Encampment Commander

[Stonewall]

So, who has been an Encampment Commander?

I've been on staff as a senior member at two encampments and I was commandant of NGSAR (Advanced) back in 1999, but never an Encampment Commander.

How are they chosen?  I was toying around with the idea of applying or volunteering for the position in the future, possibly 2009 Winter or 2010 Summer.  I think I'd prefer Winter since I don't feel like sweating my butt off just by being outside.

Thoughts?  Experiences?  Suggestions?  Warnings?

[adamblank]

I have been an encampment commander.  It without a doubt was the most rewarding/difficult thing I have done in CAP.  It seems like you have had most of the great experiences in Civil Air Patrol, but I imagine no career in CP is complete without serving as encampment commander.

In smaller wings like mine, we usually only have a few people interested in the position so it is deliberated among the CP staff and we forward the suggestion to the wing cc for his decision.  Bigger wings seem to have a pretty extensive list, and thus a lengthy application process.

My suggestion would be to pick your vice and commandant as soon as possible.  Be careful not to get burned out.  My encampment didn't have a lot of staff so it put an extra burden on the senior staff.  Being the camp commander is a double-edged sword, you get to make the encampment happen on the grand scale but might miss a lot of the fun activities you would be knee-deep in as a TAC.

Based on your experiences in CAP you shouldn't have any problems.  PM me if you want some of the materials I used from my camp (curriculum counter etc).

Adam

[Timbo]

I was Chief of Staff, and Deputy before.  When I was Deputy, I took over as the Commander when he left halfway through the week.  I was slotted to be Commander the following year, but moved back to Pennsylvania.  That was 12 years ago, and I have not been to a PAWG ENC yet.

I can say the selection process in most Wings= Second in Command one year then move to Command the following, or whenever the current Commander decides to step down. 

When I was a Cadet in PAWG in the early 90's, there were two Summer Encampments, one on the eastern side of the State, one on the western side of the State.  They were both 5 hours away from each other.  In 1998, the Wing Commander decided to shut down the Western Encampment for no reason but "consolidation".  The Eastern Encampment is solely staffed by Eastern Senior Members and Cadets, with a few Western Cadets thrown in.  It really is a shame.

I would never be a part of my Wing's Encampment, solely for the distance and driving time it would entail.  In fact, many units that are on the Western Side of Pennsylvania send their Cadets to Ohio, West Virginia, and some to Maryland Wing Encampments.  It is both Cheaper (one, almost as much as $70.00!!!), and the driving time is shorter.     

[Eclipse]

I am one currently (09 will be 7th year).

Selection was a combination of my Group hosting the encampment, having participated as senior staff previously, and being one of the few interested in the job.

Probably one of the most rewarding things I've done in my life, CAP or other, which is why though my time to step aside is coming, I'm putting it off as long as I can.

[Slim]

Kirt,

I say go for it.  It was-without a doubt-the best thing I've ever done in CAP. 

I don't know how it is done in FLWG, but here it can be a rather lengthy process.  I set this goal for myself in about 1992, and started working my way up the ladder.  I spent a few years doing the less-than-glamorous jobs like logistics, did training/scheduling for four years, was commandant of cadets for a year, then got knocked down a few pegs and started working my way back up.  From about 2000 on, I was placed in positions to groom and prepare me for the top spot:  executive officer/chief of staff, assistant commandant of cadets, commandant (again), then two more years as XO, two years as vice commander, then the big time.  In other words, i spent a lot of time molding myself so that I was familiar with everything involved with making them happen before I ever sat down in the big chair.

But, there is a lot of "Who you know" and "Who is willing to do the job" involved in it too.  Best thing to do is get yourself out there and staff for a year or two; try for commandant or XO, then make it known that you want to be the boss.  Sooner or later, the CP staff will be wondering who to pick, and someone will (hopefully) remember that you expressed an interest.  Getting involved will also give you a chance to see who the players are; the people who show up and do the same things every year, the subject matter experts.  Remember those people if/when your time comes.

What I did with my staff is this:  I picked my command team right away.  I had a vice, XO and commandant who I wanted and that I trusted completely.  Then, when we started filling in section heads (for senior staff), I picked/recommended the good people, then got out of their way and let them do their jobs.  Same thing with the cadet side; I was there for the selection process, but I just sat back, kept my mouth shut and let my commandant do her thing.

I also gave my staff ownership.  Their successes and failures were theirs.  My commandant tanked staffing one of the squadrons (commander, deputy and XO), and she knew it.  On the other hand, her other 27 picks for staffing were major successes, and she knew that too.

Sure, it was difficult and stressful.  I was somewhat awed and intimidated by the fact that I was responsible for over 200 people for a week, but I knew that I had good people backing me up, and everything would be fine.  Putting everything together took a lot out of me and my command team, but we pulled off an outstanding activity in the end.

I could go on and on about it.

Oh, by the way.  I wish I could have the job for six more years.

[Trung Si Ma]

Kirt,

I've done five encampments as a commander, but four of those were the old "Type B" encampments. 

I've posted earlier about getting the 1980 AKWG Encampment thrust upon me just 2 months prior to crossing the LD on it.  I picked/begged/enslaved some really good people to help me out (even got two former cadets to rejoin as SM to be TAC's).  We planned it like the hasty attack that it was - we litterally wrote a 5 paragraph combat order and went from there.  I got lucky, had great folks to help me keep my head out of my fourth point of contact and we pulled off a great encampment.

Remember that nothing is impossible, but all of it is difficult.

Tell you what, if you do a winter one, I'll try and come and assist (if you'll have me) and I'm sure there are some other members on this board from the north lands who will come play in Florida for a week.

Don

PS - If your wife is Comandant of Cadets, please remember to thank her at the banquet.

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

I commanded the RIWG Encampmant a few years ago. I was lucky to have good staff, both senior and cadet. It was very challenging and rewarding.

[Stonewall]

Tell you what, if you do a winter one, I'll try and come and assist (if you'll have me) and I'm sure there are some other members on this board from the north lands who will come play in Florida for a week.

Don

PS - If your wife is Comandant of Cadets, please remember to thank her at the banquet.

All fine and good, if I get the blessing of my wing commander, who at this point, doesn't know I exist.  Heck, I've laid so low that 75% of my squadron doesn't know me.

In 1994 I was a TAC Officer (voted Top Senior) at the National Capital Wing encampment held at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD.  The commander himself was as shady as an oak tree.  I met him the year before at the 1993 encampment on Ft. Belvoir.  He actually showed up wearing a Ranger Tab, saying he was a LRRP in Vietnam.  He never served at all.  Anyway, I saw things that were so poorly run, I would actually call them "dangerous" and "unsafe" for cadets.  First, there wasn't a schedule.  Second, there were no logistics.  We didn't even have a plan to get chow for the 100+ cadets.  The idea was to "just show up at the chow hall".

So, as a senior member, I've seen how NOT to run an encampment and that very experience turned me off from ever wanting to go to another one.  But that was 14 years ago and I know I have what it takes to lead an encampment.  And I would actually prefer a winter one.  So, I will visit the FLWG Winter Encampment next week and see what it's like.  I think it's only 2 hours away so it won't be bad to spend a day there.

I suppose I should start networking and making myself known since no one would hire a stranger to do any job.  Luckily, I have very good references and experience and I think if I found the right people to work with me (you either love me or hate me) it'll be pretty Sierra Hotel.

One thing Gordon McIntosh taught me about encampments, is if you have a "sick call", they will come.

[Trung Si Ma]

One of the things that we did here in OKWG when I was involved with the encampments (94 - 97) was a diagnostic PT test when the cadets showed up, another one mid way through, and a final when they left.  At that time the PT test was new, so it was the first time the cadet officers had ever run one (and yes, the cadet officers and NCOs administered the PT test).  We prepared a document that had everyones PT score information on it and sent it to the squadrons so that the cadets got credit for taking it.

We also did daily PT at oh-dark thirty every morning to wake up the sleepy seniors and then ran in flight formations while singing severely cleaned up jodies.

Did I mention the BEST PT and MOST IMPROVED PT streamers for their guidons? 

[Eeyore]

OKWG did the same thing in 2006 when I was on the Senior Staff. Looks like your tradition has kept going.

I was on the senior side of an encampment for the first time in 2007 and ended up pulling double duty as the PAO and a TAC (one of the TACs cancelled last minute). It was a ton of work, we ran the whole thing with only 8 full time senior staffers and 92 cadets (staff and basics). It was a ton of fun and a great experience. Things didn't go smoothly from the start, but where would the fun be if there weren't bumps along the way.

I can't wait to do another one, but like Kirt, I am not well known around the wing and am not part of the group that have been running them in OK during the last couple of years.

Yes, if you have a sick call they will all come. We had a few cadets show up and the next thing you know everyone wanted to report to sick call.

[Slim]

I'll repeat my advice.  Get your face out there and be known.  If you're not part of the group, work your way in.  True, it might take a few years to get in, but it's not impossible.  It may just be a matter of letting someone know you're interested, and you can be in.

[Stonewall]

I am going to do this.  I will plan my life as if I will be the encampment commander for FLWG Winter Encampment for 2009.  This may not be realistic or even remotely possible, so if I can't do it next year simply change the year to 2010, 11,...15.  Thing is, I will start doing some brainstorming, jotting things on paper, asking around and seeking input from some BTDTs like Slim, Trung Si Ma, and Eclipse.  Plagiarise?  You betcha!  Some of my best works in life have been compilations of others' best works.

Please assure me of one thing, though.  Please tell me that most encampments do have a plan; a schedule that will obviously be formed around the phrase "Semper Gumby".  I swear, I've visited encampments in the past and called to see what was going on any given day and 90% of the time couldn't get an answer.  I mean, if you have C-130 flights scheduled, a range or even a briefing by PJs, you must have that preplanned, on paper, signed, dotted and approved.  Naturally, you have to be flexible and always thinking on your toes...based on a method I lived by as a grunt called METT-T.

[ctrossen]

I'll echo the comments: being Encampment Commander is the toughest and most rewarding job I've had in CAP.

I was Wisconsin Wing Encampment Commander for the first time this last year (2008), and am again in 2009. I'd been a "regular" for a number of years (mostly Deputy Commandant/school director and Commandant, with an occasional foray as Chief Tac), but hadn't been around much in the past several years. Typically for us, the appointment of the Encampment CC is an "organic" process, with the Deputy moving up when the CC moved on, though I came in during a "transition period"--there was a lot of burnout and frustration (the appointed Deputy in '07 was the immediately former CC and wasn't interested in the job again). So I threw my name in the hat.

I worked as the Safety Officer in '07 precisely so I could "look around" and not be stuck in the office. That gave me the chance to poke my nose around and see things I'd never noticed before or had crept into the program.

Then the "hard part" of the job kicked in. Wisconsin had been at the same location for its encampment for the past 41 years (Volk Field ANGB)--until, apparently, until I took over. Scheduling problems (due to an increase in Ops Tempo on base) prevented us from getting in. So we had to find a new location for the Encampment. Long story short, with no other military options open to us in Wisconsin (Ft. McCoy was too busy), and every other civilian option we looked at too pricey, we ended up going to Camp Ripley in MN (which was only fair, since both IL and MN wings had utilized Volk Field numerous times throughout the years).

Frankly, even though we had to figure out how to move our people an extra 400 miles and then put on an encampment at a brand new place, this was the best thing that could've happened. With four decades in one location, there was just a little too much institutional inertia. Other than a little rearranging here and there, I don't think the schedule had changed significantly in 20 years (certainly not since I was on the cadet exec staff in the early '90s). We were in a rut. I knew there were things that needed to be changed; the move was just the vessel that opened peoples' minds to the changes.


For me, the most difficult part of the job was the pre-encampment phase. Searching for a new location, developing the logistics needed (getting the transportation & setting up a foodservice vendor; luckily we already had cooks that had worked for us the past several years and were willing to come the extra miles), and getting the staff (we didn't have confirmed dates until the end of Feb '08, so we started three months late!). I honestly felt that I "earned my paycheck"; or, put another way, "I love[d] it when a plan comes together!"

Once we got to the Encampment, I had it easy. I'd tried to surrounded myself with good people, let them know what my vision and goals were, and let them do their thing. Some of them think that I micromanaged them at every step (typically the ones that didn't like my particular vision), and others thought I didn't step in enough. I won't say there weren't problems, but this was the best encampment that I could remember. We had more training opportunities than ever before, and a few options (read: OPEN BAY barracks) that we hadn't had at Volk Field in over a decade.

The training plan changed significantly from years past, so instead of basically having the entire week's schedules done a month before the encampment, the training section worked up the next day's schedule during the day and published it (generally by) 1600-1800. (But yes, we do typically have a plan on what to do and how to do it long before we get to the encampment site.)

All in all, let TPTB ("the Powers that Be") know you want the job. Spend the time to get to know the encampment, its idiosyncracies and its problems. Figure out what YOU want to do. Find the people you want and need to do the job, communicate that vision, and let them at it.

Finally: make sure you and your staff enjoys the experience. This has to be fun/rewarding in some way, especially for the seniors who have taken a week (or more) off from work and in many cases are spending several hundred dollars in fuel, or food, or billeting, or whatever to attend the encampment.

I was lucky. I had a good staff, good weather, an extremely accommodating post, and good fortune in general. Plus a LOT of experience to draw upon (four previous Encampment CCs on my staff that I could get perspective from).


Good luck in YOUR quest. And thanks for starting this thread. It's always good to be able to "borrow" good ideas!

[Trung Si Ma]

Plagiarise?  You betcha!  Some of my best works in life have been compilations of others' best works.

As long as we get the updates back so that the cycle continues

[Eclipse]

Please assure me of one thing, though.  Please tell me that most encampments do have a plan; a schedule that will obviously be formed around the phrase "Semper Gumby".  I swear, I've visited encampments in the past and called to see what was going on any given day and 90% of the time couldn't get an answer. 

Yes, we do:  http://encampment.group22.net/schedule.html - any good encampment or other activity is going to have one. I can't imagine the mindset that groups 100+ people, most of them cadets, with no formal plan to feed them, etc.

In my case we have to plan down to the hour because time is so tight, however as we are at the mercy of Navy resources, Gumby is ever-present.

You might notice that we try to schedule everything in 1-hour blocks, and have to account for transit everywhere as well - to my chagrin, in order to move the encampment anywhere, we lose at least an hour round trip (15 minutes form up, 15 to move, rinse, repeat).

By hour-blocking the whole activity we not only can easily account for the required hours, but are also able to easily move things around. 

Navy swim instructors running late?  No problem, let's slot in the DDR class while we're in the stands waiting for the instructors.   Galley too busy for us at 11:00?  No problem, stand fast in the ship and work on the pass & review.

It also gives us an easy way to assign classes - "Cadet Henderson", I need an hour on uniform wear, etc.

As mentioned above, 80-90% of the planning is complete when you walk in the door, the rest is execution - no cadets having 23:30 staff meetings to plan the next day's classes.  If its not done at lights out, its not done.

At the risk of offending those who may have been involved before me, when I took over the activity was a mess - nothing like Stonewall is talking about with what amounts to legit abcense of a plan, but more just having two weekends of band camp culminating in a graduation.

Many of the players had been involved so long they were quoting regs and policies from two revs back, etc.  When I took over I had the "advantage"  of the new rev of 52-16, so I could simply fall back on the phrase "we don't do it that way anymore".

Our first year with the new plans, etc., went better than expected - too well, probably, as we got cocky and thought we had things knocked, the next year showed us otherwise.

Since then, with consistency in the venue and resources, we've pretty much got hots and cots down to boiler plate, and are now working on making the curriculum and activities more active and less lecture.

Generally there's two ways to become an encampment CC:

Be standing in the right place during one of those "golden moments of desperation" where the powers are reaching out to a new group and you happen to be standing there ready to take the reins, or...

Invest yourself in an activity for several years and work their plan to show you're a team player, etc.  If you get lucky and fall in with a group of "good fellas", it'll be easy to ride their train until its your turn, however the reality is that I've had more than a few people come on board as staffers who were there more to "show my the Way..." than try and help the team and the process.

What are you doing in late April?   

[JoeTomasone]

I will visit the FLWG Winter Encampment next week and see what it's like.

Come say hi, I will be the Comms Officer and a Tac officer.   

[Stonewall]

Wilco.  I'd like to show up in uniform, preferably the uniform of the day.  Can I shoot you an email the day before to find out what they're wearing?

And, I think I should ask "permission" to visit.  Who is the CC and can I get their email address?

[Eclipse]

And, I think I should ask "permission" to visit.  Who is the CC and can I get their email address?

An excellent idea.

In our case we're pretty much shielded from "walk-ins" because the portion of the base we're on requires additional
authorization for access, but in year's past we've had a few people just wandering around after getting gate passes and
its not a welcome scenario.

For people who want to see what we're doing, I can add them to the access list in advance and coordinate the best time to show up, I'm sure most other CC's would prefer the same thing.

[Stonewall]

Base?  I thought it was at a civilian facility?  If its a military base I have a DOD decal and CAC card as I'm in the Air Guard.

[Eclipse]

Base?  I thought it was at a civilian facility?  If its a military base I have a DOD decal and CAC card as I'm in the Air Guard.

I'm speaking of my encampment - not sure where FLWG's is.