Cadre (military)

"Cadre" redirects here. For other uses, see Cadre (disambiguation).

En cadre or cadre (/ɛn.ˈkɑːdər/ or US: /ɛn.ˈkædreɪ/) is a French expression originally denoting either the complement of commissioned officers of a regiment or the permanent skeleton establishment of a unit, around which the unit could be built if needed. This latter usage was commonly used in countries which had conscription to denote the permanent staff of a unit who then trained the conscripts assigned to it.

In the United States military, the word "cadre" is more often used to denote a group or member of a group of leaders, especially in units that conduct formal training schools. In United States Army jargon, the word is both singular and plural.

In the British Armed Forces, the term is today usually used for a group of instructors, or for a unit that trains potential instructors or non-commissioned officers (in which case, it usually also includes the trainees themselves) e.g. the Royal Marines Mountain Leader Training Cadre.

Adapted from the military usage, Canadian police services use the term cadre to denote an individual officer. It is used in place of badge number and is used in Records Management Systems for dispatching and report entry.