Back in the 50's and 60's cadet units were popular in Catholic and private schools. The reason being they made the perfect playground for paedophiles. In about the 2nd year of high school I refused to "volunteer" to join my Catholic school's cadet unit. The Cadet Master made my life hell, bullying, intimidating, corporal punishment the type of behaviour one could expect from a deviant militarist. Years later the pervert was exposed as a paedophile, he had molested many boys, including at cadet camps. The same turd was school 'Master of Discipline'.

Francis William Cable (also known as "Brother Romuald") Cadet Master and convicted paedophile.

It was the high schools not Catholic schools with cadet cores in country NSW in the 50s.

No pedophilia there either. Any one who tried that on would have found themselves in hospital pretty quickly. Country kids could be pretty tough, & didn't muck about.

Our cadet masters were an ex mosquito path finder pilot, & an infantry major from the middle east & New Guinea, both of whom, with their wives were too busy increasing the bush population to bother with that stuff.

Some of us weren't too sure about the geography master, but then he married the french teacher & joined the populate or perish brigade.

Lithuania is in an interesting geographical context I don't envy their location- a land border with Russia. But they have the advantage of the Baltic Sea. They seem to be on the border of Germanic and Slavic tribes. A fascinating and potentially unstable region of the world would seem to require vigilance to hold. As they say freedom isn't free.