United States Army Cadet Corps - Cadet Membership

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 USAC 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 USAC is not a delinquency program and they are strict about that.

The Cadet rank system in the USAC is the U.S. Army enlisted system. Cadets enter at grade E-1 and work their way up to E-9. The title of each grade is based on the US Army, but all USAC Cadets begin their time in the program as 'recruits'. The new USAC 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, platoon sergeant, squad leaders and various other positions.