COMMANDANT TRAINING
Objectives
The objectives of the California Cadet Corps professional development program are in consonance with the six California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTPs). Specifically, training programs are designed for commandant personnel to:
- Engage and support cadets in their learning (CSTP 1)
- Create and maintain effective environments for cadets to learn (CSTP 2)
- Understand and organize subject matter for cadet learning (CSTP 3)
- Plan instruction and design learning experiences for all cadets (CSTP 4)
- Assess cadet learning (CSTP 5)
- Develop as a professional educator (CSTP 6)
Click a button to learn more about each course!
Pre-Appointment Course (PAC)
Everyone must complete the Pre-Appointment Course (PAC) to attend events and be placed on orders. The PAC is a one-day orientation for volunteers and potential commandants, providing an introduction to the CACC’s history, purpose, structure, and resources.
- Key focuses include the Cadet Protection Policy, mandated reporting, adult uniforms, military customs, and rank insignia.
- The course outlines the role and expectations of a commandant, emphasizing applied leadership.
- It ensures readiness and alignment with the CACC's values and operational procedures.
Basic Commandant Training Academy (BCTA)
BCTA will provide you with the foundational knowledge and skills necessary for success as Commandant personnel in the CACC. Individuals participating in BCTA will receive “hands on” experience in CACC and PE Curriculum as well as CA Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). The course will review the six CSTP’s as well as all the CACC instructional standards, including leadership, citizenship, patriotism, drill and ceremonies, and basic military subjects. The Commandant Basic Knowledge Test and all performance task evaluations will be provided (drill and ceremonies, commandant uniform wear, military courtesy, etc.).
Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course (BNCOC)
California Cadet Corps Commandants learn the basics of how to run or support the Cadet Corps program in a school or brigade. The Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course (BNCOC) provides the knowledge, skills, and opportunity for an individual to fulfill requirements in obtaining promotion to the next level/rank in the Cadet Corps program.
Advanced Commandant Training Academy (ACTA)
The Advanced Commandant Training Academy (ACTA) will consist of not less than 40 hours of instruction of required knowledge at the brigade and state levels. It may be conducted as a resident course, but rarely has enough students to field a class. It is generally an online distributed learning course.
The focus of ACTA is senior management facets of the Cadet Corps program, with service on a brigade support staff or the CACC HQ Staff establishing the practical basis for the course. Graduates understand how a brigade supports and oversees its units, and how the California Cadet Corps functions as an organization, and are able to contribute to those missions. The current course has 35 online sub-courses, with a mix of reading, writing assignments, practical exercises, and quizzes.
ACTA has an online component of the course which can be found below on our Classroom.
Commandant Leadership School (CLS)
CLS is the Cadet Corps equivalent of Officer Candidate School (OCS). It is required for all commandant personnel who have no commission-producing equivalent training from federal or state (OCS, ROTC, Academy) and are appointed as officers. It is required prior to any promotion with the commissioned officer system and is not grandfathered (many CACC officers had OCS waived in the past; to be promoted now, they must complete CLS). It is a two phased course. With Phase 1 being distributed learning (on-line) and Phase 2 being resident training.
CLS has an online component of the course which can be found below on our Classroom.
