Officer cadet
Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air Squadron; however, these are not trainee officers with many not choosing a career in the armed forces.[1][2]
This article is about the US and UK "Officer Cadet". For the equivalent German Army/Luftwaffe rank, see Oberfähnrich.The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries.
Australian Army OCDT Rank Insignia
The Australian Defence Force follows the same usage as the British military system, using the rank of officer cadet (for the Australian Army (OCDT) and the Royal Australian Air Force (OFFCDT)), for personnel undergoing initial officer training. Unlike midshipmen in the Royal Australian Navy who hold a commission, officer cadets in the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force do not yet hold a permanent commission, and are not saluted or referred to as "sir" or "ma'am".[3] They do however hold probationary commissions. Officer cadets in the Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force are subordinate to warrant officers and officers and address them as "sir" or "ma'am". As officer cadets are appointed to their positions, they are technically superior to some other ranks, although they will typically not have direct subordinates.
Initial officer training can occur through either single-service institutions, such as the Royal Australian Naval College, Royal Military College, Duntroon, or the Officers' Training School RAAF, or through the tri-service Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA). The ranks of officer cadet, staff cadet, and midshipman are primarily found at these establishments. However, RAAF officer trainees are often appointed to a higher rank while undergoing their initial training course at OTS if they have prior military experience, either as officer cadets prior to their initial officer course, or at airman rank. Officer cadets are also appointed to the Australian Army Reserve where training is conducted on a part-time basis at various University Regiments around the country.
Australian Army Reserve officer cadets must pass various training courses (conducted at different barracks around Australia) throughout their training with the final module completed at the Royal Military College, Duntroon before being commissioned.
At ADFA, upon completion of all academic training through the "UNSW@ADFA", military training and subsequent training at other military establishments, officer cadets from the RAAF are promoted to a higher junior officer rank, while those from the Australian Army spend another year at the Royal Military College, Duntroon before being commissioned.
Pilots, air traffic controllers and air combat 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, SATC and SAW respectively), they are promoted.
This will change however, as of May 2018, where all graduates from OTS will graduate with a minimum rank of PLTOFF. This will mean that the OFFCDT rank will be used only during initial military training.
Royal Canadian Navy Naval Cadet Rank insignia
In the Canadian Armed Forces, the appointment of officer cadet (OCdt), or élève-officier (élof) in French, is held by beginning officers, as well as students attending the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec or a civilian university through the Regular Officer Training Plan. For Royal Canadian Navy members of the same rank, naval cadet (NCdt), or aspirant de marine (aspm) in French, is used in lieu of officer cadet.
Some officer cadets, who are going through Regular Officer Training Plan, are highly qualified in their military occupation. However, those officers are ineligible to receive a commission until holding a university degree.
Officer cadets and naval cadets in the Canadian Armed Forces are subordinate officers, but generally billet or mess with other officers. They have yet to be granted the King's commission which would make them commissioned officers, and as such are not to be saluted by non-commissioned (enlisted) Canadian Armed Forces members.
The rank insignia for the Royal Canadian Navy is a narrow gold braid (6 mm; note difference with standard braid size) and a narrow silver braid (6 mm) for the Royal Canadian Air Force which is worn on the cuff of the service dress jacket, and on the epaulettes of all other uniforms. This gives rise to the somewhat derogatory term 'quarter-inch admiral' as a term for officer cadets who try to insist that they are superior to other non-commissioned members due to their ranks. In the Canadian Army, the rank insignia is one pip on a white band. The peak of the service cap (if worn) is plain - however, there are some circumstances, such as those enrolled in a university training program for non-commissioned members, where authorization of the branch cap badge is granted.
In the Indonesian service academies (military, naval, air force), there is a ranking system associated to the cadets training and studying in the academy. The length term is 4 years and is divided into 5 grades of the cadet's rank, starting from the lowest:
Taruna refers to cadets in the military academy, Kadet refers to cadets in the naval academy, and Karbol refers to cadets in the air force academy, respectively.