Organization, Rank, and Leadership Role

[Sciencnerd]

From what I understand, the organization of cadets goes from Element, Flight, Group, Squadron, Wing, in order of size. Can you tell me how these are organized, who leads what, and how rank/class comes into play? Thank you.

 

[FlyFalcon]

I would answer but I only know Jrotc which is elements leader ( mostly important for drill purposes only) to flight commander to Operations commander, squadron commander with 4 element leaders per flight, and 4 flight commanders per squadron ( can be more if more flight for example we had 5, echo at one point).

 

[AFrpaso]

In order of size (smallest to largest):

Element: About ten cadets, at least three of which are freshman (4-deg), led by a junior (2-deg).
Flight: Composed of three elements. About 30 cadets. Led by a senior (1-deg).
Squadron: Composed of three flights. About 100 cadets. Led by a senior (1-deg). This is also where active-duty "permanent party" leadership starts. Air Officers Commanding (typically a Major, but maybe a Lt Col) lead a squadron with help from an Academy Military Trainer (typically a senior non-commissioned officer).
Group: Composed of ten squadrons. About 1000 cadets. Led by a senior (1-deg) and their "Group Staff". Active duty leadership includes a Group Air Officer Commanding (typically a Lt Col) and their staff of officers and non-commissioned officers.
Wing: Composed of four groups. About 4000 cadets. The entire cadet population. Led by a senior (1-deg) and their "Wing Staff". Active duty leadership includes the Commandant of Cadets and their staff, then the Superintendent and their staff.

This page on the USAFA website has some info: https://www.usafa.edu/military/squadrons/
They list four elements per flight, but that was never the case during my time at USAFA.

There's also info the USAFA wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Air_Force_Academy#The_Cadet_Wing

 

[Sciencnerd]

Thanks! This helped a lot.