living in army tents or barracks, the youth are organized into squads. the squad has two leaders chosen by the commander. the highest youth is taken under the base officer's wing and wears a braid on their left shoulder, or multi-colored (striped) epaulets. if they wear the braid they wear the same color epaulet as the rest of their unit. the second highest youth commander is the sergeant. they wear special epaulets, usually black, and they never wear a braid.