Serve in a Sea Cadet Corps

Chapter ONE
Performance Objective 401

Expectations of You

As a Petty Officer in Sea Cadets, you have now assumed a role that comes with new duties and responsibilities. Junior cadets will look up to you and your officers will expect more from you. We know that you have the training to meet everyone’s expectations with flying colours. It is up to you to do the best that you can.

top of page

Chiefs’ and Petty Officers’ Mess

Your corps probably has a Chiefs’ and Petty Officers’ Mess where you will be a member. This mess will operate as a club for the senior cadets in your corps. The purpose of the mess is very simple. It provides a place where senior cadets can relax in each other’s company, away from junior cadets and officers. It’s a great way to establish esprit de corps amongst the seniors. Your mess will probably plan and participate in a variety of activities. Perhaps you’ll run a dance or movie night, or organize a fundraiser. This is your mess, so have fun!

top of page

Mess Dinners

Mess Dinners are an important part of maintaining the Royal Canadian Navy customs and traditions that we follow. Your Chiefs’ and Petty Officers’ Mess will probably run a Mess Dinner once or twice a year. It’s not very often that we get to dress up in formal attire for dinner! In addition to the eating, the banter that goes on between mess members makes for an entertaining evening!

Your officers will help you with the specifics of a Mess Dinner, but some key elements will always remain the same:

• Dress is always specified beforehand on the invitation.
• Invitations are usually worded 1930 for 2000, to allow for a glass of punch, peruse the seating plan, and meet fellow guests.
• A Seating Plan is formally arranged and displayed. Individual places at the table are marked with a name tag.
• The Mess President is usually the President of the Dinner. The President assigns Vice Presidents for each table.
• When dinner is served, the President will lead the way into the mess and sit down immediately. Do not sit down before the President.
• The Chaplain or the President then says grace. The normal prayer used is “For What We Are About To receive, Thank God”.
• Familiarize yourself with Rules of Order regarding mess etiquette.
• The President may order disciplinary action for misbehaviour or not following Rules of Order (all in good fun).
• The President is served first, but mess guests are served before the President and other guests before their hosts.
• Table Manners are important, including good posture, your napkin in your lap, and proper use of eating utensils.
• Clever and witty comments add colour and vitality to the dinner, but keep them in good taste.
• After dinner, passing the port (a non-alcoholic drink) occurs. Decanters, with stoppers in, are placed in front of the President and Vice Presidents. The President unstoppers the decanter and the Vice Presidents follow suit. The decanter is passed to the left. The President and Vice Presidents do not help themselves before passing the port.
• The Loyal Toast is given while seated. The President, or appointed mess member, says “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Queen”. All diners raise their glasses and repeat “The Queen”.
• The President calls upon a mess member, usually the youngest, to give the Toast of the Day. The President may choose which toast to give:
  • Monday - Our Ships at Sea
  • Tuesday - Our Sailors
  • Wednesday - Ourselves
  • Thursday - Our Service, the Navy
  • Friday - Our Country
  • Saturday - Our Families
  • Sunday - Absent Friends
• This toast, and any other toasts, are given standing.
• When the President adjourns the dinner, all diners stand as the President and guests leave.

This is only a quick overview of a mess dinner. Make sure you are familiar with all aspects of dining prior to attending.

top of page

Sea Cadet Summer Training Centres

It’s no secret that summer training is one of the highlights of being a Sea Cadet. Most cadets have a great time on course and anxiously await the opportunity to return the next summer.

By the end of Phase IV, you will have probably attended a SCSTC and know about the following courses from first hand experience:

• General Training (two weeks)
• Trade Group One (three weeks)
• Trade Group Two (six weeks)

You know that there are four trades available within the program and have probably chosen one of these trades to pursue:

The Boatswain Trade - 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

Do you know how many of our provinces do not touch salt water? There are only two. Both Alberta and Saskatchewan are completely land locked.

The Gunnery Trade - 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 - 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

Speaking of water sports, did you know that Canada was 466,697 sq km of fresh water? We are the world leader in this natural resource.

The Music Trade - 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

Having chosen one of these Trade Groups and finished Trade Group Two, you now have the advanced and technical knowledge required of your trade to attend the final summer training course:

• Trade Group Three (six weeks)

Trade Group Three is designed to make you an instructor in your chosen trade. It expands upon the Instructional Technique training you receive at the LHQ so that you can go back to your corps and teach what you have learned.

Should you be interested in pursuing a course outside of the four Trade Groups, there are specialty courses offered at SCSTC’s that might appeal. The following courses can be taken after completing Trade Group Two:

• Cookery - designed to familiarize you with the operation of a large galley (kitchen) and to enable you to assume the responsibilities of a cook on a Sea Cadet Training Vessel, as well as LHQ training exercises.
• Marine Engineering - designed to teach basic knowledge of machinery systems used on Sea Cadet Training Vessels and to enable the cadet to serve as watch-keepers in the engine room and to run these spaces in an orderly and efficient manner.
• Medical Assistant - designed to produce a cadet who is capable of assisting qualified Canadian Forces Medical Assistants in a Sick Bay or Hospital at a Summer Training Centre, as well as carrying out the duties of a First Aid Attendant.
• Shipwright - designed to prepare you for a role as a member of Boatshed, either at a Summer Training Centre or at the corps. You will be able to maintain and make minor repairs to the hulls, spars, sails and rigging of small boats.
• Athletic Instructor - designed to develop the skills required to implement and teach a physical training program both at the corps and Summer Training Centre.

These courses fill a specific requirement for staff positions at the SCSTC or corps level.

To apply for summer training, you need 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.

At the end of this year with the corps you will attend what will probably be your last summer training course. After this, you can look forward to joining the ranks of summer staff at one of the SCSTC’s across Canada as a staff cadet, and eventually as a CIC officer. Summer employment is yet another amazing opportunity within our program. It is hard work, but Sea Cadets rise to the challenge and are rewarded with good pay, fulfilling employment, and life-long friendships.

top of page

Conclusion

Many of you will go on to have careers in life that are attained, in part, because of the summer training you have received. In addition to the skills you learn, the work ethic you acquire is second to none. Employers recognize that Sea Cadets make excellent employees, not afraid of hard work and long hours. If you talk to former Sea Cadets in the working world, they will tell you that their Sea Cadet experiences were invaluable in preparing them for future vocations.

Other chapters:

Table of Contents | Chapter 1: Serve with a Sea Cadet Corps | Chapter 2: Drill | Chapter 5: Naval Knowledge | Chapter 6 : Seamanship | Chapter 8: Instructional Technique | Chapter 9: Outdoor Adventure Training | Chapter 10: Physical Fitness | Chapter 11: Canadian Citizenship