Донская армия
Kaledin was born in 1861, in Ust' Khoperskaya, Saratov Governorate, to a Don Cossack officer. He graduated from the Voronezh Military School, the Mikhaylovskoye Artillery School in Saint Petersburg (1882) and the General Staff Academy (1889). From 1903 to 1906, he served as principal at the Novocherkassk Military School. From 1906 to 1910, Kaledin served as Assistant Chief of Staff of the Don Army.