Senior Members and NCOs falling in

[NIN]

I forgot to add:

When we fall in, we're part of the formation, and online with the cadet flights.

The senior flight commander, however, is the prescribed # of steps ahead for the officers position, not the sergeant's position.

The cadet first sergeant forms the cadets takes his reports and reports to the cadet commander.  About the time the cadet commander receives the report, if he has not already done so, the senior flight commander will call the seniors to attention.  The commander then approaches the center of the formation, and directs "Report".  Then the senior flight commander reports as does the cadet commander.

Its a composite squadron, and over the years we've done it a couple different ways, and this seems to be the way that works the best.   It allows the cadets to execute their formation needs (NCOs, 1st Sergeant, etc) and still combines the seniors.

[Panache]

In our squadron, the cadet First Sergeant or cadet Lieutenant will report to the Deputy Commander of cadets.  The Deputy Commander of seniors will just count the number of people in formation.  They in turn will (usually) report to the Leadership Officer who, in turn, will report to the Commander.

Why would the Deputy Commander for Cadets and the Deputy Commander for Seniors "report to the Leadership Officer"? The Leadership Officer is >NOT< in the chain of command or part of the formation (except maybe in the staff officer position). Furthermore, the Leadership Officer usually reports to the Deputy Commander for Cadets in composite squadrons. Both Deputy Commanders report to the Squadron Commander (Ref. CAPR 20-1).

(shrugs)  I'm relatively low on the food chain, so I don't question it. 

[Private Investigator]

Then you have this load of misfits.

The Chinese called. They want their "Fire Drill Team" back   

[Walkman]

For a time, we had a SM that would pull us into formation during closing. He's a ADRES & CAP Major and brought a nice military bearing to our unit. Most of the other SMs really didn't care to form up (I did), so when he moved it just went away. I liked the practice during closing, but I'm in the minority and our SDC has no interest in doing it.

[abdsp51]

In our squadron, the cadet First Sergeant or cadet Lieutenant will report to the Deputy Commander of cadets.  The Deputy Commander of seniors will just count the number of people in formation.  They in turn will (usually) report to the Leadership Officer who, in turn, will report to the Commander.

Why would the Deputy Commander for Cadets and the Deputy Commander for Seniors "report to the Leadership Officer"? The Leadership Officer is >NOT< in the chain of command or part of the formation (except maybe in the staff officer position). Furthermore, the Leadership Officer usually reports to the Deputy Commander for Cadets in composite squadrons. Both Deputy Commanders report to the Squadron Commander (Ref. CAPR 20-1).

While I have no problem with senior members participating in formation, the challenge is that seniors don't fall into a similar structure as the cadets do. The cadet organizational chart aligns much better to the squadron formation structure, than the senior does.

According to AFIAFMAN 33-220336-2203, the first sergeant calls the squadron into formation. The the flight sergeants then call their respective flights. The flight sergeants report to the first sergeant, who in turn reports to the squadron commander when he or she arrives. At that point, the flight commanders take their positions in front of their flights when the first sergeant is relieved (posted) by the commander. Since the first sergeant will typically be a cadet (senior members don't have first sergeants), is the senior member in charge of the senior flight reporting to a cadet NCO?

A formation with both seniors and cadets, while possible, would have to be modified a bit. For most circumstances, though, it would be preferred for the cadets to do a separate formation as this is part of their drill curriculum required for promotions and they should used all or most positions prescribed in AFI AFMAN 33-2203 36-2203 and the Cadet Drill Guide.

FTFY