When I got my last promotion, and literally, probably my last one.. they put it in, in the wee hours of O-Dark-thirty, CA time. By the time the sun was up on Oahu, the thing had gone through all the way to region. Done. The cadet staff at encampment somehow knew before I did, and even changed the sign on the door to the upgraded grade.   No one in that chain was at their "home" or "office". Everyone was elsewhere. The majority of it was probably done on phones, too.

This is 2013. You can't do that "I do CAP stuff once in a blue moon" bit anymore. You can't blame the mail for delays anymore. For all it's imperfectness, email is quite resilient. It really does work amazingly well.

The average member in your house, maybe. This may come as a shock, but there are people who not only don't check email, they don't use it. Nothing is lost by making a phone call to let someone know something is pending. Or you can just sit and wait and complain about how things don't get done...

Quote from: Eclipse on December 26, 2013, 09:51:25 PM

Quote from: THRAWN on December 26, 2013, 09:41:01 PMSome people don't check their email on a regular basis, only if they know something is going to be coming in.

That.
Is.
Ridiculous.

The average member is getting their email on a mobile device in real-time.

If you can't be bothered to be checking your email on at least a daily basis, you do not have the ability
to be a Commander in CAP in this day and age.

Period.

If you are in a position where it is necessary to communicate via email, and you either haven't the foggiest clue how to do so, don't have the equipment or don't ever plan on using said equipment,  you don't need to be in that position. Just my 2 pence.

Quote from: Eclipse on December 26, 2013, 09:51:25 PM
If you can't be bothered to be checking your email on at least a daily basis, you do not have the ability
to be a Commander in CAP in this day and age.

Period.

Quote from: Garibaldi on December 27, 2013, 03:33:18 PM
If you are in a position where it is necessary to communicate via email, and you either haven't the foggiest clue how to do so, don't have the equipment or don't ever plan on using said equipment,  you don't need to be in that position. Just my 2 pence.

Emphatically agree with both of these points; unfortunately we still have squadron, group, and wing CCs who feel that the average member is less than they are and should consider themselves lucky if they get a response within 3 months, if ever. It seems that NHQ is trying very hard to simplify and streamline the process and hopefully create a more professional organization, but we still have people doing there best to wreck it.

Quote from: jeders on December 27, 2013, 04:33:56 PM..unfortunately we still have squadron, group, and wing CCs who feel that the average member is less than they are and should consider themselves lucky if they get a response within 3 months, if ever..

..and every single last one of them need to be punted from those positions. Pronto. Period.

Quote from: ProdigalJim on December 26, 2013, 11:11:18 PM

Quote from: Eclipse on December 26, 2013, 09:57:23 PM
It's so hilarious to see the random "out of state" messages from staffers and commanders - HINT: It's 2013, there's no
such thing any more as "out of the office" or "out of touch".

While I understand the sentiment, I have to respectfully disagree. There absolutely is such a thing as "out of touch," and I'm it right now. I've gone home to upstate NY for the holidays, and to get Internet (like right now) I have to drive into town and go to the coffee place. The house is 25 minutes away from town, in the woods, and out of cell and Internet range. To be honest, it's kind of nice...

I'm checking my CAP email, but only every couple of days. I've had two or three exchanges with my CDC, and tried to do one thing on eServices from Collegetown Bagels (and failed) and that's it. I'm logged in here this evening, but getting ready to depart the fix for the house, the tree and the wood stove... 

Jim has a good point there. 

Quote from: Eclipse on December 26, 2013, 11:31:22 PM
Everyone has a day or two where they wind up too busy or too mobile to be able to answer things in real-time, and
internet on planes, etc., isn't ubiquitous and is still pretty expensive, and there's the occasion where you
just want to "get away".

No issue there, but the excuses about "not regularly checking email", blah, blah, just don't fly anymore.

2 weeks is reasonable for an administrative action like a promotion - "no action" in Dec" especially if the echelon
requires an in-face board or discussion.

My point was that too many members are left in limbo for months, and for whatever reason when you
call people on that, the excuses come out.

Secondly, when you accept the command badge, you're free time becomes optional - you've accepted
the responsibility for the CAP experience of everyone in your unit or echelon.  If it's too much trouble to
check email once a day, or delegate when you're out of town, you should not be a commander.

Eclipse has even a better point. I would highlight the "Command Badge" responsibility. I had a SQCC that no matter how many emails and calls I made. He did not nominate anyone from his Unit for any of the annual "OTY" awards. I fired him on 12/31. 

Quote from: THRAWN on December 27, 2013, 12:43:04 PM
The average member in your house, maybe. This may come as a shock, but there are people who not only don't check email, they don't use it. Nothing is lost by making a phone call to let someone know something is pending. Or you can just sit and wait and complain about how things don't get done...

No, the average member in normal society. 

Yes, there are people not interested in email, the internet, whatever.  Life is choice.

Those people just have no business being Unit CC's (or probably any other staff member with administrative responsibility).

You guys jump to conclusions much?

Nowhere did the OP say that anyone was ignoring emails. There could have been a dozen phone calls, emails or face-to-face meetings between the squadron commander and group commander that the OP is not aware of.

Also, promotion boards are not optional; they are required at every echelon. Especially with the holidays, two weeks is not a big deal.

^ For those reaching for 35-5, the "may" was changed to a "will" in Dec 2012.

I did reach for 35-5 and saw this sentence by chance:

"When this approval is complete the member's record will be automatically updated and a new membership card sent directly to the member concerned. "   [This actually refers to another thread on here]

Back to this thread...

The reg says to have a promotion board that advises the commander at each echelon. I assume that means that for promotions to 2nd and 1st Lt., a squadron should have a promotion board to advise the Squadron Commander?

Yes that is what it means.

^ Yes, and for all other promotions as well.  A major should never get to Group or Wing if the unit CC doesn't think they are ready.

The commander, of course, is free to disregard their recommendation.

Quote from: Eclipse on December 26, 2013, 09:57:23 PM
It's so hilarious to see the random "out of state" messages from staffers and commanders - HINT: It's 2013, there's no
such thing any more as "out of the office" or "out of touch".

I would not be so quick to jump on the "out of office" auto responses.  While I understand your general point and for the most part agree, there are times when those are necessary.  When I go backpacking, especially for a week or more, I shut my cell phone/email services off.  The purpose of backpacking/camping is to get away from all the normal everyday hassles.  Also, generally speaking I probably do not get cell reception anyway.  So I generally put in my out of office emails to contact the wing commander if something is needed during those time frames. 

Quote from: LSThiker on December 28, 2013, 04:50:25 AM
I would not be so quick to jump on the "out of office" auto responses.  While I understand your general point and for the most part agree, there are times when those are necessary.

I don't think anybody is debating that there are times when they are necessary.  It's not unreasonable for someone who's on vacation to not have to deal with their "work-day" (and this includes things like CAP) responsibilities.  That's the entire point of vacation for many.

The key is designating somebody who can handle those responsibilities until you get back and settled.

Quote from: Panache on December 28, 2013, 10:35:02 AM
The key is designating somebody who can handle those responsibilities until you get back and settled.

I was commenting on the "HINT: It's 2013, there's no such thing any more as "out of the office" or "out of touch"".  Having a Out of Office reply/vacation reply does not mean that your duties have not been delegated.  Even though they a bit annoying to receive, they are a friendly way of saying "either contact my delegated party or I will get to when I return".

Yeah, yeah, you're on a mountain visiting Ghandi's third cousin's barber.  Whatever.  The world doesn't stop because you're looking for yourself.   As long as
your duties are handled, no harm, no foul.

Always amusing are people who put up "out of office" and then spend their off time updating their
social media web channels about how they are "away".

The reality for the majority of CAP adult members, certainly those who are professionals in some capacity,
is that there's no longer such a thing as "vacation" or "out of office".  That's simply a fact of life in today's
society, a society CAP exists within and is scaled to support.  You can lament that to your heart's content,
but that same much-maligned connectedness affords people a lot of flexibility to work from home and attend
"Johnny's 3rd grade Christmas play", so it is what it is.

Sadly, apathy has the power to kill just about anything.

Quote from: Eclipse on December 28, 2013, 06:03:11 PM
Yeah, yeah, you're on a mountain visiting Ghandi's third cousin's barber.  Whatever. 

Well not me, but my work mate just got back from a month in India essentially doing just that.  He is very Hindu.  As for me, I look for the great flying spaghetti monster and the teapot that is orbiting the Sun between Earth and Mars.

Also....everyone needs to keep thing in perspective.  This is just CAP.......unless we are doing SAR....there is not a lot of things that need to be taken care of TODAY.

That is not an excuse to just sit on things and let things get forgotten.  Wing CC gone for a week or two......that's why we have a vice.  Of course routine things "like promotions" may just have to wait until he gets back.

Now.....you send up your promotion request and they are still sitting on it a month from now.....then you got a case for a "What the Hell Guys" type phone call.

"Now.....you send up your promotion request and they are still sitting on it a month from now.....then you got a case for a "What the Hell Guys" type phone call."

That's something that bugs me about CAP. . . .  the individual submitting paperwork on their own promotions or awards.  It's like walking around patting yourself on the back.  Look at me I'm so great.  If they were working for someone who was conscientious, that someone would be putting the individual in for promotions and awards.