# Air Cadet Blue Uniform



## joeydepalmer65 (5 May 2019)

How Long has the current air cadet blue uniform (Logistic (Logistik) made) been in service? When it first came into service, was the unit arm badges the same ones used on the old green air cadet uniforms? How long has the blue name tags been used on the uniform? Dose the wedge cap come in smaller sizes than a size 7? Is there a uniform for the boys and for the girls and how can you tell? Final question, is the cadet uniform the same type as the ones used by the Air Force, just made smaller for cadets?


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## dimsum (5 May 2019)

joeydepalmer65 said:
			
		

> How Long has the current air cadet blue uniform (Logistic (Logistik) made) been in service? When it first came into service, was the unit arm badges the same ones used on the old green air cadet uniforms? How long has the blue name tags been used on the uniform? Dose the wedge cap come in smaller sizes than a size 7? Is there a uniform for the boys and for the girls and how can you tell? Final question, is the cadet uniform the same type as the ones used by the Air Force, just made smaller for cadets?



The current one has been at least since the early 1990s, but it looks like there was a change in material after the late 1990s.  

The blue nametags have been there since at least the early 90s.  

The Cadet uniform isn't the same as the RCAF uniform; it's based on the old (pre-Unification) RCAF uniform in different material.


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## joeydepalmer65 (5 May 2019)

Thank you. So I take it the unit badges would have been blue and white since the blue uniform came out


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## DeweyDecimal (5 May 2019)

joeydepalmer65 said:
			
		

> How Long has the current air cadet blue uniform (Logistic (Logistik) made) been in service?


I joined as an Air Cadet in the late 80's and aged out of cadets in the summer of 1993.  Everyone wore a green uniform during that time, with the exception of Staff Cadets at summer camps who started wearing blue in the summer of 1991.  When I returned as a CI in the fall of 1993 one of my first job was to issue the new blue uniform to everyone.


> When it first came into service, was the unit arm badges the same ones used on the old green air cadet uniforms?


All badges were pretty much exactly the same as on the green uniform but in blue instead of green although some had minor variations (the Flight Sergeant badges for example).  


> How long has the blue name tags been used on the uniform?


The blue name-tag was the standard as soon as the blue uniform was issued.  People might have still worn the black name-tag briefly as an interim measure.


> Dose the wedge cap come in smaller sizes than a size 7?


Yes.


> Is there a uniform for the boys and for the girls and how can you tell?


Pants and shirts are gender specific.  The jacket used to be gender specific with buttons on the left or right as on civilian clothing but it's now a universal (male) pattern.  


> Final question, is the cadet uniform the same type as the ones used by the Air Force, just made smaller for cadets?


It's a completely different uniform.  The wedge cap and shirt are the same and so are the tie, belt, boots but the the jacket, pants and parka are different.  Sea, Army and Air Cadets uniforms are essentially the same but in three different colours (with different headdresses and badges of course).


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## IceBlue (6 May 2019)

I joined Air Cadets in February 1990 and wore green for the first year and a half, by the time I went to camp in 1991 I was in blue but we still wore the green shoulder flashes till the blue ones were received. At least for my squadron there was no difference between the green and blue flashes except for colour.


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## Pusser (8 May 2019)

Dimsum said:
			
		

> The Cadet uniform isn't the same as the RCAF uniform;* it's based on the old (pre-Unification) RCAF uniform in different material.
> *



Sorry, not really.  The current cadet uniforms were a completely new design that was first issued around 1978-1980, when they were green for all cadets: Sea, Army and Air.  It is/was a bush jacket that bore, I suppose, a minor resemblance to the old RCAF uniform, but only insomuch that it had an integral belt.  The cut and material were quite different.  It was  cost-cutting measure in every respect and I suspect that whomever was tasked with the design tried to come up with something military looking (the Sea Cadets really got screwed on that one).  Prior to the green cadet uniforms, cadets wore uniforms that were identical to their service NCM counterparts (Army/Air Cadets wore CA/RCAF pattern battledress and Sea Cadets wore RCN pattern square rig).  I've always wondered how much more money we now spend outfitting cadets in completely separate uniforms, than we would if we simply issued them CAF uniforms with different badges.


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## joeydepalmer65 (8 May 2019)

For a cadet who is a corporal, what badges/pins would you expect to see on their uniform jacket? the white lanyard, white gloves, and white web belt are they for senior cadets or what? would anyone know what size of wedge cap you would expect a 5' tiny cadet would wear; or would you think the sizes would be all over the board like ankle boots?


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## dimsum (8 May 2019)

joeydepalmer65 said:
			
		

> would anyone know what size of wedge cap you would expect a 5' tiny cadet would wear; or would you think the sizes would be all over the board like ankle boots?



Um, it would depend on how big said Cadet's head was.


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## quadrapiper (11 May 2019)

Pusser said:
			
		

> I've always wondered how much more money we now spend outfitting cadets in completely separate uniforms, than we would if we simply issued them CAF uniforms with different badges.


Same, especially for working rig - wonder how much getting cadets into a CADPAT _cut_ No. 5 equivalent, regardless of material (same notion as the new NCDs), would save; ditto adopting the standard rain jacket pattern instead of the wretched cadet parka (not reliably waterproof, nor heavy enough for those parts of the country that enjoy a dryer cold, and not terribly hard-wearing for something so expensive).

One of the saving graces of the pre-'67 uniforms was a certain flexibility of sizing: blues jumpers and BD jackets can handle more variation, and still look "right," than a No. 1+3 jacket that's meant to be tailored. The current cadet bush jackets are appalling garbage as far as fit, even on people who are bang-on the measurements; additionally, the material is a sort of vile poly blend.

The most efficient "make it CAF issue" solution, I _think_, would be No. 3B and 3C for all, perhaps issuing jackets at cadet PO2/Sgt - generally 15ish - when the bulk of the crazy growth spurts are at least tailing off.


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## joeydepalmer65 (12 May 2019)

Regarding the cloth used for the air cadet uniforms, are they the same cloth and the same shade of blue that the air force uses?


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