Members of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps and the California Cadet Corps are assigned various ranks, the titles and insignia of which are based on those used by the United States Armed Forces (and its various ROTCs), specifically the United States Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S Space Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard. And the California National Guard for the California Cadet Corps. Rank requirements vary with schools. Some specialties require cadets to pass promotion tests while others only require recommendations by superiors and the needs of the unit.

Grade**	C/O-6	C/O-5	C/O-4	C/O-3	C/O-2	C/O-1	Officer Candidate
California Cadet Corps (CACC)
	Cadet Colonel (C/COL)	Cadet Lieutenant Colonel (C/LTC)	Cadet Major (C/MAJ)	Cadet Captain (C/CPT)	Cadet First Lieutenant (C/1LT)	Cadet Second Lieutenant (C/2LT)	Cadet Officer Candidate
Army JROTC & MCJROTC
	Cadet Colonel*** (Army JROTC: C/COL) (MCJROTC: C/Col)	Cadet Lieutenant Colonel (Army JROTC: C/LTC) (MCJROTC: C/LtCol)	Cadet Major (Army JROTC: C/MAJ) (MCJROTC: C/Maj)	Cadet Captain (Army JROTC: C/CPT) (MCJROTC: C/Capt)	Cadet First Lieutenant (Army JROTC: C/1LT) (MCJROTC: C/1stLt)	Cadet Second Lieutenant (Army JROTC: C/2LT) (MCJROTC: C/2ndLt)
NJROTC & CGJROTC
	Cadet Captain* (C/CAPT)	Cadet Commander (C/CDR)	Cadet Lieutenant Commander (C/LCDR)	Cadet Lieutenant (C/LT)	Cadet Lieutenant Junior Grade (C/LTJG)	Cadet Ensign (C/ENS)
AFJROTC & SFJROTC
	Cadet Colonel (C/Col)	Cadet Lieutenant Colonel (C/Lt Col)	Cadet Major (C/Maj)	Cadet Captain (C/Capt)	Cadet First Lieutenant (C/1st Lt)	Cadet Second Lieutenant (C/2d Lt)
Grade**	C/O-6	C/O-5	C/O-4	C/O-3	C/O-2	C/O-1
* Cadet captain is the rank that the leader of a NJROTC unit holds if the unit has reached the cadet enrollment requirements to be rated as a regiment. It is a relatively rare rank. As of June 2013, there are only 5 regimental-sized units out of the 584 NJROTC units worldwide.[1][2][3][4][5]
** Although the positions and titles of rank match those of the Armed Forces' pay grades, JROTC and CACC cadets are not serving members of the military, and receive no pay, and only receive benefits or privileges based upon the situation of the time (staying in military quarters, and using base exchanges, commissaries, dining facilities, and MWR facilities while on training trips, etc.) This is in direct contrast to Cadets/Midshipmen of the Senior (University Level) ROTC programs, in which those students can receive pay/stipends, benefits, and privileges, depending upon their contract status.
*** In most standard Cadet programs, cadet officer ranks stop at the top “unit” ranks (for example, Cadet Colonel in many Army and Air Force JROTC units), and you normally do not see cadet “general officer” ranks as part of the regular, service-standard cadet rank ladder. Chicago is a weird exception because Chicago Public Schools runs a districtwide, joint-services JROTC structure called the City Corps Staff, which is separate from any one school’s unit chain of command. CPS’s JROTC site describes City Corps Staff as a unique joint-services cadet chain of command, and its posted City Corps Staff chain-of-command page shows senior cadets using Cdt BG (Cadet Brigadier General) for the City Corps Commander and Deputy Commander. In other words, what people call “cadet generals” in Chicago is typically a CPS City Corps Staff designation (often Cdt BG), not the normal everyday rank structure you would expect inside a single JROTC unit.

Grade	C/E-9		C/E-8		C/E-7	C/E-6	C/E-5	C/E-4	C/E-3	C/E-2	C/E-1
											No Insignia
California Cadet Corps	Cadet Command Sergeant Major (C/CSM)	Cadet Sergeant Major (C/SGM)	Cadet First Sergeant (C/1SG)	Cadet Master Sergeant (C/MSG)	Cadet Sergeant First Class (C/SFC)	Cadet Staff Sergeant (C/SSG)	Cadet Sergeant (C/SGT)	Cadet Corporal (C/CPL)	Cadet First Class (CFC)	Cadet (CDT)	Recruit (RCT)
Army JROTC											No Insignia
	Cadet Command Sergeant Major (C/CSM)	Cadet Sergeant Major (C/SGM)	Cadet First Sergeant (C/1SG)	Cadet Master Sergeant (C/MSG)	Cadet Sergeant First Class (C/SFC)	Cadet Staff Sergeant (C/SSG)	Cadet Sergeant (C/SGT)	Cadet Corporal (C/CPL)	Cadet Private First Class (C/PFC)	Cadet Private (C/PVT)	Cadet Private (C/PVT)
NJROTC & CGJROTC											No insignia
	Cadet Master Chief Petty Officer (C/MCPO)		Cadet Senior Chief Petty Officer (C/SCPO)		Cadet Chief Petty Officer (C/CPO)	Cadet Petty Officer First Class (C/PO1)	Cadet Petty Officer Second Class (C/PO2)	Cadet Petty Officer Third Class (C/PO3)	Cadet Seaman (C/SN)	Cadet Seaman Apprentice (C/SA)	Cadet Seaman Recruit (C/SR)
MCJROTC											No insignia
	Cadet Sergeant Major (C/SgtMaj)		Cadet First Sergeant (C/1stSgt)		Cadet Gunnery Sergeant (C/GySgt)	Cadet Staff Sergeant (C/SSgt)	Cadet Sergeant (C/Sgt)	Cadet Corporal (C/Cpl)	Cadet Lance Corporal (C/LCpl)	Cadet Private First Class (C/PFC)	Cadet Private (C/Pvt)
AFJROTC & SFJROTC											No insignia
	Cadet Chief Master Sergeant (C/CMSgt)		Cadet Senior Master Sergeant (C/SMSgt)		Cadet Master Sergeant (C/MSgt)	Cadet Technical Sergeant (C/TSgt)	Cadet Staff Sergeant (C/SSgt)	Cadet Senior Airman (C/SrA)	Cadet Airman First Class (C/A1C)	Cadet Airman (C/Amn)	Cadet Airman Basic (C/AB)
							Cadet Sergeant (C/Sgt)	Cadet Specialist 4 (C/Spc4)	Cadet Specialist 3 (C/Spc3)	Cadet Specialist 2 (C/Spc2)	Cadet Specialist 1 (C/Spc1)
Grade	C/E-9		C/E-8		C/E-7	C/E-6	C/E-5	C/E-4	C/E-3	C/E-2	C/E-1

• Ranks of the Civil Air Patrol
• Ranks of the cadet forces of the United Kingdom
• Cadets Canada Elemental Ranks
• New Zealand Cadet Forces ranks
• Australian Defense Force Cadets ranks

• Media related to Rank insignia of the Air Force Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Rank insignia of the Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Rank insignia of the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Rank insignia of the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps at Wikimedia Commons
• A PDF listing ranks at the Naval Education and Training Command website