Our Organization Evolution
(1991-2000)

B.E.C.C.: Black Eagles Cadet Corps
C.H.G.: Caribbean Honor Guards
C.C.A.: Caribbean Cadet Academy or Carolina Cadet Academy
P.A.L.: Police Athletic League
S.A.L.T.C.: Sons of the American Legion - Thunderbird Cadets
C.A.P.: Civil Air Patrol
E.A.C.: Eagle Aviation Cadets
H.H.C.: Headquarters Headquarters Company (Main Organizational Company)
A.S.A.P.: As soon as possible
P.R.: Puerto Rico (also PR)
I.E.T.: Initial Entry Training (another name for Basic Cadet Training)

Our organization started as Special Army Cadets, Inc. (S.A.C.) at the town of Caguas, Puerto Rico (see map below for locations) in August 17th.  Within a week of operations, that unit reached 60 active members (including 4 females).  The same year, we opened another unit at the town of Trujillo Alto (named Alpha Company) and registered our organization at the Puerto Rico's State Department as a non-profit, private military youth program.

Interesting Facts:

We started operations in Caguas at August but wasn't until October of the same year that we registered our organization as a non-profit military youth program.  One of our first company commanders, then-WO1 John L. Cintrón is currently an U.S. Army Administrative Specialist at Fort Eustis, VA and our Military Advisor.

At the beginning of this year, we closed the Caguas unit due to its distance and labeled the Trujillo Alto unit, H.H.C. (The first unit to ever have that designation).  Also, we opened another unit at the San Juan Bosco Catholic College (at Santurce) with the help of former Black Eagles Cadet Corps members, CPT Samuel A. Pérez and 1LT Richard Radinson (both now commanders of Operation Cadet Corps and Caribbean Cadet Academy organizations).  We also started to offer aviation courses thanks to COL Plinio Otero, former U.S. Army member and commanding officer of the Eagles Aviation Cadets.

Interesting Facts:

COL Otero's Eagle Aviation Cadets was conceived as an Army Aviation-style organization rather than an Air Force-style one, but practically all their military commands and insignias were from the Air Force.  Also, they provide us with their acknoledge in aviation while we supply them all Infantry-related trainings.  The Black Eagles Cadet Corps was another pseudo-cadet group with Civil Air Patrol reminicents.  Their commander and executive officer were C.A.P. members.

We closed operations on both Santurce and Trujillo Alto units and consolidated our organization at the town of Carolina with the opening of a new H.H.C. unit.  Members from the closed units came to the new unit, while some, with the help of MAJ Guzmán, a former Military Sciences Director from the 65th Infantry Military Academy, opened the dreaded Caribbean Honor Guards.  While some officers and non-coms went to that new so-called"cadet organization", soon realized that Special Army Cadets, Inc. was the real thing and returned A.S.A.P.  At the end of this year, we moved again to another school at Carolina.

Interesting Facts:

One of the reasons why we closed down both Santurce and Trujillo Alto units was the betrayal by one of our non-coms who, without our consent, traveled to both units with Caribbean Honor Guards commanding officer and "recluited" some of our members into their "organization".  But many of our members called to warn us about this evil betrayal.  But the non-com, alongside some low-level  commisioned officers, took the bait but months later returned to us, ashamed.

With the movement to another school at Carolina, we also started to participate in several civic activities, such as Flag Details, Honor Guard activities, more aviation classes provided by COL Plinio Otero from E.A.C., and our first Drill Competition.  We also attached ourselves to the Police Athletic League for a few months to gave military drill instruction to their members, while engrosing our own membership with theirs.  We inactivated Special Army Cadets, Inc. at the end of this year due to poor participation and lack of funds (Also, actual General Director, Francisco Millán, started to study Emergency Medical Technician).

Interesting Facts:

Although it wasn't the first time that we do joint training exercises with other organizations, the Police Athletic League (P.A.L.) was the first one that truly joined us (while retaining their name and their overall operations with the PR Police).  From that period, we obtained fine officers such as: MAJ Yamilet A. Rodriguez (who started as a PVT).  But, as the old saying says: "Water and Oil don't mix", P.A.L. was disbanded months later, but their members joined our organization.

During this year, and due to the Special Army Cadets, Inc. inactivation, we (the few officers that remained in contact with the General Director, CPT De Jesús, CPT Berrios, and MAJ Felix -COL Millán's wife) attached ourselves into the town of Toa Baja's Police Athletic League to provide military drill instruction to them and, at the same time, to test the waters for a new and improved Special Army Cadets, Inc.  We also learned (and eventually ended there) that former members joined Carolina Cadets Academy, a newly-founded military youth program under the leadership of former C.A.P. officer, COL Ernesto Cabrera.

Interesting Facts:

This was a turbulent time for our organization.  After the inactivation, several former officers joined the Carolina Cadets Academy (then a C.A.P.-wannabe) and called then-Major Francisco Millán join them as a member of the C.C.A. staff (as their Medical Instructor).  Although we accepted (MAJ Millán and CPT Felix), soon another organization requested our services: the Police Athletic League from the town of Toa Baja who learned about us thanks to a fellow Millán's EMT student, then-Commander Ayala.  MAJ Millán, along with CPT Felix, CPT De Jesús and CPT Berrios, set sail to that organization and stayed there until their I.E.T. graduation.

Special Army Cadets, Inc. returned in full force back into Trujillo Alto.  With the experience from last year, we opted for a more dynamic military youth program.  Some former officers, like MAJ Samuel A. Pérez, CPT De Jesús, CPT Berrios, 1LT Hernández, 1SG Frankie Pérez and MAJ Felix, joined the new H.H.C. unit.  We also opened (for a brief time) another unit at San Juan (labeled Alpha Co.) under MAJ Richard Radinson's command, but it perished due to its distance.

Interesting Facts:

You may have noticed that some names repeat themselves during our entire life span, doesn't it?.  Let's check them:

CPT Samuel A. Pérez was a former C.A.P. member who, along 1LT Richard Radinson, 1LT William Pietri and SSG Carmen G. Felix (actually MGN Millán's wife), formed the Black Eagles Cadet Corps (B.E.C.C.).  MGN Francisco Millán knew from them when he was a member of the Sons of the American Legion - Thunderbirds Cadets (S.A.L.T.C.).  When Special Army Cadets was formed in 1991, one of its first missions was to join other sister organizations together.  Soon B.E.C.C. became our own Alpha Company, with CPT Samuel A. Pérez as company commander, 1LT William Pietri as Executive Officer, WO1 Carmen G. Felix as Administrative Officer (H.H.C.), and MAJ Richard Radinson as Batallion Commander (H.H.C.).

Later, and after the famous betrayal mentioned in a previous year, some of them joined the dreaded C.H.G., but returned back.  Once again, and after meeting with the Carolina Cadet Academy (C.C.A.) officials, the same officers took sail to that organization.  Are you with me so far?  Good!, Let's get on:

Soon after the S.A.C. inactivation in 1995, then-Major Francisco Millán, along with his wife, then-CPT Carmen G. Felix, started to study Emergency Medical Technician, but their devotion to the military brought them first to the C.C.A. (at their commander's request) and, later, to the P.A.L. group at the town of Toa Baja.  It was during that last mobilization, that MAJ Millán brought two other officers to act at the P.A.L.-sponsored unit commander and executive officer.

During this year, another military youth program: Civil Police Patrol, joined our ranks.  Its commanding officer, COL Guzmán, a Puerto Rico Police officer, helped us gaining more experience by taking us to different trips to PR Police units, like F.U.R.A. and S.W.A.T.  Also, we continue to reach for the stars with more military drill competitions, honor guards activities, and our first participation at Fort Buchanan's Armed Forces Day parade.

1998:

We consolidated our program at Trujillo Alto with more promotions and more activities than ever.  Also, this was the year that saw the departure of former officers LTC Samuel A. Pérez (like the Energizer bunny: he keeps coming and coming and coming), MAJ Diana M. Acevedo (PR State Guard member and possibly the most enduring parent in our organization), MAJ Yamilet A. Rodriguez (she started as a private in 1994), MAJ Edwin González (former Vietnam Veteran who helped us a lot at Fort Buchanan), CPT Cesar N. Serrano (possibly the best extracurricular activities' officer ever), and 1SG Ghislaine Colón (the third female who obtained the coveted RANGER tab and beret).  Too many departures, you may think, but we also have a brand-new promotion!.

Interesting Facts:

This was the year that Special Army Cadets Online debuted on the Internet.  Several false starts (including two site crashs) and site renamings later (first it was sac21971, then Special Army Cadets), the new site (with its new name, United States Military Cadets Online)  is located here:

http://militarycadets.tsx.org/

This year we have problems with the Trujillo Alto facilities (that started after  Hurracaine Georges) who made us decided to move into Carolina's Alicia Fernández Private School.  But, after one month of staying here, we opted to move again to our former facilities at Trujillo Alto.  Also, we opened the Gurabo unit (labeled Alpha Company), but perhaps this unit was the most difficult to maintain due to the tremendous distance we need to cover to reach it (we are opting to make it a Reserve Training Unit (R.T.U.) that assemble one weekend a month).  Due to all these changes from Carolina to Trujillo Alto to Gurabo, we opted not to give any Field Training Exercises! :(

Interesting Facts:

1999 was the first year we didn't make any Field Training Exercises, due to the fact that we keep changing training places (From Carolina to Gurabo to Trujillo Alto).  Also, it marked the debut and farewell to the Gurabo unit for two reasons: the long distance we needed to travel and the lack of officers and NCOs to run it.

Finally, the wait was over!.  Although we started the year at Trujillo Alto, we inmediatly moved to our new facilities at Carolina (Ines M. Mendoza Elementary School, for those who still lost).  Now that we are here, we started to make new trends toward a more dinamic, military youth program.  To starters, we changed our name to United States Military Cadets and our goal is to join all the MYPs around here and, maybe, from the US into one great military organization.  Also, we have make contacts with the proper military authorities at Fort Buchanan (now home to the U.S. Army South Command) to participate in both Armed Forces and 4th of July parades.  And to top all these, we will be making more Honor Guard activities and Military Drill Competitions!.  Viva la Revolution!.

Interesting Facts:

United States Military Cadets, Inc. was the first name then-Colonel Francisco Millán had in mind for the organization, but at the last minute, the first staff decided to change it to Special Army Cadets.  Now, after 10 years of operations we have so many hard earned things to share with all of our members:
 

1. The first military youth program to be recognized as such (others are still called "cadet organizations".
2. Recognized by both federal and state law enforcement and emergency manegement agencies, such as: US Army South's Military Police, Puerto Rico's Police Department, Fire Department, and the Civil Defense.  Also, we have worked closely during emergencies with F.E.M.A.
3. The first M.Y.P. to have our own website: www.militarycadets.com and the all new www.usmilitarycadets.com

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