Recruiting Revival Please?

[Skyray]

Since Smitty bumped this OLD thread to stir the pot... Lock. 

Also... engaging him when he does this will not help matters.

There were some good ideas being aired when Smitty (whoever that is) jumped in with some monomaniacal crap that set Mike off.  Those of you who remember me are certianly aware that I am no fan of AJP, but he has done his damage, and I don't think he is totally responsible for the problems we (editorial "we" Sparky) are experiencing in recruiting and retention.  First of all, the missions are changing.  In my heyday, I could expect three to five search missions a week, courtesy of false EPIRB activations.  Load the van with however many cadets I could round up on short notice, head for Indian Country, and motivate my cadets like no meeting ever could.  The advent of the 406 EPIRB has brought that to an end.  Not because the radio is more reliable, but because we put a misplaced trust in their position reporting and no longer call out the search team.  Can we do anything about that?  Probably not at our level, but just like we (editorial again, Sparky) changed our mission from bombing submarines to finding lost airplanes, there is probably some mission out there just aching for our attention.

We need to find that mission or missions, embrace them, and start motivating our troops again.  I suspect paintball wars are insufficiently politically correct, but there has to be something.

Fixed quote - MIKE

[Pylon]

I've always found no short-coming of hands-on activities to interest our cadets.  They want to do something cool... things they don't do elsewhere.  While ELT searches are one option, that's not the only thing CAP has to offer cadets.  In fact, it's not intended as one of the main options to engage cadets with.

Tours of local airport facilities (air cargo facilities, FBOs, baggage handling, towers, the A&P's shop, etc.) and military facilities;

AE projects...  and not those fizzy rockets or paper airplane projects that insult your cadets' intelligence.  I'm talking fun and real projects, like creating from parts an airband frequency receiver that re-broadcasts the local airport traffic on an FM frequency so local visitors to the airport can listen to the traffic from their cars - external AE at its best.  Or how about build a scale, detailed model of your local airport and donate it to the FBO, complete with a plaque indicating "build and donated by Civil Air Patrol, your squadron, website address";

Crowd control and volunteers at local events.  Got area charities that have 5k runs or half-marathons, etc?  They need volunteers.  Offer CAP's assistance, and carry recruiting brochures with you while you're there.

Have your cadets written a book lately?  Make it a joint project for your senior cadets to compile their experiences on cadet leadership in written form.  Have your newer cadets write submissions about their thoughts on how leaders in their squadron have motivated them, and who they look up to and why.  Appoint a cadet as editor or a group of cadets as an editorial board.  Submit it to journals, make a PDF and post it to the web, maybe even do a small run of printed versions when you're done with on-demand printing solutions (totally affordable).  Think of the ego-boost your cadets will have, and what a great reference for the future.

Have you made visits to local veterans at home?  Helped the VFW with FireWatch?  Done all 5 front seat O-Flights for each cadet?  Shown the cadets how to change oil in the aircraft?  Train them in mission base functions?  Taught them to set-up and run a comm net?  Gotten them their ROP-As? Ham licenses?  Hosted a squadron picnic?  Awards Banquet?  Done unit challenge coins?    Taken an NWS Skyspotter course?  Done a career fair?  Host a fly-in Pancake breakfasts and plane wash?  Land Navigation and Wilderness Survival bivouac?  How about a winter survival bivouac? 

Just because you don't have ES calls to run out on with the cadets doesn't mean there is no shortage of awesome, engaging, motivating and educational activities out there to do.  They just require a spot of planning and organization to pull them off successfully.  If you really do find a shortage of fun things to do, you must have done all of these already! 

[LtCol White]

The real key is get back to the basics of old style recruiting and forget crap like NASCAR. Start selling the program for what it is and what we do. Nice brochures with professional image photos of members in action, videos made of training, booths at airshows, and talking to middle school classes all are good ways to recruit.

Another good tool is get in with your local USAF recruiter. When they go out to a High School and a 13-14 yr old comes up and says "I wanna join the AF", the recruiter can say "you're too young right now, but here is a program to start you off that will help you out when you are old enough"

[Skyray]

The Pylon pontificated:

If you really do find a shortage of fun things to do, you must have done all of these already! 

Actually, I have done most of those things, including traffic and crowd control at a Scottish Festival.  My tongue is bleeding from where I am biting it, but the problem is not so much nothing to do, but rejection of those adult leaders who have the imagination to find the projects and do them.  My specialty was fox hunting.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Amateur Radio terminology, that is what you do when you DF an ELT.  Cadets love to Fox Hunt, but their interest tends to lag in a artificial situation.  The last Hamboree (Miami Ham Fest) the commander of Homestead Cadet Squadron brought around thirty of her cadets to help with set up, tear down, and crowd control.  They had a ball!  Ten years ago Homestead used to participate in the Amateur Radio "Field Day" where all the Hams go out and test their disaster communications ability.  Then the CAP got more "professional" and started rationing radios to Wing and Group Commanders with radio requirements that precluded anyone but lawyers and doctors from buying their own.  I had my own, but now that I am no longer welcome in CAP I use it to monitor local traffic.  About the only traffic I hear are the Wing Commander and the Communications officers.

There are many things that can be done to raise interest.  I had a squadron commander who used to call all the Senior Members on Tuesday before the meeting on Wednesday, just to remind them of the meeting and the agenda.  The cadets used a phone tree, which was good practice.  I think the main thing was showing an interest, and we are rapidly running out of senior members who are here for the good they can do and not for the BLING.

[dwb]

Great ideas, Mike!

Also, CAP does not actually have a recruiting problem.  We have a retention problem.

CAP practically sells itself to even a somewhat self-motivated teenager.  Then they join, and they just drill and sit in boring classes every week, and then they leave.

We lose thousands of people every year to circumstances like that.

[LtCol White]

Great ideas, Mike!

Also, CAP does not actually have a recruiting problem.  We have a retention problem.

CAP practically sells itself to even a somewhat self-motivated teenager.  Then they join, and they just drill and sit in boring classes every week, and then they leave.

We lose thousands of people every year to circumstances like that.

Very true. Cadets sit in class all day long listening to someone lecture and teach. Meetings need to balance this out. Field trips to local airports and towers are good events. We had the local Life Flight chopper come land at a meeting one night.

When teaching is needed, try to use other cadets to do the teaching. This helps develop speaking skills in the cadets as well as showing their peers that they really do know what they are talking about.

[Skyray]

A wise old sage said:

Very true. Cadets sit in class all day long listening to someone lecture and teach. Meetings need to balance this out. Field trips to local airports and towers are good events. We had the local Life Flight chopper come land at a meeting one night.

And for the good Lord's sake, find something for the Senior Members to do besides sit and look at each other.  It takes a lot of imagination and a modicum of work, but the staff are the members that will make or break your squadron by keeping the cadets interested.

[LtCol White]

NO reason the seniors cannot be involved in much of the same as the cadets. In fact, it will help foster a better relationship between the seniors and cadets as they get to know eachother.

[Pumbaa]

A couple projects we are looking at.. building a 4 foot Rocket... Oh yeah!

I also want to build a J-3 Piper Cub..  I am working on raising the funds to do that now and secure a hanger facility.. Yeah it will be a project and 1/2+

[Skyray]

A couple projects we are looking at.. building a 4 foot Rocket... Oh yeah!

I also want to build a J-3 Piper Cub..  I am working on raising the funds to do that now and secure a hanger facility.. Yeah it will be a project and 1/2+

Now that is a project that you should be able to get your teeth into.  We used to make flying pipe bombs out of schedule 80 PVC until I discussed our technique with the National Rocketry Guru at the 1988 National Board and he got this horrified look on his face and told me to quit.  My cadets quickly lost interest in rockets that didn't do anything but go up and come down.  You can only measure attained altitude so many times.

For LtCol. White:  I seemed to constantly find myself in squadrons whose commanders had a problem with NIH and a reluctance to delegate.  So meeting frequently would end up with the staff milling about smartly while the cadet officers taught cadet programs and the squadron commander did paperwork--oh, did I mention that many of them were micro-managers?

[Pylon]

Skyray, you do bring up a very important (and, in my opinion, difficult) topic: keeping senior members engaged.  For a while, our squadron has had "business only" meetings for the seniors.  Seniors arrive (on a separate night than the cadets, in a separate building at the airport), discuss updates and what's new for 2 hours in a "round table" format, have a 15-25 minute safety briefing aimed mostly for the pilots and go home.

Meanwhile, our cadets have been going on intriguing field trips, performing work in the community, driving all around the east coast for training activities and air shows, taking ES training, and all sorts of stuff.  Same 2 hours.

If I look back at the last six to eight months, I can make a list a mile long of things our cadets have accomplished.  A comparably-scoped list for the senior programs produces a much shorter, much paler list.



I think we tend to neglect senior programs because it's more difficult to engage adults.  You have to be better at public speaking to teach a class to adults and keep them interested and engaged.  You have to have better and higher-level subject material to begin with.  You'll need classes that pique the interests of the various specialties within your unit... the aircrews, and the support staff, etc.

How do we do it?  What types of classes and training have you all offered as a part of your weekly senior meetings? Inquiring minds would like to know (so we can steal your ideas   )!!

[Johnny Yuma]

A couple projects we are looking at.. building a 4 foot Rocket... Oh yeah!

I also want to build a J-3 Piper Cub..  I am working on raising the funds to do that now and secure a hanger facility.. Yeah it will be a project and 1/2+

Now that is a project that you should be able to get your teeth into.  We used to make flying pipe bombs out of schedule 80 PVC until I discussed our technique with the National Rocketry Guru at the 1988 National Board and he got this horrified look on his face and told me to quit.  My cadets quickly lost interest in rockets that didn't do anything but go up and come down.  You can only measure attained altitude so many times.

For LtCol. White:  I seemed to constantly find myself in squadrons whose commanders had a problem with NIH and a reluctance to delegate.  So meeting frequently would end up with the staff milling about smartly while the cadet officers taught cadet programs and the squadron commander did paperwork--oh, did I mention that many of them were micro-managers?

Flying Pipe Bombs?

How, if I may ask, does one get the knowledge to build one of these flying salutes?

[Skyray]

Johnny Yuma quote:

Flying Pipe Bombs?
How, if I may ask, does one get the knowledge to build one of these flying salutes?

I would tell you, but then I would be obligated to visit you in Raiford, or whatever your state prison is.

Some years after this very interesting series of experiments, I was initiated into an order which has a lot of police members.  I just happened to be seated next to the head of the Miami bomb squad, who told me that my little project consituted a felony.  Probably why National didn't want me to do it any more.  I can tell you that it involved an Estes rocket motor and exceeded 300 feet before it detonated--and don't use the motor with the six second delay, that is almost enough time for it to free fall to the ground.

[Skyray]

Well, this thread seems to have run out of steam.  Maybe it deserves to be out of steam, but then maybe it doesn't.  I would like to see some involvement with community projects for the cadets, but that doesn't seem to be a priority around my neck of the woods.

My area has three or four CERT teams.  I was out at a local Parks and Recreation function last week and saw one of these teams meeting in a public park.  It occurred to me that they seemed to be about the same age as older cadets, except for a few old duffers.  One of our problems in ES is that we were late getting on the certification wagon, and the professionals of Homeland Security developed a certain amount of disdain for our program.  CERT teams are certified; why couldn't a squadron train and certify a team to participate in local incidents.  I guarantee you that a well trained and disciplined team would be well received after the sheriff realized what they were capable of.

New Thought
I realize that it is a competing organization, but Coast Guard Aux around here has thirty or forty Vessel Inspection blitzes at local launch ramps every year.  These range from two guys in uniform walking around the ramp to a full blown event with shelter tents, refreshments and ten or twelve inspectors, much like my recollection of a search mission, except the objective is different.  Frequently the local fire departments send out firefighters to participate and educate the public on boating safety.  Inspectors have to be a member of the Auxiliary or the US Power Squadrons, but there are many jobs to be done in a blitz other than Inspector, and I for one could use a competent cadet to assist with inspections.

While we are on the subject of Coast Guard Auxiliary, one of their primary jobs is public education, and their instructors are certified.  When I offended the mighty powers in my wing and got terminated, I was scheduled to teach fieldcraft and orientation at an encampment, and the encampment director was hard pressed to find a replacement.  She sent a letter to my Flotilla Commander, and he authorized me to teach the classes as an Auxiliary member.  I don't know if it was quite legal, but I put on my Coast Guard Tropical uniform and taught two days of classes at Homestead.  A closer relationship with a sister auxiliary can be a good thing.

[jimmydeanno]

My area has three or four CERT teams.  I was out at a local Parks and Recreation function last week and saw one of these teams meeting in a public park... why couldn't a squadron train and certify a team to participate in local incidents.  I guarantee you that a well trained and disciplined team would be well received after the sheriff realized what they were capable of.

Our squadron is currently working on getting many of its members qualified as a CERT.  The red cross is teaching many classes, DES is teaching a bunch.  Over the last few years we have had many natural disasters that needed shelter managers, etc for response, but there just aren't enough in the area.  So the idea was to create a CERT team at our squadron that can be activated to participate in those missions when needed.

The Wing CC has already given us the 'ok' on it, and things are progressing nicely.

[Skyray]

The Wing CC has already given us the 'ok' on it, and things are progressing nicely. 

Good deal!

My phone rang before six o'clock this morning.  It was the county sheriff's office, and a 67 year old woman went missing at 11:30 last night.  No details yet, but hurricanes and plane crashes are not the only thing that get the CERT team out.

[floridacyclist]

Same here. My whole family went through CERT TTT at the state EOC, my wife is the new DCC, and I'm the new ES....should be interesting.

[Skyray]

Same here. My whole family went through CERT TTT at the state EOC, my wife is the new DCC, and I'm the new ES....should be interesting.

You guys in the state capital are just a whole lot more organized than we are down here in the banana republic.  Even the packet network comes to an end at West Palm Beach, and the general attitude around here is "Why do we need packet when we have APRS?"  The only problem with that is that you can send messages on APRS until perdition freezes over and never get any reply other than an inquiry why you are not using email.

I hope you are taking some cadets and senior members with you on your rise to glory.

[floridacyclist]

Wasn't that the whole point of taking on positions like DCC and ESO? Not like you'd accept those jobs for the pay raise. Lucky me also got named as the project officer for the OTS, the 16yo stepson is the new Cadet CC, and the 15yo (who was just named as the Honor Cadet of the HMRS Staff Trainee Squadron - shhh he's still at SUPTFC and doesn't know it yet) is in charge of the CBT program. Nothing about being organized because we're at the state capitol, everyone's just pushing harder to rebuild after a couple of years of neglect from higher up.

CERT TTT is available everywhere, you just have to keep an eye on the state training calendar to know when it's available.

As far as the packet and APRS, I heard the same thing in ARES, but I've never heard of a CAP packet station outside of reading about them in the regs.

[Skyray]

As far as the packet and APRS, I heard the same thing in ARES, but I've never heard of a CAP packet station outside of reading about them in the regs.

You may not be old enough.  I was madly thinking when I had packet connectivity all over the state, and the more I think about it, the more I think it was the middle 70s.  I am told by the state packet guy, whose name I have conveniently forgotten, that he has recently confirmed connectivity from TLH to PBI, and he was trying to talk me into putting up a station that would pull in PBI.  The problem is that I only have sixty feet of tower, and that just aint hardly enough.

The single biggest advantage to APRS is the automatic remote weather reporting with the tie in to the internet.  I tracked a friend of mine all the way from here to Sacramento, and was even occasionally able to get a text message through to him.  Not often enough to call it reliable communication, but frequently enough.  I suspect that the unreliability in the message traffic had more to do with when he checked his messages than with connectivity, since I had a pretty constant fix on his position.