Change for change sake... CAP grades apart from what we have now

[Dragoon]

I like it and hope you can make it happen. But be prepared to counter the following argument:

"This means that members of squadrons too far from Group/Wing to serve at those levels will never get promoted - that's not fair!"

In the end, everyone believes it's their God given right to get promoted.  Hard to change that perception.

[FW]

It will be the NB who makes such a decision.  However, the counter arguments to the two statements you make, in my opinion, are non issues.
1.  I live well over a thousand miles from my "HQ." and have no problem doing my CAP business.
2.  There is not one word in the current regulations mandating a grade as a "birthright"  .  It has, though, become conventional wisdom.

Onward to the windmills.

[Hawk200]

In the end, everyone believes it's their God given right to get promoted. 

I've never felt I had a right to promotion. I do feel that I should have the same opportunities as anyone else. At present, I do have those opportunities. I meet the requirements, I take the necessary courses, I do my job and move forward.

In some of these other systems, I wouldn't have the opportunity, and neither would a lot of others. Fair competition is fine. Creating "haves" and "have nots" is wrong.

[ZigZag911]

My experience has been that even in ES (missions) you have those who want to do the "fun" stuff (flying, GT) and never ever take on mission management responsibility.

That's fine....these are tactical operations personnel....in a normal organization, since they are not the senior leaders/managers, there would be a "ceiling" beyond which they would not rise.....we need to re-invent some 'junior' grades, whether these are enlisted /NCO, or flight/warrant officer, is almost immaterial....the principle needs to become re-established that one does not rise above, say, 1 Lt, without accepting significant responsibility in command, staff, mission management, training activities (RES, Basic encampments).

From my limited understanding of CGAux, their base "rank" (I know, they don't call it rank) is equivalent to our SMWG...advancement accompanies jobs, some elected, some appointed.

I don't think we'd do well electing commanders, but the rest of it sounds pretty good to me!

[DNall]

^ they use enlisted grade & promote thru it similar to CAP. The officer grades are reserve for command/staff billets & are both temporary & elected, which I think is a bad idea. They also have much more direct supervision by active operational CG.

I just sent my outgoing company commander from Houston to a staff billet in Dallas, and it doesn't come with a promotion. That's a 250 mile drive each way. If he were enlisted, he could stay in the same unit forever. He chose to be an officer, which means less slots with more responsibility & if you go to a higher echelon that sometimes means some travel.

That's not the case under the system I'm proposing here though. The overwhelming majority of personnel would be enlisted & stay within one Sq forever (unless they move & transfer). The majority of officers would also be at the Sq level, which is very close to the ground (how far is the next closest CAP unit). The only people really forced above Sq level are at the field grade point. Right now we have officers at very distant locations working for Wgs & Regions. Why would this be any different?

Far as right to promote... well that's fine if the grade is meaningless, but it's not under this system. In the real world (be that the mil or corporate world) you have to board/interview for promotions, at least in mgmt. That's supposed to cause the cream to rise to the top, and it's fairly effective at that despite the downfalls. We don't have that in CAP & it kills our leadership & mgmt potential. I'd care a lot more about promotions that I earned & that meant something or anyone else cared about than the relatively meaningless crap we have now.