Do cadets actually outrank non-commissioned officers?

Maturity comes with age. Leadership comes with experience. I've seen very few 22-year-olds in the military or the civilian world who were Mature Leaders. Maybe 1 or 2 and not complete by any means. The most important thing they should teach in the academies is the ability to Adapt, Improvise and Overcome and of course situational awareness. Unfortunately, those little gold bars make you an expert, just like hitting 14 does it for little girls....

The age old battle of whooper snapped versus the well known experienced. I have watch a many of power struggles. Just let them youngins think so.

Hey folks -Air Force Dad here. I have a son, daughter and son-in-law on active duty - all Captains/Majors. Many veterans in my ancestral tree.
Let me tell you what I see here: CADETS are *practice* *pretend* *on training wheels* young officers , but they out'rank' NO ONE on Active Duty because they have not and do not take the Oath or recieve their Commission to join the line under AFTER THEY GRADUATE from a service academy, ROTC (at colllege) or OCS. Period. Stop.
They are "non-commissioned" (not sworn in or commissioned) civilians. They can be saluted and treated with respect b/c they 'probably will be /may be' an officer someday, but the reality is they are civilians in training. Their ranks are 'Cadet' ranks. No medals or awards the win in ROTC or otherwise carry over to Active Duty. They are NOT empowered to boss ANYONE other than junior cadets. Think of Cadets as a side-, silent-, separate "silo" reserve of young folks that may eventually slot into the ranks as active duty personnel. But they are not. Training wheels.

Perhaps a good spanking is in order.

Technically they do. But in reality: cadets truly outrank E5 and below. LTS outrank E7 an below. No one outranks E9's - they know everything

Can't speak for other services, but the few I saw as a PO-1 (E-6) in the USCG had it made very clear to them that they were the bottom of the food chain. My step son was permanent party on the Eagle and even as an SA/SN (E-2/3) his job was to work with, supervise and train the academy cadets.

The correct response is: Negative. Unless/Until they are a Commissioned Officer, as an NCO, you are GOD to them. They only have power over you (POST Commissioning) because they have received delegatory powers via the President of the United States to give such commands. So frankly, until they are no longer a cadet, they are nothing w.r.t. Military authority.

Hell, no, not until they are commissioned officers, unless that has changed dramatically.

People keep quoting AR 600-20 table 1-1 but no one has asked if these cadets have actually joined the military. If they are not under contract they don't outrank anyone. If they are under contract yes they do but in the same way a 1st or 2nd LT does. They don't know anything and alot of what they do know is wrong. So it's your job to guide and train them.

I do not believe a Cadet holds any field rank. They are commissioned upon graduation. If a cadet is "smart" they will show respect to all active duty members and leave the rank conversation for after they complete their studies; gain commission and will then, without ambiguity "outrank" 100% of non commissioned and warrant officers.