Training

Becoming a Military Cadet is not an easy task. It takes Desire, Courage, Strength, Hard Work, and most of all Sweat. We take the title "Marine" very seriously and we expect those who join us to do the same.

Leadership and personal character are among the greatest benefits to becoming a Military Cadet. These traits not only assure your success within the Corps - they ensure success throughout life.

Joining the United States Military Cadet Corps will place you among the few young men and women who will take control of their futures and give themselves an edge over their piers. Like them, you are probably seeking a challenge, an adventure, and the opportunity to become a success. Like them, you are ready to grow and travel a new path toward your future.

On the way to becoming a Military Cadet, you will be trained in the art of self-mastery, acquiring self-discipline, the courage to undertake difficult tasks, and a steadfast commitment to overcoming the challenges before you. More than that, you will become a part of a very special organization built on a foundation of honor, courage and commitment. At the core of every Marine is the warrior spirit, a person imbued with the special kind of personal character that has always defined greatness and success. During this journey you will make new friends who have met the same challenges you have, sweated just like you, and who have shaped their future just as you have. In the organization of Marines, you will be regarded as family.


The challenges associated with becoming a Military Cadet are great but if you possess the will and determination to successfully overcome the obstacles that stand between you and the title of Military Cadet, you'll have something no one can ever take away.

The Military Cadets of Selfridge drill just like a Reserve unit, one weekend per month and two to three weeks per year during the summer, also referred to as Annual Training (AT). In between drills we sometimes have special events like Parades, Color Guard details, and community service activity’s. Every cadet is expected to participate in all events and every cadet is required attend Annual Training every year. Annual Training consists of different levels. The first level is Recruit Training, then Advanced Training, followed by NCO School. After these three levels specialty schools are offered like MP School.


ACA Annual Training

Recruit Training (RT) First Summer
Your training begins with Recruit Training, also referred to as "Boot Camp." This is two weeks of training conducted during the summer, usually during the month of July at a base somewhere in the United States. Recruit Training gives a young person with the courage to succeed a basic understanding of military life and will challenge them both physically and mentally.

During this time the Drill Instructors and Cadet Troop handlers will teach individuals how to care for themselves and others; and how to function as a member of a team to achieve success together. The Drill Instructors and Cadet Troop handlers are responsible for ensuring that recruits are fully prepared to meet the challenges that lay ahead. Recruit Training includes the knowledge of Customs, Courtesies, and Traditions; History; Drill and Ceremony; First Aid and Survival skills; Rappelling; Firearm safety, Marksmanship training, and Rifle qualification. You will also spend time on the Confidence Course and Obstacle Course. You will also do a lot of Endurance and Physical Training. Through out the course of your training you will take several PT test and then at the end of your training you will take a final PT test and a knowledge test to determine if you will graduate or not. Those that do not will have to come back the next year and retake Recruit Training. If you do graduate from Recruit Training, you will not only have a special bond with those you graduated with, but you will earned the title “Cadet”

Advanced Training(AdT) Second Summer
After “Boot Camp” your next Annual training adventure will be Advanced Training. Here you will review some of the topics you leaned back in Recruit Training and then move onto more advanced one. In Advanced Training you will do a lot of team building activities including the low and high rope course. Spend lots of time on the Confidence Course and Obstacle Course, review firearm safety and re-qualify with a rifle and then fire more advanced firearms. You will also have an opportunity to Learn Self-defense and of course you will do a lot of Drill and Ceremony and maybe become part of a drill team. You will spend some time in the field learning field skills, and return to the repelling tower. You will also have an opportunity to go through an urban assault course if the base has one. Plus you will get to spend some time with regular military personal learning about there jobs and what they do. You will do all this in a course of two weeks, and when you are done you will have earned the title “Military Cadet”

Non-Commissioned Officer Leadership Development Academy (NCOLDA) Third Summer
After you attend Advanced Training you will add a third week to your Annual Training adventure. The NCO leadership Development Academy is a week long course on Leadership and responsibility. This course is for exceptional Lance Corporal (E-3) and Cadets who have earned the rank of Corporal (E-4). This course is also a prerequisite to advance to the Rank of Sergeant (E-5) or higher. You have to successfully pass NCOLDA to make E-5, if not you will have to come back and retake the course the following year. Those who graduated and showed exceptional leadership skills, pass all the written and PT Test plus know their drill and ceremony, will have a chance to be picked to be a Troop Handlers and work with the Drill Instructors during Recruit Training the following two weeks. For all others who are not picked to be troop handlers, you will attend more Advanced Training.

Military Counterpart Training
Whenever possible you will have an opportunity to train and work with Active and Reserve units of our military and/or with a unit of our Army or Air National Guard. This training is done at Annual Training and on a unit Level. During Annual Training AdT Cadets and sometimes RT Cadets will get an opportunity to meet with and learn about the military units located at the base that AT is conducted at. On a unit level the Military Cadets of Selfridge meet and train with the Coast Guard unit stationed on Belle Isle in Detroit for Maritime Law Enforcement training. Each year we also try to work with the different units located aboard Selfridge. Sometimes working security during the Selfridge Air Show or other duties they need us for.


Unit Training
On a unit level, new cadets start with Recruit Orientation. This consists of four drills where they learn the things they need to know as Recruits so they may train with the rest of the Company until they can attend ACA Recruit Training. Once they finish with Recruit Orientation and have joined the rest of the company they will train with them as one of them, but they will still be recruits until they graduate from Recruit Training. After Recruit Training, unit level training consist of everything needed to get the cadets ready for what ever level of training they are at when it comes to Annual Training. We train in Marine Corps Customs, Courtesies, and Traditions; Drill and Ceremony; Marine History; Self-defense; Survival training; Field Skills; Infantry Tactics; MP Training; and lots of Physical Training. In addition we conduct the classes and training that work on their development as young people.

Enjoyment
Not everything we do is hard work and you will have fun. You will not always have someone barking at you. Once you get past Recruit Indoctrination and then Recruit Training things are not as intense. You will have by then learned what is expected of you and how to carry out your duties. At that point you will begin to see the enjoyment that the challenges before you can bring. You will have overcome your fear and you will be confident in yourself and then begin to teach and encourage the recruits who come after you.




Community Service
As a member of the American Cadet Alliance and the United States Military Cadet Corps you will not see yourself as an individual. You will see yourself as a part of a Team, a Family, a Community, and ultimately a Country. You will begin to understand that your actions affect everything and everyone around you. In fact they always have, but maybe you just didn’t realize it. As a Military Cadet you will, and you will be expected to show the example to those around you. Community Service and giving back is a big part of the American Cadet Alliance. You will be expected to do your part in helping everyone around you.

The Result of your training

Pride
Every time you put on your Uniform you will feel it. Knowing that what you have learned and accomplished is more than what you ever thought you could do. Ever time you put on your Uniform you will remember the sacrifices that were made by those that wore that same uniform. Every time you put on your uniform will feel the pride of having the guts to put it on. Every time you take it off, know that you are still a Military Cadet and you are one 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 day a year which means that a lot will be expected of you and you will not fail. Fail is not in your vocabulary anymore.



The Warrior Spirit
The Warrior Spirit might not be what you think. The warrior spirit is an Attitude and strong confident presents that you emit through your body and your personality. The Warrior Spirit is the tough exterior and the brains to back it up. The warrior spirit is doing the right thing even when it is hard to do. The warrior Spirit is taking on a challenge and not giving up until it you have mastered it. The warrior spirit is looking out for and helping others. The warrior spirit is respecting others and demanding the same respect in return. The warrior spirit is not something you are handed, it is something you achieve through hard work and the challenging of your body and mind. The warrior spirit will help you master yourself and life.


Family
Through all the challenges you will face and all the fears you will overcome, you will never be alone. You will make new friends and you will become part of a new family that will always be apart of you. They will always understand what you have been through because they either have been there or went through it with you. This new family will be very special.


"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem."
-President Ronald Reagan, 1985