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And the Combined Cadet FORCE, What's that all about with both RN, Army and RAF sections?

Originally Posted by FaceLikeAPingPongBall

And the Combined Cadet FORCE, What's that all about with both RN, Army and RAF sections?

I understand it being combined but again - surely Combined Cadet Corps...

Originally Posted by FaceLikeAPingPongBall

And the Combined Cadet FORCE, What's that all about with both RN, Army and RAF sections?

A good point, which I raised with various brass in the days when I was involved in coaching CCF rifle teams. No-one knew the answer, and several agreed that "Corps" - as in Officer Training Corps, to which the CCF is historically linked - would be more appropriate.

Interestingly, the vast majority of public schools refer informally to their CCF units as "the Corps", and always have; while most state-funded schools simply call it "the CCF". I suspect the former are, perhaps unconsciously, harking back to OTC days.

Not completly relevant but I understand that most Constabularies now prefer Police Serice to 'Force' because 'force' is not PC enough for them.

If we were looking for a name now we probably would not choose Force, but what sort of wishy washy message would it send out if it was changed for PC reasons.

Originally Posted by sknn

Not completly relevant but I understand that most Constabularies now prefer Police Serice to 'Force' because 'force' is not PC enough for them.

If we were looking for a name now we probably would not choose Force, but what sort of wishy washy message would it send out if it was changed for PC reasons.

Most - perhaps now all - UK police forces have become police "services" for the PC reasons you give.

Even NI, whose RUC (GC) was the nearest thing to a gendarmerie that the UK ever had, now has the "Police Service of Northern Ireland". "NI Police Service", which would have been a less tortuous phrase, would instantly have become "nips", so no-go there. But PSNI is still a routinely armed gendarmerie, to all intents and purposes.

Within the Cadet Movement, the term "Force" sits uneasily, because none of its members apart from adult officers and NCOs would ever have been called upon to use force of any kind in any situation.

"Corps" would, IMHO, have been far more appropriate, and I wonder if anyone knows why it wasn't officially adopted. (Although, as noted above, a lot of CCF units have always been casually know as Corps.)

Army Cadet Corps would have given the abbreviation ACC which was already taken for many years by that fine body of craftsmen and women bound together by their motto "We Sustain-When it'smoking it's cooking,when it's burning it's done" :D

ACC doesn't have the same ring to it.

Originally Posted by galgenberg

Army Cadet Corps would have given the abbreviation ACC which was already taken for many years by that fine body of craftsmen and women bound together by their motto "We Sustain-When it'smoking it's cooking,when it's burning it's done" :D

good one.


re the name force, I would imagine when it was created , it was a FORCE for good, since then it still remains so and the name is retained for traditional and practical reasons.

our mission statement hasn't changed, we are still a force for good.