Cadet Dress in Public

[NCRCrow]

I do not care in the field , wear what is warm and comfortable.

My grief is that the average citizen in a public place does not know the difference between CADPAT Cadets and the Regs.

When I was in Petawawa in the 80's the Army Cadet Corp (the Airborne affilated one) was outstanding.

I have never in my life seen such a professional group of young people. These Cadets dress and deportment made some of us regs put an extra layer of polish on our boots.

I do not like to see Cadets Corps named after Battle Honours(any) being loud and unruly and unkept.

I believe in the Cadet program, maybe my grief should be with the CIL officers.

Next time I see it, I will say something.

Crow

 

[Burrows]

Its no longer CIL it is CIC.

 

[Saorse]

At the same time, we have all no doubt been guilty of a showing of improper dress while in public to some degree.

Remember where you came from is all: better to point out the error to a cadet than to shove it down his or her throat. 

(Not that anybody would, I'm just saying  )

 

[NCRCrow]

CFAO's say CIL, and thats what I go by.

Have a great summer

 

[Zedic_1913]

However it seems that CF recognizes the cadet officers are part of the Cadet Instructors Cadre (CIC), which is an official branch of the Reserves.

 

[Burrows]

CFAO's say CIL, and thats what I go by.

Have a great summer

Shows how up to date they are.

 

[QORvanweert]

Cadets do not belong to the CF or DND.   They are a youth organization that encourages an interest in the canadian forces that happens to enforce doctrine similar to the CF as well as being sponsored by the DND.

Amen to that. Someone should make a point of telling this to cadets so that they stop thinking that they are part of the CF.

 

[Zedic_1913]

This is something that should be covered in cadet training, however there are always people who will act or consider themselves a member of the CF.  From what I have observed, A majority of cadets understand that they are cadets and not members of the CF ... but there are always a few that make the entire system look bad.

 

[Scott]

Here's a point to consider, one that was always impressed upon me while I was in Cadets:

While wearing the uniform you are representing your Cadet unit and the CCM as a whole. The CCM tries to foster an interest for the CF within our youth. So, by extension and to some degree you are representing the CF. There are those out there who do not differentiate between actual CF members and Cadets and so one should carry themselves in a manner becoming of the uniform at all times. There are also those people that do not know that Cadets are not a part of the CF and, therefore, expect the same manner of deportment out of a Cadet as they do an adult. Make sense?

I had the advantage, or disadvantage at some times, of having a father who served 25 years in the CF. If I were to try to leave the house for a night of training with the Cadets and had not taken care of my uniform properly he was the first to point it out for the reasons noted above.

 

[Saorse]

I totally see your point, and I totally agree. To some extent, cadets and the Forces are very closely related, if not by blood, then by marriage. To express pride in a cadet uniform does give cadets and the Forces a good showing, and reverse-wise if the uniform is not handled properly.

Great point.

 

[Love793]

Dress and deportment is a leadership issue.  It starts at the top.  In the 'real World", it's the responsibility of the RSM or his/her Sergeants Major to enforce.  In the cadet world it has to start at the CO and work its way down.  CIC officers must ensure they are dressed and act properly as well as that their CI's are dressed and act appropriately.  The cadets will see this (Leading by example), and should emulate it.  Cadet RSMs then should run with the ball, and ensure that dress, haircuts and conduct are acceptable.  Eventually, it will filter down.

 

[Saorse]

Seems in my corps, there's not enough Brita filters in the world to make some cadets actually wear their uniforms.

 

[Love793]

We have the same problem, with the corps I work with.  Fortunately, they're starting weed out the dead weight.

 

[Saorse]

If we weed out dead weight, our corps will follow suit.

Cadets in my corps just don't accept consequences. I don't mean being verbally assaulted for no reason at all, but if a cadet shows up without a uniform, and the TO calls him over for a second to ask where his uniform is, he'll run home crying. That's a 100% legible account of what happened last week, so not only do we now have a cadet without a uniform, but we have an angry mother, a cadet leaving the grounds on a training night that is still our responsibility, and a lot of cadets wondering why they still have to wear their uniform.

Some cadets just aren't in cadets to engage in all it's about, and all it offers. There are different reasons for different cadets, but every cadet just does not have the same care and passion for the organization as others, and that can become hard to teach.

 

[Love793]

Remind them it's a "Club", play by the rules or we kick you out.  You'll have to put up with some flack from the parents, but eventually, they figure out it's not a DND sponsored babysitting program.

 

[Saorse]

Nothing against the proper way to do things, but our corps cannot afford to be getting kicked out. We just need to teach these cadets proper... etiquette, for lack of a better term.

 

[primer]

I had the opportunity to send out 8 Cadets to go on a FTX with 33 MP PL here in Ottawa. I had one Cadet that had CADPAT,with that uniform on I could not tell the difference between him or other members of the forces. I told him if he wanted to go on this EX he was to wear his OD Greens so My staff and the staff of the Res could tell the difference in a time of need.

I know that Cadets want to wear this new uniform. It must be th K.L.F thats all it can be

 

[ouyin2000]

one night i had one of my Platoon Warrants show up without a uniform on, and she claimed to have just forgotten

I told her to sit off to the side of the parade square and replaced her with one of my MCpls for the night.

If a cadets does not accept the consequences of their actions (on inactions), and does not learn from their mistakes, I do not have time to deal with them

I have a corps with over 40 cadets registered (with maybe 27 a night regularly). I have other things to do than deal with 1 14 year old who does not want to participate to the full extent. The cadet program is to develop in youth leadership responsibilities, physical fitness, and stimulate an interest in the CF....We are not here to babysit.

I realise that for some corps it may be hard to recruit (be it small town or a general disliking for cadets) but the only way I have seen fit to deal with constant dead weight, is to just drop it.

In my old corps, we had 2 cadets (twins) who's parents literally forced them to come. They were routinely out of uniform, or showing up in unpolished boots and mops of hair. We struggled along for a whole training year with them, and actually sent one of them off to their 2 week basic course (which they failed horribly) In the next September, the CO sat down with their parents and described the situation, and explained that they had 1 month of leniency for them to shape up, or they would be removed from the program

needless to say, they were removed.

after that, the general morale of the corps raised greatly, and the other cadets in the same age range as these 2 bacame much happier and more participative...learning more and becoming great cadets.

 

[Saorse]

Out of pure curiosity... a 14 year old Platoon Warrant?

 

[ouyin2000]

no my mistake, i used the 14 year old statement as a general one