The Astra Cadets (selnini Astra in Surin Common) were a public youth sports and pre-military training organisation in Port Astra, Bao-Mou.

History

The cadets existed as an informal, military-coached organisation for 11 - 17 year olds in Port Astra since around 335, consisting in its first form only of men (though women were not explicitly excluded). It was quite popular for the opportunities and connections it granted, being organised by a group of Korpeonic officers who would later become the Wavebraver connection. The organisation also received public funding for the readiness training and civil service the association provided, like air-watch duty, fire brigade support, and general first aid training.

The corps was officially made a publicly supported association in 342, by the soon-to-be prefect Clara Tuiz. It remained strongly military in focus, being organised in "companies" coached by enlisted men, and was notably tied to the army by letting its members enter Grand Armies at a higher base pay grade and faster rank accession than non-cadets. It was one of several similar Korpeonic associations which prevailed mostly on Bao-Mou, Netache, and Okken.

The association was in somewhat of a limbo in 347, because the new Union army did not take over organisation of the cadets. The group continued to operate as a local association, with cadres drawn mostly from the new Wavebravers. It found itself competing against the new state cadets programme, which was restricted for boys aiming for an officers' career.

It evolved into a more demilitarized, sport-focused form. It was refounded as an independent association in 349, with membership exclusively for girls and occupations focusing on sports and civil service. The city supported the group and made its activities part of the official voluntary activities available to school kids. Boys were allowed to join starting in 354, at the same time as the military cadet programme was massively reduced.

The cadet corps co-founded the Baovuldian Cadets in 357. It entered its "stable" form as a city-associated voluntary sports organisation in 365, together with a statutes revision. It became a member of the Cuprien Cadets national association in 388.

Public Youth Sports

This section describes the cadets in the form they had under the 365 statutes.

Active membership was possible for children from the age of 11 onward, focusing on citizens in the Port Astra school system. The corps was divided into "companies"; one started in the sixth and progressed, up to the age of 17, to the 1st Company. Companies attended activities together as a large group. Each company had a leadership consisting of a lieutenant and three sergeants, who were members of the 1st Company; overall leadership was in the hands of two senior lieutenants, also members of the 1st Company, and the captain, who was the elected president of the cadets association.

The key attraction the corps offered were sports. All members were typically part of a sport; there was a large (and somewhat varying) offer, including general athletics, handball, football, swimming, running, hockey, wrestling, outdoors pioneering, and ice hockey. The trainings (at least once a week, often more) were organised by professional sport chiefs, and often held with merged companies to have enough participants. There were many special formations, including sports shooting, music and majorette companies, and even a cannon group. The corps also had a number of special core-wide events, including participation at annual city celebrations, a shooting competition in summer, a two-day competition against other cadets called the cadet festival in late summer, a swimming and running relay race around the bay in early summer, and a one-week camp in spring.

The corps, which mostly retained older pseudo-traditional structures inherited from more militaristic times and restricted to "active" members, was headed by the more modern association. At the annual members' assembly, voting rights were restricted to members aged 18+, mostly parents and former cadets, and active cadres. There was a board of adults that managed the overall association (in particular finances and the professional employees), and managed relations with the city, which was a major stakeholder and sponsor.