Uniforms
All Uniformed Staff and Cadets wear uniforms, based upon those worn by the regular Royal Air Force.
Officers follow the RAF dress regulations, being members of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve,
while SNCOs, WO’s and Cadets currently follow the Air Training Crops regulations. While the
regulations are similar, there are some differences in naming conventions and permitted modes of dress.
As with the RAF, there are several modes of dress, depending upon the circumstances they are worn.
No 1 Service Dress
No 1 Service Dress Uniform (No 1 SD). No 1 SD is to be worn by Officers and, when ordered, SNCO’s and
WO’s. It is worn for formal parades and events. Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets, Region and Corps band members
may also wear full No. 1 SD, when participating in official activities. No 1 SD uniform consists of
jacket, trousers (slacks or skirt for female personnel) and long sleeve Wedgewood (Light) blue shirt,
with tie. No 1 SD hats are worn, with cadets wearing Airman’s or Airwoman’s hats with the ATC Badge.
Officers and WO’s wear brown gloves, SNCO’s wear black gloves.
No 2 Service Working Dress
No 2 (Full) Service Working Dress (No 2 SD). No 2 SD is jersey, trousers (slacks or skirt for female
personnel) and Wedgewood blue long sleeve shirt, with or without tie. All personnel may wear No 2 SD
indoors and outdoors, as a routine working dress, throughout the year. Officers may wear the No 1 SD
hat or forage cap, WO’s and SNCO’s wear berets.
No 2A (Long Sleeved) Routine Working Dress Uniform (No 2A SD). No 2A SD is long-sleeved Wedgwood shirt
no jersey mode and is always worn with tie. All personnel may wear No 2 SD indoors and outdoors, as a
routine working dress, throughout the year.
Cadets wear No 2 SD or No 2A SD when participating in formal parades and events, or when ordered.
Cadets will always wear a tie when wearing the Wedgewood blue shirt. This mode of dress is also referred
to as “Cadet No 1 Service Dress” and is the standard form of No 1 Service Dress for cadets. Berets are
worn. Female cadets may wear either skirt or slacks, provided uniformity in maintained (All female
cadets wearing the same), as such skirts are more commonly worn.
No 2B (Short Sleeved) Routine Working Dress Uniform (No 2B SD). No 2B SD is short-sleeved Wedgwood shirt
mode and is never worn with tie. All uniformed staff wear this as a routine working dress, throughout
the year.
No 2C (Working Dark Blue) Routine Working Dress Uniform (No 2C SD). No 2C SD is jersey, trousers (slacks
or skirt for female cadets) and long-sleeved dark blue working shirt, which is never worn with tie. If
the jersey is not worn, sleeves are to be rolled up neatly above the elbow; the brassard is to be worn
over the folded sleeve.
Cadets wear No 2C SD as standard working dress. It is not worn by uniformed staff. This mode of dress is also referred to as “Cadet Working Dress” and is the standard form of No 2 Working Dress for cadets.
No 3 Service Dress – Operational Clothing
No 3 Service Dress Operational Clothing: Combat Soldier 95 (CS95). Comprises of CS95 (DPM) clothing,
which is to be worn on all field exercises and shooting exercises in the range. DPM and OG rank slides
must not be worn, only the RAF blue rank slides may be authorised for wear. Berets are worn by all ranks.
The CS95 lightweight jacket is to be tucked into the trousers and can be worn with sleeves rolled up or
down. The field jacket is to be untucked and unfolded.
Currently Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) and Multi-Cam style uniform is NOT to be worn by any member of the
Air Cadets.
The Air Cadet Force Identifier patch is to be worn by all cadets, SNCO’s and WO’s. It is to be affixed
centrally and immediately above the right hand breast pocket of the CS95 field jacket and shirts only.
Officers wear the RAF Force Identifier, in the same position.
The Air Cadet Tactical Recognition Flash, TRF, is to be worn by all cadets on the CS95 field jacket and
shirts. The TRF is to be sewn centrally on the right sleeve with the top edge 7.5cms below the shoulder
seam. SNCO’s and WO’s wear a different TRF, in the same position and officers wear the RAF TRF.
No 4 Service Dress – Optional Mess Dress
No 4 Service Dress (No 4 SD) Optional Mess Dress. No 4 SD is an interim mess dress, for those staff who
do not have No 5s and for cadets. The No 4 is the jacket and trousers (skirt or slacks) of the No 1
uniform, worn with a white Marcella shirt and black bow tie. For cadets, the jacket is not worn, but may
be replaced with a jersey.
No 5 Service Dress – Mess Dress
No 5 Service Dress Mess Dress. No 5 SD is a full mess dress and may be acquired privately by staff for
functions.
No 14 Dress
No 14 Dress Flying Clothing. No 14 is the flying clothing worn by pilots and instructors on AEF’s and
VGS’s. The standard dress consists of an olive green flying suit. Cold weather jacket and trousers
may be worn, or a DPM field jacket, in inclement weather.
