What roles do MD, RN, EMT have in CAP

[TheSkyHornet]

I always wonder how the Coast Guard Auxiliary finds ways to support the Coast Guard by providing volunteer medical services by their HSOs... on bases, on vessels, at USCG Stations and at Reserve Centers, yet the USAF/USSF can't find a way to utilize CAP HSOs.

In a conversation with some people on that front, it is because they are tightly integrated with the service, but also ONLY serving in the service where we are more open architecture and therefore higher risk.

Not having a cadet program probably helps too.

Not really, because the Cadet Program facet is really it's own area of responsibility and set of standards. The issue is that CAP has heavily intertwined local squadron cadet programs into whatever the unit feels it should/can be; thus, it's hard to identify when a senior is really performing a Cadet Program function versus any of the other AOR functions (Finance, HSO) which may come with other liabilities.

Having an HSO at an Incident Commander Center and having an HSO at a cadet encampment is really no different. The problem is that the people (person) in charge often completely misuses that individual's role to an incredibly inappropriate level.

Like I said in a previous post (circa 2022), as an Encampment Training Officer, I would much rather have someone trained that I can consult with when I'm just panicking and don't know what to do. But that doesn't mean that this is what I'm supposed to be doing, nor does it mean that the HSO is supposed to be making a medical determination about prognosis and treatment, to include whether we should apply a bandage or take someone to an urgent care.

So I wouldn't compare USCG Aux to CAP (regarding HSO usage) in that the difference is having cadets. HSO usage for cadet activities in CAP is where the problem already exists internally due enforcement issues. And there are already a number of regulations that differentiate "when working with cadets" versus not. It's fairly easy to delineate CP ON/CP OFF.

The bottom line here—as this thread has gone in circles to express—is that CAP employs HSOs in their health professional background to advise on health matters in support of CAP mission operations. HSOs, however, are not actively performing the function of a medical duty officer during or in service of CAP activities.