Serve Within a Sea cadet Corps

Chapter ONE
Performance Objective 401

As a Sea Cadet you now understand your place in the corps and how you fit in the chain of command. You have come to know the cadets in your division, as well as your Divisional Petty Officer (DPO) and Divisional Officer (DO). By now you should be fairly comfortable with the divisional system and how it works.

As learned in phase I, you know that the divisional system is in place to answer your questions and solve problems. Personal, administrative, and disciplinary matters are dealt with by moving them up through the chain of command until everyone is satisfied with the outcome.

Request Forms

A Request Form is a tool used in the divisional system for getting results. When you need answers for matters such as leave, rank, personal affairs, or stating a grievance, you fill out a request form.

Most routine matters are easily settled at the Divisional Officer level. You initiate a request form and your DO responds to it. When the request states a grievance, it will probably be passed up the chain of command to the XO or CO for action. This system is in place to help you and has worked well for many years.

The procedure for filling out a request form is as follows:

• Use pencil (pen on a ship is likely to run if it gets wet).
• Fill out all information on the form.
• In the request section, state whom you wish to see.
• Give the completed form to your DPO.
• Your DPO passes it up the chain of command.

Each corps has a different way of dealing with requests. Make sure you are familiar with how your corps handles request forms.

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Sea Cadet Program Support

You probably don’ t realize it, but you are part of a huge organization that is supported by many different sponsors, at all levels. Without this support you would be unable to do all the neat things you get to do in Sea Cadets. As learned in Chapter One, you know that Sea Cadets are sponsored by the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Navy League of Canada (NLC). They work together to offer you the best program possible.

The Cadet Organization is set up as follows:

You can see how Sea Cadets are supported locally, provincially, and nationally. Each level has a specific job that fits into the overall structure you see here.

You will have opportunity to meet some of these people from time to time, but whom you deal with on a regular basis are the officers in your corps. They are members of the Canadian Forces and are known as Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC) officers. Your officers are specifically trained to work with cadets and are constantly taking courses to do the best job that they can for you. Your officers come from all walks of life. Some were cadets like you that have stayed involved after finishing as a Sea Cadet. Maybe you will be interested in becoming an officer some day!

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Sea Cadet Summer Training Centres

You have probably had an opportunity to attend a General Training course by now. This course introduces you to the basics of Boatswain, Gunnery, Sail, and Music training. Based upon your interest in these four different Trade Groups, you will be asked to decide which of these Trades you now wish to pursue.

Let’s review what each Trade is all about:

The Boatswain Trade is designed to provide you with skills in seamanship, small boat maintenance, small boat operation and marksmanship training. The subjects include:

• Shipboard Care and Maintenance
• Shipboard Duties
• Boatswain Call
• Naval Communication
• Rope Work and Rigging
• Anchoring
• Berthing Parties
• Survival at Sea
• Damage Control
• Shipboard Fire Fighting
• Shipboard Ceremonial
• Whaler Pulling and Sailing
• Motorboat Operations
• Small Boat Care and Maintenance
• Marksmanship Training
• Sea Phase - 3 to 6 days on a Sea Cadet Training Vessel
• Sports Periods
• First Aid Training
• Instructional Technique Training
• Leadership Training

The Gunnery Trade is designed to provide you with skills in adventure training, physical fitness training, drill and ceremonial. The subjects include:

• Bush Adventure Training
• Drill without Arms
• Rifle Drill (Lee Enfield Rifle)
• Cutlass Drill
• Colour Drill
• Naval Field Gun Drill
• Drill Commands
• Map and Compass
• Naval Ceremonies
• Physical Fitness Training
• Radio Procedures
• Search and Rescue
• Field Exercise - 3 to 6 days in the bush
• Sports Periods
• First Aid Training
• Instructional Technique Training
• Leadership Training

The Sail Trade is designed to provide you with skills in dinghy sailing.
The subjects include:

• Canadian Yachting Association Sailing Levels
• White Sail I, II & III
• Bronze Sail IV & V
• Assistant Sail Instructor (Green Level)
• National Coach Certification Program Level I - Theory
• Canadian Life Saving Society - Boat Rescue Training
• Canadian Life Saving Society - Life Saving Fitness (Swimming)(Bronze Level)
• Powerboat Operation
• Sports Periods
• First Aid Training
• Instructional Technique Training
• Leadership Training

The Music Trade is designed to provide you with skills in music training. The subjects include:

• Band
• Music Level Basic
• Music Levels 1 to 3
• Instrument Maintenance
• Technique
• Intonation
• Ear Testing
• Sight Reading
• Music Theory
• Band Drill
• Ensemble
• Conducting
• Sports Periods
• First Aid Training
• Instructional Technique Training
• Leadership Training

Once you have selected a Trade to pursue, the progression is as follows:

• Trade Group One is the second course that you will attend (after General Training) in the Trade that interests you, either Boatswain, Gunnery, Sailing, or Music. These are three-week courses where you will learn the basics of the trade you have chosen.
• Trade Group Two is the third course that you will attend. It is a six-week course that teaches you advanced skills in the trade that you have chosen and how to be a leader.
• Trade Group Three is the fourth course that you will attend. It is a six-week course designed to make you an instructor in the trade that you have chosen.

To apply for summer training, you are required to fill out a form called a CF51 (camp application). It requires information from you, your parents, and your Commanding Officer. This form is then forwarded to your Area Cadet Officer (Sea), who makes the final selections.

Of course summer employment is another bonus to successful completion of your trade. DND pays Staff Cadets at SCSTCs quite well!

Do you know what Canada’s most valuable coin is? The 1911 silver dollar is valued at more than $1 million. Its value is high because only two were made.

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Naval Terminology

Did you know that the Navy has a different word for almost everything in a ship? For example, if you heard “cast off the bow line” in a ship would you know to “throw the front rope”? We have adopted this unique terminology for use in the Sea Cadet program. When we parade with our corps, we parade in a “ship” and the following terms are probably used. These are the only ones you have to know. Your corps may have more:

• Gash-can is the garbage can.
• Stand easy is a break.
• •Secure is to close up, put away gear.
• Duty watch is a division selected on a rotational basis to look after corps preparation and clean up.
• Heads are the toilets.
• Out pipes are a pipe indicating the commencement of classes or the end of stand easy.
• Scran locker is the lost and found.
• A pipe is a sound produced from the boatswain call, the notes played have a specific meaning.
• Colours is the ceremony of hoisting the national colours, usually in the morning or at the beginning of the training day.
• Liberty boat is when all cadets are dismissed for the day and may go ashore.
• Bulkhead is a wall.
• Deck is a floor.
• Ship’s company is the complement of a ship (this would include a Sea Cadet Corps).
• Sunset is the ceremony of lowering the national colours at the end of the training day.
• Gangway is any recognized entrance to, or a passageway, or traffic route within a ship.
• Galley is the ship’s kitchen.
• Boatswain’s stores is a storeroom for cleaning gear.
• Pipe down is an order meaning to keep quiet.
• Kye is a hot chocolate drink.
• Coxswain is the senior Petty Officer in a ship.
• Belay is to make fast a rope; or to cancel an order, as in “Belay that”.
• Aye aye ma’am/sir means “order understood and I will obey,” an appropriate response to an order from an officer.

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Conclusion

Your corps will use their own naval terminology in addition to what is listed here. Memorize and get used to these terms as any “ship” you visit will use these terms too. Whether it be another corps, a SCSTC, or one of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS), it’s the language of the sea!

Other chapters:

Table of Contents | Chapter 1: Serve with a Sea Cadet Corps | Chapter 2: Drill | Chapter 3: Marksmanship | Chapter 4: Sailing | Chapter 5: Naval Knowledge | Chapter 6 : Seamanship | Chapter 9: Outdoor Adventure Training | Chapter 10: Physical Fitness | Chapter 11: Canadian Citizenship