school staff instructor (see below). CCF officers are often teachers from the school, and are not normally eligible to be called up. They hold acting officer ranks up to and including lieutenant colonel (the highest substantive rank is that of lieutenant) or its equivalent in the other services. Some schools may also appoint under officers to the Army contingents, as a 'Senior Under Officer (SUO)', if the most senior cadet is a 'Junior Under Officer' for instance. Other terms may be 'Adult Under Officer (AUO)'. Under officers are not commissioned, but could be waiting to become commissioned in the future, similar to a 'Potential Instructor (PI)' in the Army Cadet Force. These under officers may be volunteers, support or teaching staff of the school. Royal Navy sections may sometimes appoint a 'Midshipman' (non-commissoned) in a similar manner as the under officers.

CCF(Army) and CCF(RAF) Officers are in special categories of the reserves of their service. CCF(RN) Officers are 'appointed' and do not hold commissions, albeit their ranks are the same as for RN (and RNR) officers with the suffix RNR(CCF), their rank braid is 'wavy', the same form as used in the past by the RNVR. CCF(Army) officers hold commissions in TA Group 'B' (the same group as UOTC Officer Cadets), and wear a CCF marking on their rank slides. Unlike officers in the Army Cadet Force CCF(Army) officers do not attend the Army Officer Selection Board and are commissioned based on recommendation from the Headmaster of the employing school. CCF(RAF) officers' commissions are Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) (RAF VR(T)), and they wear a VRT pin on their rank braid to signify this.

In the main supporting role to the officers is the school staff instructor (SSI), who is usually an ex-forces SNCO or Warrant Officer. Although they are civilians (unless commissioned) they retain their rank as a courtesy and are employed by the school to instruct and assist in the running of the Contingent. Whilst the majority of the SSIs are SNCOs it is also possible for them to be a commissioned officer. There is usually one SSI per Contingent and they are supported by Army Non-Commissioned Officers from Cadet Training Teams (CTT).

Some contingents may have one or more civilian instructors. These are adult volunteers who normally instruct in a specialised role (first aid, signals etc.) when the establishment level of officers does not include persons with sufficient knowledge to teach these subjects. They receive no pay for time spent with cadets but may claim reimbursement for expenses at the Contingent Commander's discretion. Many are members of the academic or support staff at the school.

Training

The different sections have different syllabuses with a degree of overlap. All the sections learn drill and all cadets are trained to fire the L98A2 5.56 mm Cadet General Purpose rifle, a semi-automatic only version of the L85A2 used by the UK armed forces. There are also opportunities to fire the .22 No.8 rifle and the L81 Cadet Target Rifle.

Cadets in the Royal Navy section receive instruction in boat-work and other naval subjects (including flying with the Fleet Air Arm). The Royal Navy also offers many CCF courses during the school holidays which are open to any members of any CCF. The Royal Marines section, although a part of the Navy, tend to train independently, covering battle drills, weapons handling and marksmanship, fieldcraft, camouflage and concealment and the history of the Royal Marines.

Army section cadets are sometimes able to specialise in subjects such as signalling, REME skills and infantry tactics, and are trained accordingly. 2006 Health and Safety/Child Protection legislation (and fallout from the Deepcut affair) mandated that cadets must be housed separately by both gender and age (under 18s and over 18s) and, as most MOD accommodation cannot cope with this, leading to a reduction in the number of courses offered to cadets.

RAF section cadets are given the opportunity to fly in both powered aircraft, most notably the Grob Tutor and Vigilant and in unpowered gliders such as the Grob Viking; their training and flying courses are identical to those available to members of the Air Training Corps. As well as that the Cadets can also be involved in a multitude of battle training and tactics as well as opportunities to fly in various aircraft from the RAF and allied nations. The section also will learn about aerospace management, the structure of aircraft and propulsion, engineering, air power as well as an opportunity to see how most RAF stations, sections and wings or squadrons operate. As well as practical learning, RAF cadets also follow an academic syllabus. Cadets are usually taught "Part 1" before being expected to complete Parts 2 -4 by themselves through the medium of Ultilearn. Completing Part 4, also known as the Master Cadet Award, is the equivalent of a BTEC award.

All sections can undertake leadership courses at Frimley Park, Nesscliffe or RAF Cranwell, as well as adventurous training. There are also other courses available for cadets to enhance their skills, such as Junior and Senior Cadet Instructor Courses (JCIC, SCIC) and Method of Instruction (MOI).

Alternative organisations

Some schools recognise that pupils may not wish to participate in CCF activities and so alternative organisations exist, such as the Community Service Organisation, which allows pupils to volunteer to help in hospitals, schools, and charity work.

Other activities often on offer are:

Most schools, however, make CCF attendance voluntary, which tends to reduce numbers compared to compulsory contingents, but potentially results in a more uniformly dedicated membership that responds well to training as well as CCF activities many CCFs also offer the chance for RYA, National Indoor Climbing Award Schemes, BTEC and Duke of Edinburgh qualifications on top of their CCF training programmes.

Some of the voluntary CCF schools also run the other options such as community service.