Officer cadet

In Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, the rank is non-substantive and only used in the initial phases of training, after which officers use their substantive rank of Midshipman. Formerly, cadets at the Royal Naval College, Osborne, and Dartmouth, had the substantive rank of "naval cadet", or "cadet, RN" until passing out of Dartmouth as a midshipman.

In the Royal Marines, the rank is held by those undergoing the Young Officer Training Course, the 15-month training course which is undertaken in various stages at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, Britannia Royal Naval College and in the United States.[5]

The rank of officer cadet is held by those undergoing either the Regular Commissioning Course at Sandhurst or the Army Reserve Commissioning Course holding an AOSB main board pass. The Army Reserve Commissioning Course is administered by Sandhurst but run in modules divided between Sandhurst and Army Reserve Regional Training Centres.[6] Until the Second World War,[7] cadets at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst were referred to as gentleman cadets.

The rank is also held by members of the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC), (an army reserve unit for university students) University students who join UOTC will undertake Reserve Officer training modules. This will teach them everything from how to wear a uniform correctly to the ability to lead others in stressful situations. Members of the UOTC are officer cadets and are paid when on duty.[8][9][10][11]

The rank of officer cadet is held by those undergoing initial officer training at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell. Pilot officers of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training) Branch (RAFVR(T)) hold the acting rank of officer cadet until they successfully complete their officers' initial training at the Adult Training Facility at RAF Cranwell – they differ from other RAF officer cadet ranks in that they hold a commission, and are therefore saluted. Within the Air Cadet Organisation, the rank of officer cadet is currently only used internally and officer cadets are referred to by their substantive rank in written documents. Students undergoing the Foundation Degree course at DCAE Cosford, having been selected for service as engineer officers from the ranks, hold their previous rank while wearing officer cadet rank insignia for the duration, prior to attending initial officer training. The rank is also held by members of University Air Squadrons.[1]

Royal Navy officer cadets wear shoulder flashes with a white square after they complete the Militarisation phase of training (15 weeks). 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. They continue to wear these tabs until they pass out of BRNC at the end of their initial training. The No.1 uniform bears the rank the cadet will hold upon completing initial officer training.

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which trains all British Army officer cadets (and some from overseas militaries), appoints junior under officers (identified by an Austrian knot above a single bar[12]) and senior under officers (SUO) (who wear an Austrian knot above two bars).[13] In practice, senior under officers are not at present appointed.

Cadets in the University Officers' Training Corps[9] wear zero to three horizontal bars on the rank slide.[14] Under officer is an appointment, not a rank, and outside OTCs they only have the status of ordinary officer cadets.

Rank insignia for RAF officer cadet (service dress)

Royal Air Force officer cadets wear differing rank tabs displaying each term. No red band is on the rank tab during the first 10-week term at RAF College Cranwell, a single red band is adopted in term two. Two red bands are worn in term three. 'A' Squadron is currently the home of the E Flight/Section (injuries flight), Aircrew cadets (NCA), Specialist Entrants and Re Entrants Course (SERE) and DELTA flight (additional leadership and officer qualities training flight). Aircrew cadets graduate as sergeant aircrew, not officers; this status is denoted by an eagle and the phrase Aircrew Cadet on their otherwise plain rank tab and the RAF airman's cap badge with a white patch behind. Members of all squadrons who are injured are moved to E Flight/Section and wear a white band on the rank tab.

On the service dress and mess dress uniforms, RAF cadets wear 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 to 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 Bursaries from the Royal Air Force. UAS cadets who are not in receipt of scholarships wear just the 1-inch (25 mm) white band with no coloured band. UAS officer cadets wear airmen's headdress with a white band.

Cadets and midshipmen in the ROTC program generally hold training ranks equivalent to their branch's enlisted ranks 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. In addition, a small amount of NROTC midshipmen 2/C may hold officer ranks, limited by the amount of available billets. Cadets or midshipmen holding cadet-enlisted rank must salute cadet or midshipman officers within their own branch of the service.

Cadet officer ranks[16] in US Army ROTC 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.[17] For midshipman ranks, both junior and senior officer equivalents wear from one to six 1/4" gold stripes or bars.

US Air Force cadets wear rank shoulderboards or lapel insignia which carry miniature insignia identical to those worn by officer trainees at USAF Officer Training School.

Each U.S. service academy has its own set of insignia, different from their corresponding ROTC program.

United States Military Academy "class insignia" are worn on the collar and epaulets of certain uniforms. An enameled shield bearing a Greek sword surmounted by the helmet of Pallas, worn on the left collar or above cadet rank stripes/bars on epaulets, is the standard class insignia for third-class (yellow shield), second-class (grey shield), or first-class (black shield) cadets. On traditional "dress grey" and "full dress grey" uniforms and overcoats, the class insignia is indicated by the number of service stripes (one to three) denoting completed years at the academy. These stripes are located on the lower sleeve for the under two classes and on the upper sleeve for the upper two classes. Visitors are sometimes confused to see cadets early in the academic year wearing the insignia of cadet private first class - such cadets are often reduced in rank (for any of a variety of reasons), but have already completed their first year and as such are no longer cadet privates ("plebes").

Rank within the Corps of Cadets is denoted by collar insignia "railroad tracks," a number of black enamel bars with silver outline, or epaulet stripes from one (for cadet corporal) to six (for cadet captain in certain command and staff roles) on certain uniforms. On the traditional dress-grey-based uniforms and overcoats, chevrons denote rank in the Corps. A cadet corporal wears two chevrons on the lower sleeve. A cadet sergeant wears two chevrons on the upper sleeve, a cadet lieutenant three, and a cadet captain from four to six chevrons. For cadets in the rank of cadet sergeant and up, various combinations of stars, diamonds, rockers or arcs, and other devices, are used on the sleeves to denote specific positions/jobs. The title of cadet captain is used for all cadets wearing four or more stripes/bars. The brigade commander, also called the first captain, wears six stripes/bars/sleeve chevrons with a gold star [18]

The shoulderboard insignia of the USAF Academy cadet vice wing commander

The rank of United States Air Force Academy cadets is denoted by the insignia on their shoulderboards in all "blues" uniforms, including "blues", service dress, overcoats, mess dress and parade dress. All cadet shoulder boards carry the heraldic nebuly device, (commonly referred to as "clouds" by cadets). Third class cadets have one thin bar (ground) underneath the clouds; second and first class cadets wear two thin bars, one each above (horizon) and below the clouds. Additional chevrons denote cadet non-commissioned officer ranks, while additional bars denote cadet officer ranks. An exception to this is the unranked cadets, who are on probation of some kind (academic, athletic, military, honor, etc.). For unranked third class cadets, only ground and cloud are present; for unranked second class cadets only ground, cloud, and horizon are present; for unranked first class cadets only ground, cloud, horizon and one thin bar are present. Vertical diamonds on the boards of second class cadets indicate either squadron or group superintendent positions. Horizontal diamonds on the same indicate squadron first sergeant positions. Stars on first class cadet boards indicate either flight, squadron, or group command positions. If multiple stars are present, the cadet is either the vice wing commander (two stars), or the wing commander (three stars), the senior cadet in the Wing. The only second class cadet rank with a star present is the Wing Command Chief, the senior second class cadet.

On the (now retired) Battle Dress Uniform or (current) Airman Battle Uniform, Air Force Academy cadets wear metal blue bars or chevrons on their lapels to denote their rank. While fourth class cadets wear no insignia on combat uniforms, they are awarded a Prop and Wings after recognition, to be worn on the flight cap and on the lapels of service dress. Third class cadets wear one chevron on each lapel, signifying that they are cadet/staff sergeants. Second class cadets wear two to five chevrons, indicating ranks from cadet/technical sergeant to cadet/chief master sergeant. First class cadets function as cadet officers and wear one to six bars on their lapels, corresponding to ranks from cadet/second lieutenant to cadet/colonel.

The rank insignia of the United States Naval Academy and the United States Merchant Marine Academy is a combination of sleeve, shoulder and collar insignia, similar to that used by the Naval ROTC units.

There are two types of insignia used by Coast Guard Academy cadets.

The first is a metal pin-on device. It is a colored shield with a gold anchor with a silver star above it. The color of the background denotes the class. The colors are green for 4/c, red for 3/c, white for 2/c and blue for 1/c. The colors all have historic meanings: red and green represent the running lights on a vessel; white signifies the white lights used as navigation lights, signifying the role as guides for the 4/c; blue represents the blue lights of law enforcement vessels that that 1/c are about to serve aboard.

The second type of insignia is shoulder boards. All cadet shoulder boards have a slightly smaller version of the shield found on officer shoulder boards, and stripes denoting class year or 1/c leadership positions. The 4/c have no stripes, 3/c 1 diagonal stripe, 2/c 2 diagonal stripes, and 1/c 1 horizontal stripe. First class leadership positions have increasing numbers of horizontal stripes, up to six for the Regimental Commander or Summer Battalion Commander, as well as a matching number of sleeve stripes on the Service Dress Blues and Parade Dress Blue uniforms.