Commandant Training

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.

BCTA provides the foundational knowledge and skills necessary for success as Commandant personnel in the CACC. Participants receive hands-on experience in CACC and PE Curriculum as well as California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). The course reviews all six CSTPs and all CACC instructional standards, including leadership, citizenship, patriotism, drill and ceremonies, and basic military subjects. The Commandant Basic Knowledge Test and all performance task evaluations are provided (drill and ceremonies, commandant uniform wear, military courtesy, etc.).

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.

The Advanced Commandant Training Academy (ACTA) consists of not less than 40 hours of instruction at the brigade and state levels. It may be conducted as a resident course, but is generally an online distributed learning course.

The focus of ACTA is senior management facets of the Cadet Corps program. Graduates understand how a brigade supports and oversees its units, and how the California Cadet Corps functions as an organization. The current course has 35 online sub-courses, with a mix of reading, writing assignments, practical exercises, and quizzes.

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 sources (OCS, ROTC, Academy) and are appointed as officers. It is required prior to any promotion within the commissioned officer system and is not grandfathered. CLS is a two-phased course: Phase 1 is distributed learning (online) and Phase 2 is resident training.