by CACC Capt. James Colbert
June 20, 2023
CAMP SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — When Lt. Col. David Archer first joined the California Cadet Corps in middle school, he never would have guessed that he’d one day be entrusted with the high level of responsibility expected of a senior officer. Decades later, Archer is now the Acting Executive Officer of the 5,000-strong California Cadet Corps (CACC). More than 450 cadets and 95 adult commandant leaders from across the state are participating in CACC’s annual Summer Encampment here June 18-28.
“Today’s Cadet Corps is a better program than when I was in it, and I thought it was fantastic then,” said Archer, 53, who participated in CACC from middle school through high school, attaining the rank of Cadet Command Sergeant Major.
At age 18, Archer took his Cadet Corps knowledge and joined the U.S. Army, spending 10 years on active duty.
“When I got out, I became a teacher and started my own Cadet unit,” said Archer. “But I missed being around soldiers, so I went into the [California Army] National Guard.”
When Archer was in the middle of his second year of teaching, his National Guard unit was called to deploy to Iraq, and he ultimately served two tours supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. When Archer returned home, he served on active duty with the National Guard
until 2013, completing 23 years of active service.
When asked how being a California Cadet Corps leader, teacher, and administrator has affected his life, Archer said that the greatest impact has been on his role as a father.
“It taught me to learn patience,” said Archer. “It taught me that there's a cognitive development process and that there are some things that younger cadets are not yet capable of and won’t be until they get older. As a consequence, I have tailored my parenting so that I'm not pushing my kids beyond their limits. At the same time, the California Cadet Corps forces people into areas that are uncomfortable to them and challenges them and therefore makes them grow. So, I've done that with my children as well.”
The California Cadet Corps is, in many ways, an applied leadership program that uses military structure and hierarchy to provide maximum opportunities for cadets at every level, said Archer.
“The goal is to create persons of character, and the culture provides a realistic atmosphere in which people can learn to not only better themselves but learn to lead others,” added Archer.
Historically, about three percent of CACC cadets elect to join the military after high school graduation, according to Archer.
“The California Cadet Corps turns out young citizens with great values,” said Archer. “They learn to understand and grow from failure. They learn about decision-making and execution and about the consequences of those decisions.” This last point is critical, he said, because learning from failure is integral to a culture of learning and individual growth.
The ongoing Summer Encampment already has the appearance of being the best one yet, Archer noted proudly.
“The senior cadet staff in particular made extensive use of past after-action reviews to know exactly the areas to improve upon,” said Archer. “This is by far the smoothest camp I have seen in the nine years that I've been coming to it as an adult.”