Posted on Mar 27, 2021
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As per my state's law, an 18 year old is eligible for a CCW if they are in the military and "completed basic training":

(i) "[Are] a member of the United States armed forces on active duty status or [are] a current member of the army national guard, the army reserve, the navy reserve, the marine corps reserve, the air national guard, the air force reserve, or the coast guard reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program; [...]"

Now, this is where the grey area starts. Cadets don't go to basic training, so they wouldn't qualify, right? But the requirements to include in your packet are simply:

(ii) "a military identification card or such other document as the commissioner designates as sufficient proof that the applicant is an active duty member of the military or a current member of the national guard or United States military reserve, who has successfully completed a basic training program."

Which implies they simply want a copy of your CAC as proof that you "completed basic training." So I'm asking, would contracted cadets "legally" be applicable for this through and through?
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SFC Retention Operations Nco
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I very much read that as cadets are not eligible. Only an SMP member cadet would be eligible, or a full time cadet. You can actually look at the definitions of a service member under US Code Title 38. Cadets who are not full time cadets at a military service College are not actually service members yet.

Could you get away with it? Maybe... Maybe if the person your card goes in front of has no idea what a cadet is.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/38/1965

Here's a second FAQ that asks that very same question:
https://www.uab.edu/armyrotc/faq#:~:text=Students%20who%20enroll%20in%20ROTC,It's%20considered%20a%20college%20elective.
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Thanks for those resources! It seems that ROTC cadets are legally considered "active duty for training," meaning they would be ineligible. However, these resources make no distinction for contracted cadets. Is this due to there simply being no legal distinction?

I doubt there's any "getting away with it" since any sane person would wonder how an 18 year old is already an E5 in the military, then it would inevitably be revealed that they're a cadet.
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SFC Retention Operations Nco
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(Join to see) actually the second one answers it pretty well. You're contracted with the military but not a member of the military until you are accessed. There's no definition of who isn'l a service member because regulation, law, and policy usually stick to defining what something is and not what it is not.
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I doubt US code would be the reference for definitions in state law.
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SGT Steve McFarland
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You would have to check with your state's CCW licensing authority.
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SP5 Peter Keane
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There is no "grey area" You haven't completed Basic, you are not Active Duty, you are not member of a Reserve Component.
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