American Cadet Alliance

The American Cadet Alliance was founded under the name "Colonel Cody's Boy Scouts" by Captain James H. C. Smyth on April 10, 1909, at the First Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, New York. Between its founding and the present, it underwent numerous name changes, and settled on its current name on September 15, 1960 when the American Nautical Alliance, Inc. and the Maritime Brigade, Inc. merged to become the American Cadet Alliance, Inc. The ACA holds the distinction of being the oldest nationwide cadet program in the United States.

The American Cadet Alliance (ACA) is a 501(3)(c) Non-profit youth education organizations. Currently the ACA has Army, Navy and Marine cadets.

History

The American Cadet Alliance was founded as the Colonel Cody’s Boy Scouts by Captain James H. C. Smyth on April 10th, 1909, at the First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York. Shortly thereafter, the Colonel Cody’s Boy Scouts was reorganized as the American Naval and Marine Scouts. The American Naval and Marine Scouts continued to evolve and on August 16th, 1927 the organization was incorporated under the laws of the State of New York as the New York Junior Naval Militia, Inc. Early in 1929, the organization split and its founder, as well as a number of senior officers, incorporated the Junior Naval Reserve, Inc., on February 19th, 1929.

Early in 1938, during the heightening of World War II, the War Department instructed the Secretaries of State to require all organizations using the words Naval, Militia and Reserve as a part of their corporate name to rename their organizations so as not to cause public confusion regarding their relationship to the Armed Services. To comply with this request, the Junior Naval Reserve, Inc. reincorporated on June 14th, 1938 as the American Nautical Cadets, Inc., and on November 2nd, 1938, the New York Junior Naval Militia, Inc. changed its name to the Maritime Brigade, Inc.

As a result of reorganization, due in part to a number of mergers with other, smaller, Cadet Organizations, the American Nautical Cadets, Inc., reincorporated on October 3rd, 1956 as the American Nautical Alliance, Inc. The organization came full circle on September 15th, 1960 when the American Nautical Alliance, Inc. and the Maritime Brigade, Inc. merged to become the American Cadet Alliance, Inc.

The USACC (United States Army Cadet Corps) was created in 2000 and it is the fastest growing Brigade in the ACA.

Mission, vision and guiding principles

For an organization to prosper and grow, it must have a clear definition of its purpose; be aware of its future objectives and goals; and subscribe to a universal set of guidelines and business practices. The level of commitment by an organization’s leadership to its Mission, Vision and Guiding Principles is often measured by the success of the organization.

Mission

"To instill in young Americans, through a multi-faceted cadet program which is physically and mentally challenging andrewarding, the importance of national pride, service to others and maintaining a drug-free and gang-free lifestyle."

Vision

"To be the premier cadet program in the United States, noted for its dedication to youth, quality of training and respect for the heritage and traditions of America's Armed Forces."

Guiding Principles

*The development of the individual Cadet is the sole purpose of the American Cadet Alliance. No aspect of our organization is to take priority over our mission of developing America's youth.
*We will endeavor to provide a program which is challenging, exciting and rewarding. We will encourage Cadets to test their physical, mental and emotional limits while ensuring a realistic, safe and wholesome training environment.
*The Officers' Corps exists to serve the Cadets, providing young people the opportunity to learn leadership, selfconfidence and patriotism. Cadets will be involved in as much of the day-to-day operation of the American Cadet Alliance, at all levels, as is reasonably possible. We are a training ground for tomorrow's leaders and accept that mistakes may be made in order to learn valuable lessons.
*Communication is essential to success. All members of the American Cadet Alliance - regardless of rank or billet are encouraged to communicate openly and honestly, within the parameters of good order and discipline.
*We are mindful that the dedicated volunteers of the American Cadet Alliance Officers' Corps are charged with carrying out the program. We will respect their time and only place demands upon them which are essential to the safe and efficient operation of the program. We pride ourselves in being non-paid professionals who take volunteerism to a new dimension.

Organization

The ACA is headquartered in Dayton, Pennsylvania and organized into several districts, each district being made up of several battalions and these battalions being made up of several individual companies. As of mid-2006, the ACA's organizational model is largely nominal and has been established to accommodate an expected upswing in membership and unit activations.

A unit will be given a name reflecting its locality, as well as a unit designation indicating the company, battalion and district. For instance, the designation of the Military Cadets of Selfridge (Michigan) is B Co., 1/9 or Bravo Company, First Battalion, Ninth District.

Most units drill on military installations, military reserve centers or National Guard armories and most receive a great deal of cooperation and support from their host units. Drills are generally on the Guard/Reserve model, with one weekend drill per month.

Cadet membership

Cadets are members who are between the ages of 12 and 18 (although 11 year olds can be accepted after 5th grade). They must be enrolled in school and receiving passing grades, be drug and crime free, must be proportional to his/her height. The applicant can not be overly obese. The prospective Cadet should be able to do basic exercises like push-ups, sit-ups etc., and be able to run. Also the applicant must be able to pass a "Sports type" Physical Exam by a Doctor and can not have any communicable diseases, chronic health problems or severe allergies.

One of the best features of the Cadet application process for the ACA is that the Cadet himself or herself must volunteer and sign for themself. The parents still must sign the appropriate permission forms, but overall the Cadet applicant cannot be forced to sign up. The ACA is not a delinquency program and they are strict about that.

The Cadet rank system in the ACA is the U.S. military enlisted system. Cadets enter at grade E-1 and work their way up to E-9. The title of each grade depends on the type of Cadet - Army, Navy or Marine, but all ACA Cadets begin their time in the program as 'recruits'. Taking a cue from the Marines, new ACA Cadets remain 'recruits' until their first Summer Camp, where they are given the chance to earn the title 'Cadet'. They can promote to E-2 before that first Summer Camp, but that promotion is provisional. Once at Summer Camp, a provisional E-2 will remove his rank and again become an E-1 recruit. Only after graduating from their first Summer Camp can a Cadet be actually called 'Cadet' and be permanently promoted above the rank of E-1.They also hold company positions such as the company first sergeant a platoon sergeant a squad leaders another positions.

Adult membership

Membership in the ACA Officers’ Corps is a privilege reserved for those individuals who desire to promote the objectives and purposes of the ACA and who meet the appropritate eligibility requirements. Leadership and command of the ACA, at all levels, is provided by a dedicated corps of non-paid professional officers, adult noncommissioned officers (NCO) and instructors. Each Officers’ Corps applicant must complete a series of prerequisites and a thorough screening process prior to receiving a commission or appointment as an officer or NCO in the U.S. Naval Cadet Corps (USNCC), U.S. Marine Cadet Corps (USMCC) or U.S. Army Cadet Corps (USACC).

There are several categories for the Officer Corps which are outlined below;

Intructor

Appointment as an instructor may be granted to individuals who wish to participate in ACA activities in a non-military capacity. Instructors do not wear a Military uniform but are required to dress in appropriate ACA attire. This category of membership is extremely flexible and its requirements are not as high as a uniformed staff member; but a high level of professionalism and moral integrity is always required.

Adult Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO)

An appointment as an Adult Non-Commissioned Officer it open to those individuals who have served honorably in the U.S. Military in grades E-4 through E-9 who prefer to maintain their status as non-commissioned officers rather than to apply for a commission in the ACA Officers' Corps. Those individuals choosing to remain as Non-Commissioned Officers, will be appointed to a grade comparable to the highest enlisted grade held while in the military. Adult NCO are assigned a position within the unit, comparable with their rank and billet while on active duty or in the reserves. Adult NCO are always needed in a training capacity to work directly with the Cadets.

Warrant Officers

A commission as a Warrant Officer is open to those individuals who are specialists in a field of endeavor and who desire to instruct in technical skills, or perform a single function with in the unit, causing them to be best suited to apply for commissioning as a Warrant Officer in the ACA Officer's Corps.

Commissioned Officers

A commission as an ACA Officer is open to those individuals who have the Desire, Self-discipline, Self-confidence, critical judgment, and moral integrity to put on the uniform. We take this uniform seriously and we expect you to as well, for it is an honor to put it on. ACA Officers are always held to a higher standard.

Individual Training Company (ITC) Membership

ITC Cadets are Cadet members of the organization that are not located near a drilling unit. These Cadets and Officer Corps members function largely on their own throughout the year, often coordinating through their local military recruiter for assistance tasks and training. The ITC members go to Annual Training in the summer with the rest of the ACA as a whole. As of October 2007 all new ITC Cadets are automatically enrolled as Army Cadets.

Future direction

The ACA is vigorously pursuing a relationship with the U.S. Army and expects to have a full support MOU in place by 2009. Because of the support receive thus far from the US Army Reserve and Army National Guard the ACA is moving to an all Army Cadet program in April 2009. This move will effectively phase out the Naval and Marine Cadet programs completely from the ACA.

Current units

(Current as of September 2007)

*Army Cadets of Fresno (California)
*Individual Training Company (Nationwide)
*Military Cadets of Aberdeen (South Dakota)
*Army Cadets of Armstrong County / the Headquarters Company (Pennsylvania)
*Army Cadets of Camp Atterbury (Indiana)
*Military Cadets of Camp Fogarty (Rhode Island)
*Army Cadets of Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
*Military Cadets of Fort Hamilton (New York City)
*Army Cadets of Fort Rucker (Alabama)
*Military Cadets of Fort Stewart (Georgia)
*Military Cadets of Lewiston-Auburn (Maine)
*Army Cadets of Nashua (New Hampshire)
*Army Cadets of Camp Blanding (Florida)
*Army Cadets of Puerto Rico
*Army Cadets of Rochester (New York)
*Military Cadets of Selfridge (Michigan)
*Army Cadets of Tampa Bay (Florida)
*Army Cadets of the Fox Valley (Wisconsin)
*Army Cadets of Missouri (Missouri)

External links

* [http://www.militarycadets.org American Cadet Alliance Homepage]
* [http://www.adventurebeginshere.org Summer Training website]
* [http://www.daytonhighschool.blogspot.com New National Headquarters]
* [http://www.armycadetstampabay.org Army Cadets of Tampa Bay Homepage]