Ranks of the cadet forces of the United Kingdom

Last updated October 27, 2024

The following table displays the ranks of the Community Cadet Forces (Army Cadet Force, the Sea Cadet Corps, and the Air Training Corps), the Combined Cadet Force, the Volunteer Cadet Corps (RMVCC and RNVCC), and the Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets. This table is based on equivalent Rank Structures within the Cadet Forces as detailed in regulations of the SCC, RMC, and the Air Cadets.

Cadet ranks

Cadet NCOs wear the issued cadet rank slides.^[1] The titles of some ranks in the ACF and CCF Army may vary as cadet detachments are affiliated to British Army regiments and adopt their terminology. More senior cadet ranks may be restricted to a set number per area.

Although promotion is based on merit rather than progression through the training syllabuses, certain criteria must be met before a cadet is eligible for promotion:^[2]

Whilst the CCF Regulations provide an equivalency table purely for the CCF, there is no official equivalency between the other cadet forces.

Cadet Service	Officers	Cadet Senior NCOs					Cadet Junior NCOs				Cadets	Recruits
CCF Navy Cadets v t e


	Under Officer	Warrant Officer Cadet			Chief Petty Officer Cadet	Petty Officer Cadet	Leading Cadet	Able 3* Cadet	Able 2* Cadet	Able 1* Cadet	Naval Cadet	New Naval Entry
	UO	WOCDT			CPOCDT	POCDT	LCDT	A3*CDT	A2*CDT	A1*CDT	NCDT	NNE
CCF Royal Marines Cadets (Part of the CCF RN) v t e												No insignia
	Under Officer	Cadet Warrant Officer First Class	Cadet Warrant Officer Second Class		Cadet Colour Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal		Cadet Lance Corporal		Cadet	Recruit
	UO	CDTWO1	CDTWO2		CDTCSGT	CDTSGT	CDTCPL		CDTLCPL		CDT	RCT
Sea Cadets Corps v t e												No insignia
		Petty Officer Cadet			Leading Cadet			Able Cadet	Ordinary Cadet	Cadet 1st Class	Cadet	New Entry
		POC			LC			AC	OC	CFC	CDT	NE
Royal Marines Cadets (Part of the SCC) v t e											No insignia	No insignia
		Cadet Sergeant		Cadet Corporal			Cadet Lance Corporal				Marine Cadet	Marine Cadet Recruit
		CDT SGT		CDT CPL			CDT LCPL				MC	MCR
Royal Navy Volunteer Cadet Corps v t e												No insignia
		Warrant Officer Cadet			Chief Petty Officer Cadet	Petty Officer Cadet	Leading Cadet		Able Cadet		Naval Cadet	New Naval Entry
		WOCDT			CPOCDT	POCDT	LCDT		ACDT		NCDT	NNE
Royal Marine Volunteer Cadet Corps v t e											No insignia	No insignia
		Cadet Warrant Officer First Class	Cadet Warrant Officer Second Class		Cadet Colour Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal		Cadet Lance Corporal		Cadet	Recruit
		CDTWO1	CDTWO2		CDTCSGT	CDTSGT	CDTCPL		CDTLCPL		CDT	RCT
CCF Army Cadets v t e												No insignia
	Under Officer	Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major	Cadet Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant	Cadet Company Sergeant Major	Cadet Staff/Colour Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal		Cadet Lance Corporal		Cadet	Recruit
	UO	Cdt RSM	Cdt RQMS	Cdt CSM	Cdt SSgt/Cdt CSgt	Cdt Sgt	Cdt Cpl		Cdt LCpl		Cdt	Rct
Army Cadet Force v t e
	Under Officer (CCF Only)	Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major	Cadet Company Sergeant Major		Cadet Staff Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal		Cadet Lance Corporal		Cadet	Recruit
	UO	Cdt RSM	Cdt CSM		Cdt SSgt	Cdt Sgt	Cdt Cpl		Cdt LCpl		Cdt	Rct
Cayman Islands Cadet Corps v t e												No insignia
	Cadet Under Officer		Cadet Company Sergeant Major		Cadet Staff Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal		Cadet Lance Corporal		Cadet	Recruit
	CDTUO		CDTCSM		CDTSSGT	CDTSGT	CDTCPL		CDTLCPL		CDT	RCT
CCF RAF Cadets v t e											No insignia
	Cadet Under Officer (Former rank no longer in use)	Cadet Warrant Officer			Cadet Flight Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal		Cadet Lance Corporal		Cadet
	CUO	CWO			Cdt FS	Cdt Sgt	Cdt Cpl		Cdt LCpl		Cdt
Air Training Corps v t e											No insignia
		Cadet Warrant Officer			Cadet Flight Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal				Cadet
		CWO			Cdt FS	Cdt Sgt	Cdt Cpl				Cdt
Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets v t e											No insignia	No insignia
	Officer Cadet				Cadet Unit Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal		Cadet Lance Corporal	Leading Cadet	Cadet	Recruit
	OFFCDT				CDTUSGT	CDTSGT	CDTCPL		CDTLC	LCDT	CDT	RCT

Junior cadets

Junior Sea Cadets Corps v t e
	Leading Junior Cadet	Able Junior Cadet	Junior Cadet First Class	Junior Cadet
	LJC	AJC	JCFC	JC

Former cadet organisations

**Cadet ranks and insignia of former cadet organisations**
Air Defence Cadet Corps v t e	1939-1941 1941					No insignia
	Cadet Warrant Officer	Cadet Flight Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal	Cadet Lance Corporal	Cadet
	CDTWO	CDTFSGT	CDTSGT	CDTCPL	CDTLCPL	CDT
Women's Junior Air Corps v t e						No insignia
		Cadet Unit Sergeant	Cadet Sergeant	Cadet Corporal	Cadet Lance Corporal	Cadet
		CDTUSGT	CDTSGT	CDTCPL	CDTLCPL	CDT

Welbeck DSFC

Epaulettes were worn by students whilst in the college kit, G-Kit, MTP and service uniform. It denoted their academic year and the seniority/position of authority that they held within the college. The college closed in July 2021.

Ranks and Insignia of Welbeck DSFC

Welbeck DSFC CCF	Senior College Prefect			College Prefect	House Prefect		Student
Royal Navy students
British Army students
Royal Air Force students
title	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet
	Head of College	Vice Head of College	Deputy Heads of College	Head of House	Deputy Head of House	House Prefect	Upper Sixth Student (with College Award)	Lower Sixth Student (with College Award)	Upper Sixth Student	Lower Sixth Student
	OCdt HoC	OCdt VHoC	OCdt DHoC	OCdt HoH	OCdt DHoH	OCdt HP	OCdt U6CA	OCdt L6CA	OCdt U6	OCdt L6
Defence Engineering and Science Group students	no equivalent
					Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet	Officer Cadet
					Deputy Head of House	House Prefect	Upper Sixth Student (with College Award)	Lower Sixth Student (with College Award)	Upper Sixth Student	Lower Sixth Student
					OCdt DHoH	OCdt HP	OCdt U6CA	OCdt L6CA	OCdt U6	OCdt L6
Welbeck DSFC CCF	Senior College Prefect			College Prefect	House Prefect		Student

Cadet force adult volunteer ranks

NCOs / Senior ratings

From 2009 to 2019, if a person joined as a civilian instructor in the Sea Cadets or Royal Marine Cadets and wanted to be a uniformed member of staff, they would become an acting petty officer or sergeant, following a six-month probationary period.

In 2018 the role of sergeant instructor (SI) was introduced for CCF(Army) sections, this is the first occasion that adults other than SSIs have been appointed as an NCO rather than a commissioned rank in the CCF.^[3]


Army	ACF
	CCF
	Title	Regimental Sergeant Major Instructor	Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant Instructor	Sergeant Major Instructor	Staff Sergeant Instructor	Sergeant Instructor	Probationary Sergeant	Probationary Instructor	Civilian Assistant
	Abbr.	RSMI	RQMSI	SMI	SSI	SI	SPI	PI	CA
ATC/CCF (RAF)	Groundcrew	^{[note 1]}		^{[note 2]}				No insignia
	Aircrew	^{[note 3]}		^{[note 4]}				No insignia
	Title	Warrant Officer/Master aircrew			Flight Sergeant	Sergeant	Sergeant (pre CIC)	Civilian Instructor/ Civilian Gliding Instructor
	Abbr.	WO RAFAC/MAcr RAFAC			FS RAFAC	Sgt RAFAC	A/Sgt RAFAC	CI/CGI
SCC
	Title	Warrant Officer Class 1 RNR^{[note 5]}		Warrant Officer Class 2	Chief Petty Officer	Petty Officer	Probationary Petty Officer	Civilian Instructor	Unit Assistant
	Abbr.	WO1 (SCC) RNR		WO2 (SCC) RNR	CPO (SCC)	PO (SCC)	P/PO (SCC)	CI	UA
RMC/CCF (RM)								No insignia
	Title	Warrant Officer Class 1 RMR^{[note 6]}		Warrant Officer Class 2 RMR	Colour Sergeant	Sergeant	Probationary Sergeant	Civilian Instructor
	Abbr.	WO1 (SCC) RMR		WO2 (SCC) RMR	CSgt (SCC)	Sgt (SCC)	P/Sgt (SCC)	CI
CCF (RN)
	Title				Chief Petty Officer (School Staff Instructor)
	Abbr.				CPO (SSI)
GVCAC								No insignia
	Title							Civilian Instructor
	Abbr.							CI

Officers

Formerly, officers in MOD-recognised cadet organisations (SCC, CCF, ACF, VCC) held a highest substantive rank of lieutenant, with more senior ranks being acting ranks.

Since 2017, all cadet officers are now commissioned under a bespoke Cadet Forces Commission (CFC), with all appointments now being substantive. All previous Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (Training Branch) (RAFVR(T)) officers of the ATC and CCF RAF had their commissions transferred to the new CFC in 2017.^[4]^[5]^[6]


Army	ACF
	CCF
	Title		Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	Lieutenant	2nd Lieutenant	Adult Under Officer
	Abbr.		Col	Lt Col	Maj	Capt	Lt	2Lt	AUO
ATC/CCF (RAF)			/
	Title	Air Commodore	Group Captain (R)/Group Captain (RAFAC)^{[note 7]}	Wing Commander (RAFAC)	Squadron Leader (RAFAC)	Flight Lieutenant (RAFAC)	Flying Officer (RAFAC)	Pilot Officer (RAFAC)	Pilot Officer (RAFAC) (Pre CIC)
	Abbr.	Air Cdre	Gp Capt	Wg Cdr	Sqn Ldr	Flt Lt	Fg Off	Plt Off	A/PO
CCF (RN) and SCC
	SCC Title		Captain (SCC) RNR^{[note 8]}	Commander (SCC) RNR	Lieutenant Commander (SCC) RNR	Lieutenant (SCC) RNR	Sub Lieutenant (SCC) RNR	Midshipman (SCC) RNR
	CCF Title			Commander (CCF) RNR	Lieutenant Commander (CCF) RNR	Lieutenant (CCF) RNR	Sub Lieutenant (CCF) RNR
	Abbr.		Capt	Cdr	Lt Cdr	Lt	SLt	Mid
RMC/CCF (RM)
	RMC Title			Lieutenant Colonel (CCF) RMR	Major (CCF) RMR	Captain (CCF) RMR	Lieutenant (CCF) RMR	2nd Lieutenant (CCF) RMR
	Abbr.			Lt Col	Maj	Capt	Lt	2Lt
GVCAC
	Title	Honorary Corps Commandant		Senior Officer	Unit Officer		Assistant Unit Officer	Section Officer	Acting Section Officer	Potential Section Officer
	Abbr.

Notes

↑ Until October 2020 only ex-RAF WOs, ex-Service WO1s, and warrant officers holding a position at region or corps level wore this rank.
↑ No longer used - as of October 2020, all WO (RAFAC) use the Royal Arms badge.
↑ Until October 2020 only ex-MAcr wore this rank.
↑ No longer used - as of October 2020, all MAcr (RAFAC) use the Royal Arms badge.
↑ One per Sea Cadet Corps Area.
↑ Promoted to this rank upon taking up the role as Regimental Sergeant Major (One in the Sea Cadets).
↑ Group Captain (RAFAC) is held only by the Air Cadets Honorary Ambassador (currently Carol Vorderman), and one Volunteer Senior Advisor at HQ Air Cadets.
↑ Volunteer Rank does not exist with the Sea Cadet Corps.

Related Research Articles

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References

↑ Army Dress Regulations (All Ranks), Part 08 "Dress Regulations for Combined Cadet Force (Army Sections) and the Army Cadet Force", Ministry of Defence, April 2013
↑ "AC 14233 Army Cadet Force (ACF) Regulations" (PDF). armycadets.com. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
↑ "Roles & Ranks". 19 July 2021.
↑ "Rank Structure". Air Cadets North. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
↑ "HM The Queen Approves New Commission For Cadet Force Volunteers". Air Cadet. Bourne: Warners Midlands plc. Winter 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
↑ "Royal Warrant for Cadet Force commission" (PDF).

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[4] Until October 2020 only ex-RAF WOs, ex-Service WO1s, and warrant officers holding a position at region or corps level wore this rank.

[5] No longer used - as of October 2020, all WO (RAFAC) use the Royal Arms badge.

[6] Until October 2020 only ex-MAcr wore this rank.

[7] No longer used - as of October 2020, all MAcr (RAFAC) use the Royal Arms badge.

[8] One per Sea Cadet Corps Area.

[9] Promoted to this rank upon taking up the role as Regimental Sergeant Major (One in the Sea Cadets).

[13] Group Captain (RAFAC) is held only by the Air Cadets Honorary Ambassador (currently Carol Vorderman), and one Volunteer Senior Advisor at HQ Air Cadets.

[14] Volunteer Rank does not exist with the Sea Cadet Corps.

[ACF_Dress_Regs-1] Army Dress Regulations (All Ranks), Part 08 "Dress Regulations for Combined Cadet Force (Army Sections) and the Army Cadet Force", Ministry of Defence, April 2013

[ACF_Manual_6.012-2] "AC 14233 Army Cadet Force (ACF) Regulations" (PDF). armycadets.com. 27 October 2017. Retrieved 15 February 2019.

[combined_cadet_force-3] "Roles & Ranks". 19 July 2021.

[RAFAC_Ranks-10] "Rank Structure". Air Cadets North. Retrieved 17 November 2017.

[AirCadet_W2017-11] "HM The Queen Approves New Commission For Cadet Force Volunteers". Air Cadet. Bourne: Warners Midlands plc. Winter 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.

[Royal_Warrant_for_Cadet_Force_commission-12] "Royal Warrant for Cadet Force commission" (PDF).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[note 1]

[note 2]

[note 3]

[note 4]

[note 5]

[note 6]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[note 7]

[note 8]

v t e United Kingdom military youth cadet organisations
Headquarters: Regional Command Cadets Branch, Aldershot
Combined Cadet Forces	Royal Navy Section Royal Marines Section Army Section RAF Section
Community Cadet Forces	Sea Cadet Corps Sea Cadets Royal Marines Cadets Army Cadet Force Air Training Corps
Volunteer Cadet Corps	Royal Navy Section Royal Marines Sections
other cadet forces	Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets
British Overseas Territories	Cayman Islands Cadet Corps
former cadet forces	Air Defence Cadet Corps National Association of Training Corps for Girls Girls' Nautical Training Corps
other	Ranks of the cadet forces
Category

Naval Cadet organizations
International	International Sea Cadet Association
Australia	Australian Navy Cadets Navy League Sea Cadet Corps (former)
Belgium	Royal Belgian Sea Cadet Corps
Bermuda	Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps
Canada	Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Canadian Navy League Cadet Corps Navy League Wrennette Corp (former)
Hong Kong	Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps
The Netherlands	Netherlands Sea Cadet Corps
New Zealand	New Zealand Sea Cadet Corps Sea Cadet Association of New Zealand
Russia	Russian Sea Cadet Corps
Sweden	Swedish Sea Cadet Corps (SSCC)
United Kingdom	Sea Cadet Corps Marine Society & Sea Cadets Volunteer Cadet Corps Girls' Nautical Training Corps (former)
United States of America	Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps

Ranks of the cadet forces of the United Kingdom

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