Working blue (No. 2) is what you'll wear 95% of the time — RAF-blue jumper, light blue shirt, dark blue trousers, beret with cap badge, and black DMS or AB1 boots. Stable belt color depends on your squadron. Cap badge sits above the left eye, roughly 1 inch above the eyebrow. Boots get bulled to a black mirror. Don't lose your beret — they're a pain to replace.
The first time you draw your uniform from squadron stores, you'll walk out carrying a pile of light blue shirts, RAF-blue trousers, a jumper that smells faintly of mothballs, and a beret that fits like a flowerpot. That's normal. By your third parade night you'll have it sorted. This guide walks through every item in the cadet kit list — what it's called, how to wear it, how to look after it, and the mistakes that get you bounced off parade.
The Air Training Corps (ATC) and the RAF section of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF RAF) wear what's officially called No. 2 Service Dress — universally known as working blue. It's the day-to-day uniform: parade nights, summer camps, field training, station visits, almost everything. There's also No. 1 (best blue, ceremonial), No. 3 (working dress for field tasks), and the occasional civilian-smart day. Most of what follows applies to working blue, with notes on the others where they differ.
Two big rules before we go further. First: the uniform isn't yours — it belongs to the Crown and you sign for it. Lose a beret or trash a jumper and you'll be paying for the replacement. Second: standards matter. A scruffy cadet on parade reflects on the squadron, the wing, and ultimately the RAF. That's why your detachment commander cares whether your boots are bulled and your shirt is ironed. It isn't about hassle. It's about pride.
If you're brand new and reading this before your first parade — welcome. The kit looks complicated for about two weeks, then it becomes second nature. Ask any senior cadet to show you the badge layout once and you'll have it. Try our cadet meaning guide if you're still working out what ATC and CCF actually are. And if you want to sea cadets instead, that's a whole different uniform — naval blue, different ranks, different traditions.
Three things that confuse new cadets: brassard (the canvas band that wraps your upper left arm — most of your sewn-on badges live here), cap badge (the metal badge on your beret), and rank slides (the cloth tabs that sit on your shoulder epaulettes). Get those three terms straight and you'll follow every conversation about dress regs.
RAF-blue heavyweight jumper with shoulder and elbow patches. Worn over the shirt.
Pale blue working shirt with two breast pockets and shoulder epaulettes. Long sleeve for parade, short sleeve in summer.
Dark blue No. 2 trousers, flat-fronted with a crisp center crease. Black belt under the jumper.
RAF-blue beret with the ATC or CCF cap badge above the left eye. The defining piece of headgear.
Black leather DMS or AB1 ankle boots. Toecap bulled to a mirror shine. The single biggest signal of a smart cadet.
Canvas band worn high on the upper left arm. Most sewn-on badges live here — ATC, name tape, year flashes, brevets.
If everything else is right and your beret is wrong, you look wrong. Sergeants spot a bad beret from twenty yards. The good news: it takes ten minutes and a bowl of warm water to fix a new beret, and then it lasts you years.
Brand new berets come out of the bag stiff and shaped like a chef's hat. Soak the wool half in warm — not hot — water for about a minute. Squeeze it out. Put it on. Mold the wool down and to the right while it dries on your head. Pull the crown down so it sits flat against your right ear with no air pocket. Leave it to dry for a few hours. That's the shape locked in.
The cadet ranks debate aside, the badge position is non-negotiable. Center the cap badge over your left eye, with the bottom edge sitting roughly one inch above the eyebrow. Use a finger as a rough gauge. The badge should be vertical, not tilted. If you can see daylight between your scalp and the front of the beret, pull it down.
ATC cadets wear the Air Training Corps cap badge — eagle with wings spread, set on a blue felt patch behind the metal. CCF RAF cadets wear the standard RAF cap badge — the eagle inside a circular wreath surmounted by a crown — without the felt backing. The shape and angle of mounting is identical between the two. Don't mix them up; squadrons get touchy about it.
Don't fold it. Don't stuff it in a side pocket. Roll it loosely, badge inside, and store it flat. Brush the wool occasionally with a soft clothes brush to keep lint and dust off. If you sweat into it during a hot summer camp, sponge the leather band with mild soap and leave to air dry — never near a radiator.
Position — Top of the left brassard, just below the seam. Curved "AIR TRAINING CORPS" title sits over the eagle motif. Stitched on, never glued. Centered on the brassard width.
Common mistake — Sewing it lower down so the name tape ends up squashed against the eagle. Leave a gap of about 5mm between badge bottom and name tape top.
Position — Right breast pocket flap on the working shirt, centered horizontally. Black tape with embroidered white surname in capitals. No first name, no initials.
On the brassard — Some squadrons also have a tape under the ATC badge. Check your unit's local SOPs.
Position — Brevets (wings, qualifications) sit on the lower brassard. The Cadet Warrant Officer badge is worn on the lower sleeve of the jumper for CWO rank holders, not on the brassard.
Order of precedence — Highest qualification at the top, working down. Gliding wings, powered flying, marksmanship — your squadron will tell you the sequence used locally.
Position — Cloth slide threaded onto the shoulder epaulettes of the jumper and shirt. Rank chevrons or bars face outward. One slide per shoulder, identical.
Common mistake — Wearing different rank slides on each shoulder (left over from a promotion). Replace both at once.
Position — Over the trousers, buckle centered on the front. Worn with the jumper and trousers when stable-belt order is called. Not worn with the No. 1 ceremonial.
Color rule — Squadron-specific. Many wings use a pale blue with maroon stripes; others have their own pattern. Never buy a stable belt without checking your squadron's regs.
Walk down a parade line and you can read every cadet's history from their badges. The ATC eagle says they're Air Training Corps, not CCF. The chevrons on their shoulders give rank. Wings on the brassard mean they've flown solo on a Vigilant or completed gliding scholarship. The little annual flash — one stripe per year of service — quietly logs experience. That's the language of the uniform.
Here's the order you build a brassard from the top down: ATC title curve, then the ATC eagle, then the name tape, then any flying brevets, then marksmanship and qualification badges, then annual service flashes at the bottom. Leave consistent gaps — 3 to 5mm between elements — and the whole thing looks deliberate rather than thrown together.
The right side carries less. Your name tape sits on the right breast pocket flap of the shirt. The right brassard is usually blank except for the occasional squadron-specific badge or a duty role tape (e.g. drum major, NCO course graduate). Don't crowd the right arm — empty space is fine.
On the jumper, qualification brevets sit above the left breast pocket area — even though the jumper doesn't have a pocket as such. Stitch the brevet straight onto the chest at pocket-height equivalent. The most common ones at cadet level are gliding wings (after Gliding Induction Course graduation), blue wings (Air Cadet Pilot Scheme — discontinued in 2023 but still worn by those awarded), and marksman (after passing the Cadet Skill at Arms test).
Many squadrons issue an annual service stripe — a small chevron or bar showing how many years you've served. These accumulate downward on the brassard. After four or five years you'll have a respectable little stack and people will stop calling you a sprog.
Cadet Warrant Officers — the highest cadet rank — wear a distinctive crown-and-laurel badge on the lower sleeve of the jumper, not on shoulder slides. If you see a cadet with no shoulder rank but a crown on their cuff, that's a CWO. Treat them with the respect a CWO has earned. You can read more about the full progression in our ranks cadets guide.
Nothing distinguishes a sharp cadet from a scruffy one faster than the toecap. Bulled boots — that mirror-black, glass-like surface — take time to build the first time, then about ten minutes to maintain weekly. The technique hasn't changed in fifty years.
Strip any factory polish off the leather with white spirit and a clean cotton rag. Let the boots dry overnight. Some cadets gently warm the toecap with a hair dryer or — carefully — a tea light to open the leather pores; others skip this step. Either way, you're starting with bare leather.
Take black Kiwi parade gloss. Wrap a cotton rag tightly around your index finger. Dip in cold water. Pick up a tiny smear of polish — pea-sized. Rub it onto the toecap in small circular motions, applying very light pressure. The polish dries almost instantly. Keep going — water, polish, circle, circle, circle. After fifteen minutes you'll see the first reflective sheen appear. Don't rush it. Don't add more polish per stroke — less is always more.
Build the shine in thin layers over multiple evenings. A proper bull on a new toecap can take 4–6 sessions of half an hour each. Once built, maintain it by repeating the same circles with a barely-damp rag and the lightest hint of polish before each parade.
The leather above the toecap and the heel area should be glossy but not mirror — that's polished rather than bulled. Use a soft brush, then a cloth, then buff. The welt (the stitched seam where sole meets upper) is the most ignored part — a quick application of black polish here makes a huge visual difference.
AB1 boots are the current pattern — smoother leather, easier to bull, more comfortable out of the box. DMS (Directly Moulded Sole) is the older pattern still issued to many squadrons. DMS leather is grainier and takes longer to bull initially. Whichever you've got, the technique is identical. Don't buy parade boots with a glossy patent toecap — that's parade-only show kit and not allowed for working blue inspections.
The stable belt is the most squadron-specific piece of kit you'll wear. Colors and stripe patterns are set by your wing or unit, and they signal which corner of the country (or which CCF school) you belong to. Pale RAF blue with a maroon center stripe is the most common ATC pattern. Some wings use solid colors. Your CCF section may have something completely different.
The buckle is a polished brass plate stamped with the unit crest or the standard RAF emblem. Center the buckle, tuck the belt strap behind itself, and let the strap hang loose by about two inches — not so much that it flaps, not so little that it looks bunched.
Cadet rank progression in the Air Training Corps follows a simple chevron-based system on the shoulder slides. Recruits wear plain shoulder slides with no rank. Cadet First Class earns the first single chevron. Corporal gets two. Sergeant gets three. Flight Sergeant wears three chevrons surmounted by a crown. The top rank — Cadet Warrant Officer — drops the chevrons entirely and wears a crown-and-laurel badge on the sleeve cuff instead, leaving the shoulder slides plain.
The CCF RAF section uses the same insignia pattern. Some CCF contingents also use the rank Under Officer for senior cadets in school-based units — that's a CCF-specific role with its own slide design, typically a thin gold or silver bar. If you transfer between ATC and CCF, expect a brief discussion about rank parity; the two organizations are similar but not identical.
Slides thread onto the shoulder epaulettes of the jumper and shirt. The button at the shoulder seam keeps them in place. Slides must point outward — chevrons or bars face away from your neck. Both shoulders must be identical. After a promotion, change both at once; mismatched ranks look ridiculous and get noticed.
Once you're a corporal, you have real authority over junior cadets — even if they're older than you. The chevrons matter. Senior NCOs (sergeant and above) run squadron training nights, supervise field exercises, and stand in for staff during minor activities. Rank slides aren't just decoration; they signal what you're authorized to lead.
The Combined Cadet Force RAF section is the school-based equivalent of the ATC. Same Crown organization, slightly different culture. The uniform is fundamentally identical: working blue No. 2 dress, beret, boots, brassard. The main differences are at the detail level.
CCF RAF wears the standard RAF cap badge — not the ATC-specific eagle. No blue felt patch behind. The CCF badge is taken straight from the regular service.
CCF cadets wear a "COMBINED CADET FORCE" shoulder title rather than "AIR TRAINING CORPS." The eagle motif underneath is similar but the title curve is different.
Most CCF contingents wear a small school name tape or shield somewhere on the uniform — typically below the CCF title on the brassard, or as a small embroidered patch on the right brassard. The exact placement varies by school.
CCF parades happen during school timetable rather than evenings. Standards are typically higher because parades are public and scrutinized by staff. ATC squadrons meet in the evening on their own time and the atmosphere is more relaxed — but inspection standards on parade nights are equally rigorous.
Squadron inspection isn't random. There's a sequence sergeants follow, top to bottom. Knowing the sequence lets you self-check before parade and not get bounced.
It starts at the beret. Shape, badge position, polish on the brass. Then face — clean shaven, hair within regs, no jewelry beyond what's allowed. Then collar — clean, pressed, sitting flat. Then tie if worn. Then shirt — crisp, buttoned, no stains. Then jumper — name tape, rank slides, brassard alignment, no fluff or pet hair. Then hands and nails — clean. Then trousers — crease, no wrinkles at the knee. Finally boots — bull on toecap, polish on the rest, laces tidy, no exposed sock.
Loose threads on a badge. Boot scuffs on the inside ankle from walking. A trouser leg riding up on the boot. Wrong rank slide on one shoulder after a recent promotion. Beret pulled to the left instead of the right. A wedge of shirt poking out below the jumper hem. These are the dings that lose you points on a unit competition or get you remedial drill time.
A clean welt on the boot. Bull built up evenly across the whole toecap, not just the front. Brassard badges spaced consistently. Cap badge dead vertical, not subtly tilted. Stable belt buckle perfectly centered. These details aren't checked by every sergeant — but the ones who do check remember the cadets who get it right.
Most of your uniform comes from squadron stores — the cupboard or room at your unit where issued kit lives. The supply chain runs from the RAF through wing HQ to the squadron. Boots, jumpers, shirts, trousers, beret, brassard — all issued. You sign for each item and return it when you leave the corps (or pay for replacement).
For lost or damaged kit, your first stop is always your squadron's Stores SNCO. They'll log the loss and order a replacement through the supply chain — often free, especially for a first loss. Wear and tear gets replaced without drama.
Some items can be bought civilian-side. Boots are the obvious one — many cadets prefer to buy a high-quality pair of black leather military boots online (Magnum, Altberg, or surplus AB1s) rather than rely on issued DMS. As long as they match the standard color and shape, they're usually accepted. Cap badges, brassards, and rank slides can also be bought via eBay, ATC-approved retailers, or military surplus stores. Don't buy used cap badges from vintage sellers without checking the pattern — variants change over the decades.
If you can't sew, find someone who can. Many squadrons have a parent volunteer who'll stitch on badges for a small donation to the unit fund. Iron-on badges look fine for a week and then peel off in the wash. Hand-stitching is the only durable option.
Most cadet kit, looked after properly, lasts the entire four to six years you're in the corps. Looked after badly, it lasts a parade season. The difference is fifteen minutes a week.
The jumper hand-washes or goes on a wool cycle at 30°C. Never tumble dry — it shrinks and the elbow patches buckle. Lay flat to dry. The shirt machine-washes at 40°C and irons easily; keep one or two in rotation so you're never down to your last clean. Trousers brush down and dry-clean if marked; a hot iron with a damp cloth keeps the crease sharp.
Hang the trousers on a trouser hanger, properly creased. Hang the shirt on a wooden hanger so the shoulders keep shape. The jumper folds flat in a drawer — don't hang or it stretches. Store the beret flat, badge inside, never folded. Mothballs in a cardboard box keep the wool from being eaten by moths if you're away for the summer.
Browse our cadet guides for more on cadet life, ranks, and traditions.
Draw your uniform from squadron stores. Sign for every item. Take it home in a kit bag.
Soak the beret in warm water, shape on your head, dry overnight. Sew the cap badge in tight.
Stitch ATC title, eagle, and name tape onto the brassard. Get a parent or buddy to help if needed.
Strip and start bulling boots. Four to six sessions of 30 minutes each to build mirror toecaps.
Stand in the front rank for your first formal inspection. Note every snag the sergeant calls out.
Live in your uniform for a week. Discover what wears, what creases, and what needs replacing.
Sew on your first year-service flash. Beret now broken in, boots permanently bulled, badges all settled.
Center the cap badge above your left eye, with the bottom edge roughly one inch above the eyebrow. Use a finger as a quick gauge. The badge must be vertical — not tilted — and the front of the beret should sit flat against your scalp with no air pocket.
Yes, as long as they're black leather, ankle-height, and match the standard military pattern. Magnum, Altberg, and surplus AB1 are all common civilian buys. Patent-leather parade boots aren't allowed for working blue — they're for No. 1 ceremonial only.
Your squadron decides. Many ATC wings use a pale RAF blue with a maroon center stripe, but patterns vary by wing and contingent. Check with your unit's Stores SNCO before buying anything online — the wrong belt gets you bounced on inspection.
Four to six sessions of about 30 minutes each. Build the shine in thin layers — a smear of polish, a damp rag, small circles, repeat. Trying to do it in one evening doesn't work; the polish needs time to settle between layers.
The uniform itself — working blue No. 2 dress, beret, boots, brassard — is identical. The cap badge differs (ATC has the air training corps eagle on a felt patch; CCF RAF uses the standard RAF badge without felt). The shoulder title on the brassard reads "Air Training Corps" for ATC and "Combined Cadet Force" for CCF. School-based CCF units often add a school identifier patch.
Most items — boots, shirt, trousers, jumper, beret, brassard — are issued by squadron stores. You sign for them and return them when you leave the corps. Replacements for lost kit are usually free the first time, then charged after. Stable belts and civilian-spec boots, if you choose to upgrade, come out of your own pocket.
Annual service flashes — one per year of service — sit near the bottom of the left brassard, below the qualification brevets. Each new stripe stacks under the previous one. Some squadrons skip them entirely, so check what your unit does before ordering.
Lay it flat, badge inside, in a drawer or on a shelf. Never fold it or stuff it into a pocket — the wool creases and the shape is gone. If you're traveling, roll it loosely with the leather band on the outside. Brush lint off with a soft clothes brush before each parade.