“It’s a beautiful thing when you wear a uniform which represents a group of people, because what it immediately symbolises is oneness, togetherness.” This quote strongly represents the meaning and the value of a uniform. It’s a proud moment when a cadet wears their uniform for the first time as well as for the last time. Not only the cadets but the people around them feel proud when the cadets walk in with all glory, looking charming in their shining uniforms. NCC Cadets love their uniforms more than anything. They praise it like they’re praising the almighty himself. So you get it, how much they respect their uniforms.
NCC uniform
There is a misunderstanding that the NCC uniform is of khaki colour, it’s not wrong but not entirely true either. Khaki colour is the colour of NCC Uniform for the army wing cadets. For the air wing and navy wing cadets it’s light blue grey and white respectively. The common misunderstanding of khaki colour is due to the fact that cadets in army wings are more and they’re spread all over. Every NCC Unit holds an army wing but not every unit holds an air wing and navy wing.
We’ll first talk about the common factors in the uniform for all the wings and later move on to the specifications.
Starting from the bottom:-
- Drill March Shoes(DMS):- it’s the part of the drill as well as combat uniform. They’re black and heavy.
- Socks: – DMS or even any other shoe can’t be worn without socks. The Socks are black and thick padded.
- Trouser/Pant: – it is full length but can be folded if the cadet is supposed to wear spades along with it. Pant is supposed to be worn at such a height that only the first three buttons of the shirt are visible. The pants shouldn’t be narrow but broad. For JDs it is shorts and not pants.
- Web belt:- It is of black colour and can be made up of cotton or polyester, but usually cotton. Its hook is made up of brass and can be shines through the brass polish. Web belts are worn by every cadet but there’s also Officer’s Belt (OB) which is worn by seniors or rank holders. OB
- Shirt:- The shirt has two pockets on either side. The pockets are closed with the button attached to it. The shirt has shoulder flaps on which the ranks are worn by the cadets. Sleeves are supposed to be folded one fold above the elbow. They can be unfolded when the cadet has to wear ceremonials.
- Lanyard:- It’s a 0.5 inch long nylon rope which is worn around the shoulder that passes through the shoulder flap and ends at the left pocket of the shirt. A lanyard is helpful if needed to tie something in an emergency.
- Name plate: – Name is written with white colour on the black background of the name plate. Your name is written in both English and Hindi language. It’s attached above the pocket on the right side of your shirt.
- Cadet badge:- A cadet badge has NCC written on it with NCC’s symbol. The cadet badge should be surrounded with a red cloth on its reverse side. It is attached just above the pocket on the left side.
- Arms title:- They come in pairs and are worn on the arms. It has “NCC” written on it. Its colour differs for all the wings. For the army wing, “NCC” is written with yellow on red background. In the air wing, “NCC” is written in yellow on a sky blue background. For naval wings, “NCC” is written in yellow on an indigo blue background.
- Beret:- It’s the olive colour cap that a cadet wears. Shaping of the beret is important, the more sharply and cleanly it’s shaped the smarter you look. To make a sharp shape,dip the beret in water and squeeze the water out and press it against your right ear. Beret should be tilted on the right side and the left side should remain as it is. There should be a gap of one index finger between the beret and the eyebrow.
- Cap badge:- It is a silver colour badge attached on the beret with NCC’s symbol and “NCC” written on it. It is attached on the left side of the beret which is not tilted. The badge should be in a straight alignment with the left eye.
- Hackle:- It is a clipped red feather plume that is attached to the beret right above the cap badge.it should be trimmed properly so that uniform looks good.it should be medium sized, not too long or too short. In the case of JD/JW the hackle is not a feather but a round red ball of cotton.
Sikh cadets wear rifle green turban instead of the beret. For physical training cadets wear brown canvas shoes and for drills black D.M.S. Woollen vests are compulsory in cold areas whose colour varies from khaki for army, dark blue for navy, and black for air.
These were the common parts of the uniform in all wings. Now the different parts are:-
- Uniform colour:- army wing:- khaki, air wing:- light blue grey, naval wing :- white
- Arms title:- It is explained briefly in the common parts.
- Web belt colour:- it is the same for army wing and air wing which is black, but it’s white for the naval wing.
- Rank colour:- It is red for army wing, blue for air wing and indigo blue for naval wing.
This was all about the common parade uniform in NCC. But there are also extra uniforms or accessories along with the common uniform which are discussed below:-
COMBATS:- This is worn during the Thal sainik camp(TSC) or in any attachment camp. It has a trouser and a shirt whose sleeves are supposed to be folded above the elbow. Name plate here Is different, it’s made of cloth and your name is written only in English. Beret, web belt and DMS remain the same. You are not supposed to wear a lanyard with this uniform. Apart from beret there’s another cap that comes with this uniform.
6B:- It is a uniform worn on special occasions happening inside the institute like the arrival of the chief guest or farewell of NCC seniors. It has black pants and a white shirt. You don’t wear beret with 6B, everything else remains the same. Ceremonials are worn with this uniform.
- Ceremonials:- These are the accessories worn on special occasions like Republic day or Independence Day. They are also worn during camps like RDC. Ceremonials includes:-
- Scarf:- it is worn around the neck and the extra part falling down in front of the neck is tucked inside the shirt near the collar.
- Kamarbandh:- it is worn around the “kamar” i.e. waist and hence the name.
- Jhallar:- it is attached to the kamarbandh and should come in alignment with the stitching line of the pant on the left side.
These ceremonials usually have three strips of red, indigo blue and sky blue colour representing army, navy and air wing respectively. Three strips are worn by the first year cadets, while four strips with golden being the fourth strip is worn by the second and third year cadets.
“Jai Hind “
