Combined Cadet Force The Combined Cadet Force ( CCF ) is a Ministry of Defence sponsored youth organisation in the United Kingdom . Its aim is to " " provide a disciplined organisation in a school so that pupils may develop powers of leadership by means of training to promote the qualities of responsibility , self reliance , resourcefulness , endurance and perseverance " " . It is not a pre - service organisation , although it acknowledges that one of its objectives is " " to encourage those who have an interest in the services to become Officers of the Regular or Reserve Forces " " , and a significant number of officers have indeed had experience in the CCF . Prior to 1948 cadet forces in schools existed as part of the Officers ' Training Corps framework , but in 1948 the Labour government founded the Combined Cadet Force as a separate entity on the grounds that the previous name was deemed elitist . History . The CCF was created on 1 April 1948 by the amalgamation of the Junior Training Corps ( formerly the Junior Division of the Officers Training Corps ) and the school contingents of the Sea Cadet Corps and Air Training Corps . CCFs are still often referred to as " The Corps " . Cadet 150 . The year of 2010 is considered by members of the Cadet Forces as a historic year , as it marks the 150th anniversary of cadet activities in the United Kingdom . The celebrations were begun by a gala dinner held at the Honourable Artillery Company on 8 January attended by George Cross winner Lance Corporal Matt Croucher of the Royal Marines , and senior ranking officers from the Royal Navy , Army and Royal Air Force . The dinner raised funds for the Military Charity Help for Heroes . The pinnacle of the celebrations will be a Parade and Royal Review at Horse Guards Parade , before marching down The Mall to Buckingham Palace where all cadets involved will attend a Garden Party . The parade will consist of cadets from the Combined Cadet Force , the Sea Cadet Corps , the Army Cadet Force , and the Air Training Corps . A marching band from each of the cadet movements will also be taking part in the parade , most notably , the National CCF Band . The National CCF Band trains at HMS Raleigh across the year , under guidance from members of the Royal Marines Band Service who volunteer their time for the training weeks . Training takes place at Naval Bases in the South of England , including HMS Raleigh , Britannia Royal Naval College , and HMS Excellent . Contingents . On 12 May 1859 , the Secretary of State for War sent out a circular letter to the public schools and Universities inviting them to form units of the Volunteer Corps . Arguably , the first school cadet corps was established at Rossall School in February 1860 , initially as an army contingent only . Felsted already had an armed drill contingent at the time of the War Office letter under the command of Sgt . Major Rogers RM ; its claim on these grounds to be the oldest school corps was upheld by Field Marshal Earl Roberts in a letter to the Headmaster of 1904 . Other corps were very quickly formed in 1860 at four further schools : Eton , Harrow , Hurstpierpoint and Rugby ; in the absence of further evidence it seems fair to say that all six schools should be equally credited with seniority , with a given date of 1860 . In 1908 , the units were re - titled the Officer Training Corps ( OTC ) Today , unit contingents exist in UK independent schools , many grammar schools and a handful of comprehensive school s . The CCF is distinct from the Sea Cadet Corps , Army Cadet Force , and Air Training Corps . Pupils normally join around the age of 13 or 14 , with both sexes able to take part . A school contingent may have any combination of Royal Navy , Army , Royal Air Force sections , and sometimes Royal Marines . The Army Section is almost invariably the largest . The CCF movement is dominated by the independent sector with the majority of contingents still being based in public schools . It was reported in 2008 that some Public School CCF detachments would be opened to pupils of local state schools . Cadets . In 2001 , the then Minister of State for Defence replied to a question posed in Parliament about how many CCFs were currently affiliated to the MOD . In October 2007 the under - secretary of state for defence gave details of the total number of CCF sections , and the number in state schools . Cadet ranks . Most Cadet ranks are standard non - commissioned ranks , prefixed by " Cadet " , for day - to - day administration the " Cadet " prefix is often omitted . The highest rank depends on the size of the contingent , but are usually Cadet Coxswain ( Royal Navy Section ) , Cadet Regimental or Company Sergeant Major ( Army and RM Sections ) and Cadet Warrant Officer ( RAF Section ) . Senior cadets may also hold other appointments ; for example the senior cadet in a CCF band or Corps of Drums may be appointed as a Cadet Drum Major . Some contingents may have Junior ( and sometimes Senior ) Under Officer s . Cadet Under Officers ' rank badges are white bands 12 mm wide across each shoulder slide , the same ranks insignia as Officer Cadet s with the addition of the letters CCF underneath . To give commonality of ranks among the different sections , the RAF section has the rank of Cadet Junior Corporal , ( this does not exist in the RAF or in the Air Training Corps ) equivalent to Cadet Lance Corporal in the Army section . Uniform . Royal Navy Section . The two regulation uniforms for RN cadets are No . 4 working dress and No . 3 parade dress . These are differentiated from regular RN uniform by the wearing of brassards , which show rate , qualification and skills , and the ' CCF RN ' rank slide . They may be issued with combat uniform if required and some schools have No 1 uniform for senior cadets . Royal Marines Section . Cadets in the CCF ( RM ) wear DPM ( camouflage ) trousers , combat jackets , and shirts along with boots much the same as the army section . Headdress is the Royal Marines non - commando blue beret with the Royal Marines capbadge on a red ' tombstone ' patch . Army Section . Army cadets usually wear the Combat Soldier 95 Pattern ( CS95 ) uniform as worn by regular soldiers although some contingents still have ' lightweight ' OG ( olive green ) uniform or older pattern . Ranks are shown with qualifications on a brassard , or with combats on a rank slide marked ' CCF ' . RAF Section . RAF cadets wear No . 2 dress , either with dark blue shirt ( 2c ) or ' Wedgwood ' ( 2 , 2a , 2b ) . They are distinguished from regular personel by their brassards . They may be issued with combat uniform if required . Officers . CCF officers are often teachers from the school , and are not normally eligible to be called up . They hold acting officer ranks up to and including lieutenant colonel ( the highest substantive rank is that of lieutenant ) or its equivalent in the other services . Unlike in the external cadet organisations ( ATC / SCC / ACF ) , all instructors permanently based at a contingent are commissioned , by tradition as instructors are generally teachers and so ' professionally qualified ' . Other instructors often visit a contingent as a result of support from the local Cadet Training Team ( CTT ) . These instructors are regular serving Non - Commissioned Officers . CCF ( Army ) and CCF ( RAF ) Officers hold commissions in special categories of the reserves of their service . CCF ( RN ) Officers are ' appointed ' and do not hold commissions , albeit their ranks are the same as for RN ( and RNR ) officers with the suffix RNR ( CCF ) , their rank braid is ' wavy ' , the same form as used in the past by the RNVR . CCF ( Army ) officers hold commissions in TA Group ' B ' ( the same group as UOTC Officer Cadets ) , and wear a CCF marking on their rank slides . Unlike officers in the Army Cadet Force CCF ( Army ) officers do not attend the Army Officer Selection Board and are selected based on recommendation from the Headmaster of the employing school . CCF ( RAF ) officers ' commissions are Volunteer Reserve ( Training Branch ) ( RAF VR ( T ) ) , and they wear a VRT pin on their rank braid to signify this . In the main supporting role to the officers is the ' SSI ' ( school staff instructor ) , who is usually an ex - forces SNCO or Warrant Officer . They retain their rank as a courtesy and are employed by the school to instruct and assist in the running of the Contingent . Whilst the majority of the SSIs are SNCOs it is also possible for them to be a commissioned officer . There is usually one SSI per Contingent . In addition to the SSI some contingents may have one or more Civilian Instructors . These are Adult Volunteers who normally instruct in a specialised role ( first aid , signals etc . ) when the establishment level of officers does not include persons with sufficient knowledge to teach these subjects . They receive no pay for time spent with cadets but may claim reimbursement for expenses at the Contingent Commander ' s discretion . Many are members of the academic or support staff at the school . Training . The different sections naturally have different syllabi , but have a certain amount in common . All cadets are trained initially to fire the . 22 Number 8 Rifle or the L98A2 5 . 56 mm Cadet General Purpose rifle , similar to the regular SA80 but modified by removing the change lever so the weapon can only fire semi automatically . Later there are also opportunities to fire the L86 LSW , the L85A2 rifle , and the L81 Cadet Target Rifle . All the sections instruct field - craft , navigation , drill , leadership and first aid . Cadets in the Royal Navy section receive instruction in boat - work and other naval subjects ( including flying with the Fleet Air Arm ) . The Royal Navy also offers many CCF courses during the school holidays which are open to any members of any CCF , regardless of section , though priority is given to those in the naval section . The Royal Marines section , although a part of the Navy , tend to act as a land infantry section when it comes to training , centering on Section battle drills , Weapons handling , Fieldcraft , Camouflage and Concealment , Corps Knowledge ( history of the Royal Marines ) and Parade drill , along with physical training . In most detachments , a " beret test " comprising elements from most training areas must be passed before a recruit can become a fully fledged Marine Cadet and wear a beret . The test varies from school to school but at its most basic it will include a timed cross - country run in kit ( the Marine run ) and a weapons handling test . However it may , and often does , encompass a wider variety of subjects such as a corps knowledge and parade drill test as well as a Battle swim test ( BST ) and battle fitness test ( BFT ) . Army section cadets are able to specialise in various subjects such as signalling and infantry tactics , and are trained accordingly . The Army section also has " special to arm " courses , such as advanced weapons theory , Royal Signals training , and REME courses . Royal Artillery Adventurous Training courses are often offered to cadets , usually through an Army Liaison Officer . These include parachuting and watersports training . However , 2006 Health and Safety / Child Protection legislation ( and fallout from the Deepcut affair ) mandated that cadets must be housed separately by both gender and age ( under 18s and over 18s ) , and as most MOD accommodation cannot cope with this and many of these courses have thus been forced to limit applicants to over 18s only . RAF section cadets are given the opportunity to fly in both power aircraft , most notably the Grob Tutor and Vigilant T . 1 and in unpowered gliders such as the Viking TX . 1 and their training and flying courses are identical to those available to members of the Air Training Corps . All sections can undertake leadership courses at Frimley Park , Nesscliff or RAF Cranwell ( previously at Stafford ) , as well as adventurous training . There are also other courses available for cadets to enhance their skills , such as Junior and Senior Cadet Instructor Courses ( JCIC , SCIC ) . June 2009 air collision incident . At approximately 2 . 30pm on Sunday , 14 June 2009 , an RAF Grob Tutor and a civilian Standard Cirrus glider collided above Sutton Courtenay , Oxfordshire . The two - seater Grob Tutor , took off from RAF Benson in Oxfordshire and was part of No 6 AEF ' s fleet of planes . Flight Lieutenant Michael Blee was a retired Wing Commander with 38 years ' service in the RAF before becoming a Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Officer at 6 Air Experience Flight in 2005 , where he assumed the rank of Flight Lieutenant . He was killed in the crash along with CCF cadet Nicholas Rice . Nicholas Rice , who was 15 years old , was a student of the Elvian School in Reading , and was from Calcot , Reading , Berkshire . Alternative organisations . Some schools recognise that pupils may not wish to participate in CCF activities and so alternative organisations exist , such as the Community Service Organisation , which allows pupils to volunteer to help in hospitals , schools , and charity work . Other activities often on offer are : A few other schools make CCF attendance voluntary - this tends to reduce numbers compared to compulsory contingents , but potentially results in a more uniformly dedicated membership that responds well to training . Some of the voluntary CCF schools also run the other options such as community service .