U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Buffalo, New York
Join The Sullivans Division.
A youth program for ages 10 through high school. Cadets learn seamanship, drill, first aid, and how to lead people. There is no obligation to join the military.
Not ready to enroll yet?
Ask whatever you need to ask. Time commitment, cost, what a drill weekend actually looks like, whether it suits your child. A person from the division answers, usually within a week.
Email info@thesullivansusnscc.com
Straight answers
What parents ask first
Does this obligate my child to join the military? No
Sea Cadets is a congressionally chartered non-profit youth program supported by the Navy and the Coast Guard. It is not enlistment, and cadets carry no service obligation. What a cadet does afterwards stays entirely their choice.
Who can join? Ages 10 through high school
Navy League Cadets covers ages 10 to 13, Sea Cadets covers 13 through high school. Under 13, a parent or guardian completes the enrollment.
The program also asks that a cadet is unmarried, enrolled in school, has a parent or guardian's consent, and is of good moral character. A medical examination is required, like a school sports physical.
A medical condition is not a bar. Nobody is turned away for a disability. Where a condition rules out part of the program, a parent can request an accommodation so the cadet takes part as fully as possible.
What does it cost? About $175 the first year
A new Sea Cadet pays $25 in annual dues plus $150 for the sea bag of issued kit. A League Cadet pays the same $25 in dues with a $75 sea bag, so about $100. Dues renew yearly; the sea bag is once.
Meals at drill are $5 for a day and $20 for a weekend.
Training is priced nationally, not by us: recruit training runs about $300, and later trainings about $300 each with no cap on how many a cadet takes. Travel is not included. You get the figure before your cadet commits to anything.
If cost is the thing in the way, say so when you contact us. We would rather work it out than lose a cadet over it.
Where and when do you drill? Buffalo, one weekend a month
The division drills in the Buffalo area. We send exact dates and the meeting location straight to families who contact us, rather than publishing where a group of minors will be standing at a known time.
Inside a drill weekend
What a cadet actually trains in
- 01 First aid and CPR, taught to certification standard.
- 02 Seamanship and naval customs aboard a real ship.
- 03 Drill, bearing, and how to lead a team under instruction.
- 04 Physical readiness, every drill weekend.
- 05 Advanced summer training aboard ships and at military installations.
How to enroll
Enrollment runs through the national site.
Every unit in the country enrolls the same way. It takes a few minutes, and the division's recruiting team follows up with you directly.
Enroll at Sea Cadets national (opens in a new tab) Select The Sullivans Division, Buffalo NY on the map.
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Open the national enrollment page
It asks you to find a unit on a map and request information. Nothing is final at this stage.
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Select The Sullivans Division, Buffalo NY
This is the step that matters. The map lists every unit in the region, and choosing a different one sends your request to another division instead of to us.
Look for The Sullivans Division, Buffalo NY
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Submit the request, and we will reach out
Our recruiting team contacts you to arrange a visit to a drill so you and your child can see the program before deciding anything.
Nationally, most units take new cadets in September and January. Ask us where the next intake falls rather than assuming you have missed it.
Remember to select The Sullivans Division, Buffalo NY.
Ready to take the next step?
Your first step is simple.
Start right here. This page explains what your family is signing up for, then hands you to national enrollment with the division already named.