Getting Started

Successful completion of the ALERT Cadet Basic Training Manual is a prerequisite for membership as an ALERT Cadet and participation in ALERT Cadet sponsored camps. Projects in the 40-page ALERT Cadet Basic Training Manual focus on the ALERT Cadet motto, “Strong to Overcome,” and define the code of conduct of an ALERT Cadet.

The ALERT Cadet Covenant

By God’s grace,
I will be swift to hear what is true,
and give honor where honor is due.

I will learn what it means to obey
And be truthful in all that I say.

I will be neat in room and dress
And show to others true gratefulness.

The $35 Basic Training fee enrolls the father and any number of sons aged eight and older. Additional sons may enroll at no charge upon reaching the age of eight.

Training Material

The ALERT Cadet Basic Training Manual is designed to teach skills and character related to the ALERT Cadet Covenant. Projects focus on alertness, honor and respect for authority, obedience, truthfulness, orderliness, and gratefulness.

The ALERT Cadet Basic Training Manual is designed to be completed in four to six weeks. After completion of the manual, the father and his son(s) may then apply to join the ALERT Cadet program.

ALERT Cadets then progress through a series of seven handbooks (Novice, Pilgrim, Craftsman, Servant, Soldier, Truth Seeker, Life Giver) designed to take an ALERT Cadet from being a child to a man. Each handbook consists of six phases. Each phase booklet includes Scripture memory, Scripture meditation, character training, life skills training, adventure projects, physical training, and opportunities for service to others.

A diligent and motivated ALERT Cadet should be able to complete each phase in six to eight weeks and an entire handbook in a year. The completion of a phase booklet in six weeks, with appropriate character, will earn an ALERT Cadet the Good Conduct ribbon. Fathers have discretion on the pace at which he and his son(s) progress through the materials, perhaps pausing to focus on specific character attributes. Fathers are not required to complete the handbooks with their son(s), but are highly encouraged to do so.