NCC - National Cadet Corps

On our school days or during republic or independent day, we often see a group of the students wearing khaki and doing march but do you know what they are? They are the youngest wing of the Army, having the young future soldiers (not all) know as the NCC Candidates.

What is NCC?

The National Cadet Corps is the wing for the younger wing of the Indian Armed Forces, with its headquarters in New Delhi, India. In all the schools and colleges the NCC is organized by the Tri-Service organization to make today's child more disciplined and patriotic by the Army, the Navy, and the Air Wings. These young cadets get fundamental military guidance with the help of small armours and drills. Later the Soldier Youth foundations in India hire cadets of high school, higher secondary schools and colleges or the universities of India. It is a positive move to build our nation more patriotic and united and strong.

What is the Aim of NCC?

The Main Aim behind Organizing the NCC is developing personality, amity (unity), the feeling of adventure, a secular mindset and teaching youth selflessness, proper discipline. Also, it works to motivate children to join the Indian Army or make them confident while picking up their careers. NCC also increases the quality of leadership, organization and love towards the country.

What pledge do the NCC Cadets take?

We, the cadets of the National Cadet Corps,

do solemnly pledge that we shall always uphold the unity of India.

We resolve to be disciplined and responsible citizens of our nation.

We shall undertake positive community service in the spirit of selflessness

and concern for our fellow beings.

The motto of the NCC

On 11 August 1978, CAC (Central Advisory Committee) held a meeting to decide the motto of the NCC. In which the recommended mottos were "Duty and Discipline", "Duty and Unity", "Duty, Unity and Discipline", and the "Unity and Discipline". After lots of discussions, "Unity and Discipline were selected as the final motto for the National Cadet Crops.

What is the history of the NCC?

In 1950, the term "NCC" was developed but before that, in 1918, when there was a shortage of Army; British Government formed the "University Corps". The trainees and officers of the University corps used to dress like the Indian Army, and later those candidates joined the Army. Later the "national Cadet Corps" are considered as the successor of the University corps. In the beginning, University corps only gave a chance to boys, but in 1949, the Indian government made a wing for girls. Now both girls and boys are allowed In NCC, and the main focus of NCC is to increase the feeling of leadership and responsibility in them.

Who can join the NCC?

If you wish to join the NCC, you may know that there are few eligibility criteria that you need to fulfil, which are as follows.

The one who is applying must be a citizen of India.
Having good character history.
He must be a student or at least enrolled in well known educational institutions of India.
He must be physically fit and qualify for all the physical standards.
His or her age must be 12 years to 19 years for the junior wing.
His or her age must be up to 26 years.

How to join NCC?

To join the NCC, you have to follow these steps.

You have to qualify for the eligibility criteria.
You have to fill an application for Enrollment.
Your application will be verified.
You have to give a medical test and pass it.
Now you can join NCC.

What are the methods of Enrollment and how to apply for Enrollment?

If you are trying to enroll in NCC, these are the main steps

A student who desires for being enrolled in the senior division can apply to the nearest NCC Unit, while the Student of the junior wing has to apply in his school or to his headmaster.
Sometimes, when a school doesn't have NCC, any student who wishes to participate in the NCC can apply as an "open Unit" and carry on with the nearby institutions after proper verification.
The signature of the headmaster or officer in statements of form 1 or 2.
If the officer and headmaster do not reject the form, it means they are fit for the Enrollment.
If the applicant is a minor, the signature of the parent can also be used.

What is the Organization Structure of the NCC?

The head of NCC is known as the "Director-General", who is a three-star officer. A Major General, A Voice Marshal, Five Brigadier level officers and other civil officers assist him. The Organization of NCC is as follows;

The Directories
There are 17 Directorates in every state capital, which the Major General leads.
Division/ Regimental corps
Currently, there is three regimental corps located in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. These are the special kind of corps that are free from the states and only report to headquarters. They work to support the regular function of NCC and are headed by the LT. General.
Group
Because of the high numbers and good growth of NCC, it is hard to manage the entire state by one Headquarter, so there are a group of Headquarters (nearby 14 currently) that are lead by the Brigadiers, which are addressed as Group Commanders.
Battalion
In each headquarter, there are 5-7 units called the Battalion. The head of every Battalion is a colonel or left. Colonel.
Company
All the battalions have their own companies, headed by the Associate NCC Officer (ANO) of the rank of lieutenant to Major.

What is the Uniform and Training of NCC?

The NCC Cadets wear the same uniform as the military. The Army wing wears khaki; the Air force wing wears blue as Indian Air Force, and navy wings wear white uniforms as the Indian Navy.

Except for that, there are different uniforms for every different wing. For example, SD wing's boy wears khaki trousers and full sleeves shirts and trousers and shirt and trousers for girls. The JD wing's boy wears khaki shorts and half sleeves, whereas these girls wear shirts and trousers. For JW & SW wings cadets, White Salwar & Kameez is uniform for events other than parade and green Rifle Beret, or green turban is for the Sikh cadets.

What type of Activities are done in NCC?

These are the main activities that happen in the NCC such as;

Republic Day Camp (RDC)
After qualifying for the IGC (Inter-Group Competition), the candidates get trained by the Indian Army later and get to Delhi. The RDC camp is organized in Delhi Cant from 1 to 29 January starts in front of the Vice President and end with the rally of the Prime Minister of India.
Combined Annual Training Camps (CATC)
These camps are done by all the cadets (boys and girls of junior and senior wings) to get training for emergency and survival. These camps last for 10 days in which they get their NCC training again. During these camps, the most interesting activity is the "Dog Watch" in which two candidates stay on duty and stay awake for 2 hours (at night). If someone is found asleep or missing during their duty time (mainly in late night or early morning), they are punished or get penalties. Apart from that, they also get weapon training or the task of serving food to their fellow cadets.
Thal Sainik Camp (TSC)
The Thal Sainik Camps are organized every year in Delhi for 10-12 days. From all 17 camps, the best cadets are selected to represent their directories. In the TSC, the cadets get a chance to perform Obstacle courses (like 6-feet, double ditch, balancing etc.), including shooting, map reading, field and battle crafting, tent pitching.
National Integration Camp (NIC)
In this camp, only the best cadets get the opportunity to perform and stand for their state; the main prospective for these camps are two grace marks in SSLC and Higher Secondary courses. These camps are performed all over India, and there are also some special National Integration Camps organized in 6 states (Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman & Nicobar Island, Lakshadweep, Nagaland, and Srinagar)
Vayu Sainik Camp (VSC)
This is one of the most important and magnificent camps for the Airwing as it is a National level camp and performing in it makes a person so confident & strong. The perspective behind this camp is to give the trainees an idea about military life, also to increase the spirit to perform various activities like Microlight flights, Aero Modeling, 22 Rifle Firing, skeet shooting, Drill and written test of flying subjects on the first day of the camp. The Commandant describes all the activities to all cadets and the camps are organized and various activities are performed to choose the champion directory from among all 16 directories.
Advance Leadership Camp (ALC)
This camp is organized to give the cadet the training of SSB screening or entrance. The cadet has to qualify the local Leadership Camp for getting selected for this camp.
All India Yachting Regettra (AIYR)
The INS Chilika organizes this at Odisa. The main motive of these camps is "Yachting" and only organized for the Navy (naval) wing.
Army Attachment Camp (AAC)
These camps are specially organized for the Indian Army. These camps are for those students who want to know or join the regiments of the Indian Army. The Regiments Instructors train cadets for day-night wars in these camps and make them more familiar with weapons. These camps are for 10-15 days.
Air Wing Activities
These are also for the Air Wing cadets, in which they learn from Air force Stations Gliding, Microcline Flying and establishments, and only these are the main motives behind these activities.
Overseas Development
This is the 1^st training squadron for the senior wing of the Navy. The selected candidates get training for 30-45 days about the naval subjects and other practical seaman ships and about the friendly foreign relations by getting a chance to visit them. These camps give an opportunity to 10-20 cadets to represent the National Cadet Crops.
Rock Climbing Camps (RCC)
Eight camps (4 in Gwalior Madhya Pradesh and 4 in Trivandrum Kerala) are organized to teach the candidates common rock climbing and increase the spirit of adventure in them.
Youth Exchange Program
This is an international camp, the main motive among these camps is to create an eco-friendly atmosphere between the friendly countries, nearby 150 cadets every year go to other countries for these camps and exchange belongings among each other and show appreciations to each other's cultures and perform many activities.
Naval Wing Activities
The best thing about the naval syllabus is that it is the same for boys and girls. These camps are for both, and in these camps, the candidates get the experience of Sea Traveling. During this period, they learned Scuba diving, Seamanship, Navigation, Communication, Damage Control, Windsurfing, swimming, Gunnery and ship safety.
Nau Sainik Camp
These camps are organized on an annual basis for naval wings cadets. These camps are for boat pulling, whaler rigging, drill competitions and many other activities are done during these camps.

What are the benefits of NCC?

NCC not only helps in the development of the children but also helps in many other ways some of which are as follows;

The Cadets of National Cadet Corps (NCC) gets a scholarship of 6,000-12000 as a one-time payment. It helps many parents who aren't able to give pocket money to their children.
Many Exams in India offer a reserved seat to the Cadets who have NCC Certificates.
There are many agencies, private or government both who prefer NCC Cadets as their Security Agents.
The Cadets with a "C" certificate in NCC gets a direct Entry in the SSB Exam and don't need to qualify for the Common Entrance Exam.
While having NCC training, you make so many new friends in a number of training camps.
It is impossible to get an opportunity for doing March at the Rajpath while studying, but if you are an NCC Cadet, you will.
You get a chance to paraglide with the Indian Army at Agra in paragliding camps.
These cadets get many army privileges like Air force, Ship, Sea Training and the hospital service.
They get many different advantage courses like Mountain climbing, Water skiing, snow skiing show; ice condenses course, Sailing Expedition, NRAI Matches, Scuba diving courses and many more.
These candidates get the opportunity to perform in various Youth Exchange Programs, Foreign cruises. They also get a chance to fly Microlight aircraft as part of their training.

Ranks and Insignia of the NCC

All the ranks and insignia of NCC are mentioned below.

Under Officer Ranks

Army wing Ranks

Cadet Senior Under Officer (CSUO)
Cadet Under Officers (CUO)

Navy Wing Ranks

Senior Cadet Captain (SCC)
Cadet Captain (CC)

Air Force Ranks

Cadet Senior Under Officer (CSUO)
Cadet Under Officers (CUO)

SNCO Ranks

Army wing Ranks

Company Sergeant Major (CSM)
Company Quartermaster Sergeant (CQMS)
Sergeant (SGT)

Navy Wing Ranks

Petty Officer Candidates (PO CDT)

Air Force Ranks

Cadet Warrant Officer (CWO)
Sergeant (SGT)

JNCO Ranks

Army wing Ranks

Corporal (CPL)
Lance Corporal (L/CPL)

Navy Wing Ranks

Leading Cadet (LC)
Navel Cadet I (NC I)

Air Force Ranks

Corporal (CPL)
Leading Flight Cadet (LFC)

Junior Cadets

Army wing Ranks

Cadet (CDT)

Navy Wing Ranks

Navel Cadet II (NC II)

Air Force Ranks

Flight Cadet (FC)

Conclusion

The National Cadet Corps is working to shape, discipline and increase nation love in today's children. They are working for a better future of our country and children too. It increases the courage and confidence of the students and makes them noble citizens.

These were the main Information about the NCC, but there are more activities, huge armed services, and all children learn all the primary ways to deal with emergency situations. If someone wants to join the military in the future, NCC is the best way to prepare themselves for war situations. Later in the senior wings, they get many other chances to prepare themselves, meet army members, and know more about the Army from the Officers.

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