Cadre (military)

The cadre (UK /ˈkɑːdər/ or US /ˈkædreɪ/) is the complement of commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers of a military unit responsible for training the rest of the unit. The cadre may be the permanent skeleton establishment of a unit, around which the full unit can be built if needed, or in countries which have conscription, the permanent staff of a regiment who train the conscripts assigned to it. The term comes from the French expression en cadre, with the same meaning.

In the United States military, a cadre is a group or member of a group of leaders, especially in units that conduct formal training schools. In United States Army jargon, the word is both singular and plural. At the United States Military Academy, the upper class cadets who conduct Basic Cadet Training for incoming freshmen are called the cadre.

In the British Armed Forces, a cadre is a group of instructors, or a unit that trains potential instructors or non-commissioned officers (NCOs), in which case it usually also includes the trainees themselves (e.g., the Mountain Leader Training Cadre of the Royal Marines).

Adapted from the military usage, in Canadian police services, a cadre is an individual officer. It is used in place of badge number and is used in Records Management Systems for dispatching and report entry.

See also

• Military organisation