American Cadet Alliance
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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.
Currently the ACA has Army, Navy and Marine cadets.
History
Organization
The ACA is headquartered in Sea Girt, New Jersey and organized into several districts, each district being made up of several battalions and these battalions being comprised 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 meet 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.
Program Description
The ACA has two types of Cadet members: drilling Cadets and Individual Training Company (ITC) Cadets. Although they are under the same organization, they two types of Cadets are working in very different programs.Individual Training Company (ITC)
ITC Cadets are Cadet members of the organization that are not located near a drilling unit. These Cadets function largely on their own throughout the year, often coordinating through their local military recruiter for assistance tasks and training.Drilling Units
Future Direction
The ACA is vigorously pursuing a relationship with the Army National Guard and hopes to have a full support MOU in place by 2007.Current Units
- Military Cadets of California
- Military Cadets of Camp Atterbury (Indiana)
- Military Cadets of Fort Bragg (North Carolina)
- Military Cadets of Fort Stewart (Georgia)
- Military Cadets of New England
- Military Cadets of New Jersey
- Military Cadets of North Florida
- Military Cadets of Puerto Rico
- Military Cadets of Texas
- Military Cadets of the Fox Valley (Wisconsin)
- Military Cadets of Selfridge (Michigan)
External links
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