Breaking the Chain:
An Explanation of the Various Chains at work in the
California Cadet Corps
By Lieutenant Colonel Mark Ryan, California Cadet Corps

 

The formal definition of the Cadet Corps Chain of Command is “the succession of commanding officers from superior to subordinate levels”. It consists of people whom the LAWS OF CALIFORNIA give authority to exercise control over Cadet Corps activities. Because we are a complex organization with cadets, adult members, and school/district administrators, we actually have several chains of command.  The cadet chain starts with the squad leader at the lowest level of command, proceeds to the Platoon Leader, Company Commander, Battalion Commander, Brigade Commander, and 10th Corps Commander.  Another chain goes from the cadet through the Commandant, Principal of the School, Administrator at the School District, Superintendent of Public Instruction, to the Governor.  Finally, a chain goes through the Commandant, the Brigade Advisor, Cadet Corps Executive Officer, Commander of the CA National Guard Youth and Community Programs Task Force, Adjutant General, to the Governor. See the charts on the previous page to visually see how this flows.  A cadet with a normal issue should take it to his/her Squad Leader.  But there are times when it’s appropriate to go directly to the Commandant.

 

To  complicate matters even further, there are three other “Chains” to consider. Let’s look at them one at a time. The first is commonly called the Chain of Concern. This chain is the chain of “who you see when you have a problem, need a question answered, or need help with something.” For instance, a squad member might see his/her assistant squad leader before going to the squad leader. Squad leaders would likely see the platoon sergeant before going to the platoon leader. Platoon sergeants might ask their company first sergeant for assistance instead of going through the Platoon Leader. The Chain of
Concern is the path you take to get your questions answered and concerns addressed.

 

The Chain of Concern is not written down in the same way the Chain of Command is; however, it might look like this:
 Squad members ask assistant squad leaders or squad leaders
 Squad leaders ask platoon sergeants
 Platoon sergeants ask platoon leaders or company first sergeants
 Platoon leaders ask company commanders
 Company first sergeants ask company commanders or battalion sergeants major or might ask an NCO in one of the staff sections (S-1, S-3, S4, etc.)
 Company commanders ask battalion commanders or one of the Staff Officers (S-1, S3, S-4)
 And so on

 

Then there is the NCO support channel. There is a formal chain of non-commissioned officers who support the commanders they work for. As a general rule, these NCOs communicate with each other through this separate chain as they perform their daily duties. That chain looks like this:
BRIGADE COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR
BATTALION COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR
COMPANY FIRST SERGEANT
PLATOON SERGEANT
SQUAD LEADER

 

Finally, there is the Staff Support Channel. While the Commanders and NCOs are doing their various jobs, there are Staff NCOs and Officers who perform the functions of personnel and administration management, training and operations planning, supply and logistics support, and public and government affairs work. That “Chain” looks something like this:
 At the company level, this includes clerks, a supply sergeant, sometimes a personnel/administration sergeant, and sometimes a training sergeant
 At the battalion level, this includes an S-1, S-3, S-4, and S-5 and various assistants and NCOs who work in those staff sections.
 At the brigade level, this includes another layer of S-1s, S-3s, S-4s, and S-5s and even more assistants and NCOs who work in those departments.