Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps
香港海事青年團 | |
Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps is a youth organization based in Hong Kong and formed in 1968 by former Royal Naval Reserve officers by the creation of Hong Kong Law (Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps Ordinance)[1]
The HKSCC was linked to British Armed Forces' Combined Cadet Force and Sea Cadet Force. Since the handover in 1997, the HKSCC is mostly a government funded organization and does not have any links to the People's Liberation Army Navy. It also receives financial support from Hong Kong Jockey Club and The Community Chest of Hong Kong.
Based in Diamond Hill, Kowloon, the 1800 strong HKSCC has 16 training units and two nautical centres (Stanley Bay and Sai Kung).
Rank & Rates
HKSCC adopts the ranking system from the Royal Navy and their Sea Cadet program:
- Junior Rates \ Cadets
- New Entry
- Junior Cadet
- Ordinary Cadet
- Able Cadet
- Leading Cadet
- Senior Rates \ Instructors
- Acting Petty Officer <- an acting rate should not be count as an official rate
- Petty Officer
- Chief Petty Officer
- Junior Officers
- Senior Officers
Source: Ranks & Ratings of the Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps
Uniform
Officers, instructors and cadets wear dark navy berets, blue shirts, dark navy blue trousers and black boots namely Action Working Dress (AWD) during routine trainings. In occasion of parades or other public events they will wear white (summer) or blue (winter) dress uniforms similar to the Royal Navy uniform worn by officers, senior and junior rates respectively.
Weapons
The Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps Ceremonial Guard parade out with the replica Enfield L85A1/ (known as SA80 in Royal Navy) rifle.
Facilities
Training Ships or TS are land base training units for the HKSCC around the territory. Some are named after Her Majesty's Ships of the Royal Navy.
- TS Ark Royal - named after HMS Ark Royal
- TS Brilliant - named after HMS Brilliant
- TS Cornflower - named after HMS Cornflower
- TS Drake - named after HMS Drake
- TS Eternity
- TS Hero - named after HMS Hero
- TS King Ling
- TS Lightning - named after HMS Lightning
- TS Ma Ko Pan
- TS Mountbatten - named after Lord Louis Mountbatten, Former First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy
- TS Nelson - named after HMS Nelson / Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson
- TS Neptune - named after HMS Neptune
- TS Royalist - named after HMS Royalist
- TS Somerset - named after HMS Somerset
- TS Unicorn - named after HMS Unicorn
- TS York - named after HMS York
Training Centres
- Administration Headquarters, Diamond Hill, Kowloon
- Jubilee Centre, Stanley, Hong Kong Island
- TSK Nautical Centre, Sai Kung, New Territories
Training Launch
- Supertee
Disbanded Units
- TS Anson - named for HMS Anson
- TS Collingwood -named for HMS Collingwood
- TS Courageous -named for HMS Courageous
- TS Chatham -named for HMS Chatham
- TS Rodney -named for HMS Rodney
- TS Swallow - named for HMS Swallow (P242)
- TS Talent - named for HMS Talent
- TS Victory - named for HMS Victory
- TS Zulu - named for HMS Zulu
Awards
Hong Kong Sea Cadet Corps issues their own awards to their members and are not part of the government issued Orders, decorations, and medals of Hong Kong. The medals and clasps are modelled after the ones awarded by the MOD of the United Kingdom:
- Best Cadet of the Year
- Best Unit of the Year
- Cadet Forces Medal (before 1997)
- Hong Kong Sea Cadet Forces Medal
- Hong Kong Sea Cadet Forces Long Service Medal