Feel Unappreciated?

[DBlair]

Do you as a CAP member truly feel appreciated?

In conversations recently, I've come to the conclusion that it seems many of our members actually feel grossly unappreciated and taken for granted-- especially when it comes to awards/decorations.

Members have been telling me that they will be drastically pulling back their involvement (even considering the idea of quitting) as they are tired of feeling unappreciated for their efforts. To be honest, I can't say I blame them as I'm essentially in the same boat.



I'll offer my personal situation as an example...

My 'end of year' report regarding what I've accomplished and done this year reaches the range of 20 pages, single spaced. Without going into detail, I've far exceeded 'normal duty' in my Group Staff position and have led and otherwise coordinated a very long list of things at the Group, Wing, and even Region level, and have truly gone out of my way (practically every single day and weekend), 1,000% beyond what we should ever expect of our members.

Why do I do it? Because I sincerely believe in the Cadet Program and organization as a whole and want to be of service to the best of my ability. That being said, as volunteers, feeling appreciated is always a nice thing that often encourages us to continue our service, or perhaps even serve to a higher degree.

The most I get is a brief 'thanks' mentioned occasionally in passing, while others do little to nothing and get a wide array of decorations. My performance (even by stingy standards) should have probably resulted in multiple ESA, MSA, and other decorations and most likely an "...of the year" award, but alas not a single such recognition-- or any recognition at all.

In a volunteer organization, how can we reward and recognize our members for outstanding efforts? With awards, decorations, promotions to higher positions, and so on. The absence of these things is what I often find to be the reason for members scaling down their involvement, or even leaving CAP as a whole.

I attend events and see members who get decorations handed out like candy... an ESA for showing up to an activity, an MSA for purchasing a domain name, an ESA/MSA because you were someone's buddy, and the list goes on and on, sometimes they are even recognized for things I actually did, yet for which they get the decorations, etc. 

My involvement and taking on many additional tasks has seemingly become 'expected' by many and sometimes I feel like I'm being taken for a fool. While I love CAP and don't do what I do for decorations and awards, it is nice to feel appreciated-- something I am honestly not feeling at all.

So, with all this being considered, I am at a crossroads. I'm at the point where I feel like I am being taken for a sucker and not really appreciated for all that I do. There is a point where a simple 'thanks' and a handshake or a homemade 'certificate of appreciation' (not that I've received either) are far below what is appropriate. Essentially, I'm at 'that place' of (for lack of a better term coming to mind at this moment) put up or shut up.

My membership is due to expire next month, and I'm going to renew, but I am seriously considering stepping back from the majority of my involvement. Enough is enough, I'm tired of feeling like a sucker.



Any thoughts?

[HGjunkie]

FWIW, I appreciate what you do for the CP in Group 3.

I attend events and see members who get decorations handed out like candy... an ESA for showing up to an activity, an MSA for purchasing a domain name, an ESA/MSA because you were someone's buddy, and the list goes on and on, sometimes they are even recognized for things I actually did, yet for which they get the decorations, etc. 

OK, that's just plain wrong. There should be a better system in place for recognition of exceptional duty if this happens on such a broad scale. Now, I don't have any bright ideas for that, so i'll let CAPTalk duke that one out.

I can't really speak about being underappreciated myself, being one of the 2 staff cadets in my Squadron and having been nominated for the VFW NCO award. Still, according to what you write, you should be very decorated for your service. I won't give advice about stepping back, since I don't have that much time in CAP under my belt to give a reasonable thought about it.

[RADIOMAN015]

Do you as a CAP member truly feel appreciated?

In conversations recently, I've come to the conclusion that it seems many of our members actually feel grossly unappreciated and taken for granted-- especially when it comes to awards/decorations.

Members have been telling me that they will be drastically pulling back their involvement (even considering the idea of quitting) as they are tired of feeling unappreciated for their efforts. To be honest, I can't say I blame them as I'm essentially in the same boat.

Hmm, our wing commander always thanks us for our service at any function he attends. :clap:

Personally, I try to do what I can for CAP with personal limits; but I'm not interested in spending a lot of money on CAP (thus the primary reason for golf shirt, blue BDU's etc) nor do I want to travel very much out of the immediate geographic area (the unit is very close by), especially with gas going to $3.00 gallon.  I have other interests besides CAP, and frankly haven't decided if I will continue in the unit PAO role for another year or just keep comm officer. 

We've had a fair number of senior members go inactive over the past few years.  Some of them never were productive in helping the unit anyways, and I'm at a loss as to why they even joined  (of course for the pilots it was the "free" flying  )  I also know our commander will be shifting more to patron status in the future because how can we justify having some members fill two or three positions, when others on the active list don't have any positions

National Policy Wise -- I haven't gotten a CAP driver's license to drive the squadron van, because again as a volunteer I shouldn't be penalized for ANY accident while performing in a duty status for CAP.  I do not feel that CAP members are treated fairly in this particular area and there's absolutely no transparency in CAP on these accident monetary assessments   I would suspect that others that don't agree with certain policies also opted out of certain duties/areas.

Time wise, I like the idea of much of the training being available on line, and I know some of our wing staff areas are now looking at utilizing telephone conference calls to the units' staff officers rather than holding many in person meetings.  (For some of us it took longer to travel/round trip travel to the meeting that then meeting lasted )

I've also helped the wing out by being the project officer, exercise planner, for one wing wide exercise & also locally one joint agency exercise.  I enjoy the planning aspect & than seeing how it turns out.

I still think the organization requires too much paperwork and some programs are basically "paper tigers" rather than anything effective.  I'm very surprised that the USAF hasn't held CAP to task on this, especially where a lot of money has been spent on equipment assets (and frankly up to the region level I've expressed my concerns in a "soft sell" manner). 

There's others in my squadron & in the wing that are more dedicated than I am and do get my respect.
RM 

[JoeTomasone]

I've never really attached much significance to MSA, Commander's Commendations, etc.   I mean, sure, they are nice to get, but I for whatever reason don't "miss" them.    I get "paid" more in the interpersonal relationships that I have forged, the satisfaction of doing my job, and the times when I can make someone else's job a bit easier.    If this sounds corny, so be it, but it's how I feel.

I am working on a system that accepts a lat/long (or city/state, or zip code), a qualification, and a radius, and returns all of the members with active qualifications in that area, along with contact data, etc.   I plan to add the ability to send a text message to selected folks from that list (think "UDF MISSION IN JERKWATER, FL - PLEASE REPORT AVAILABILITY FOR TASKING").     When I showed it to one of our ICs, he thanked me, and said that it would make his job easier.  And hey, you know what?   That's enough for me.

[NCRblues]

DBlair,

Thank you for your service, and i will tell you, your not alone in the situation.

Just a brief background, i drive 5 hours at a minimum to go to any CAP activity. 7 or more hours if i want to attend the monthly commanders calls (and i normally do). I am currently performing 3 other people's jobs at the moment because no one in the wing has heard from the DCP, and I'm also trying to keep the wing CAC together because the SM charged with that has also gone "AWOL" if you will....

I have nothing above my unit citation ribbon (for cap at least). I have several AF AD awards, but no cap awards. When i mingle with people at conference or other activity's they are shocked that i don't have a comcom or above. Yet i never receive one. I have never been told thank you, or we appreciated your hard work on things.

Some might ask why do i still come. and. pay.? ( )

Well, that answer is simple, i was a cadet. I had the time of my life as a cadet, and i do not want the current cadets to suffer because someone has become "to busy" to do the job they said they would, but wont resign the position. I love to see the cadets turn out in dress blues, you can see the pride and feel it in the air. That is my thanks.

Does it upset me i don't have a comcom or anything of that nature, sure, but i live with it. I move on and say one day.....one day....

[FW]

Daniel, believe it or not, there are times all of us feel un or under appreciated for our efforts.  I have my days too.  However, I didn't join CAP for awards nor do I stay a member for thanks.  First, I joined as a cadet for the interests in aviation and a way to develop self discipline.  The rewards were self evident and, became a senior member to give back for what CAP gave me.  As a senior member, I gave and gave and gave.  Well, after 30 years as a senior member, I think I've paid back enough but, I still feel I have a need to contribute.  Even if no one is listening....

Anyway, value what you have done.  I'm sure you have made a difference in peoples lives.  I know I have and am satisfied with that knowledge.  I value my friendships and, I value my membership in CAP.  My advice is to find a way to recharge those batteries and move forward.  Good luck and, THANK YOU for your service.

[RiverAux]

Primary reasons for lack of CAP awards getting out to those who probably deserve them:
1.  Their commander doesn't bother to put them in.  Sure anyone can, but the Commander should.  Reasons why commanders don't:  1) Laziness, or 2) they may not actually realize the scope of what you are doing.  Sometimes you have to blow your own horn a bit. 

2. Lack of a public affairs program.  If you're got an active PAO one of the side benefits is that they go around a lazy commander and end up informing those at higher levels what is going on in the unit and hopefully they are on the ball enough to decide on their own that someone deserves an award.

3.  When only a few people or units actually bother to put people in for awards it ironically probably makes it tougher to get the the higher level ones as they are probably going to be "graded" sort of hard.  If a Wing CC only gets 10 award nominations a year they may not have a good feeling for what really constitutes exceptional work.  But, if they were getting 100 nominations the standouts would REALLY standout above the rest. 

[DakRadz]

My advice is to find a way to recharge those batteries and move forward.  Good luck and, THANK YOU for your service.

I agree with all of the Col.'s post, but this is essentially what I was going to write.

P.S. Look into Airsoft, and invite your superiors from CAP to play... In a non-CAP capacity, of course. (If they aren't going to write you up for something, then at least shoot them legally).

[SARDOC]

P.S. Look into Airsoft, and invite your superiors from CAP to play... In a non-CAP capacity, of course. (If they aren't going to write you up for something, then at least shoot them legally).

Okay...now that's funny

[davidsinn]

P.S. Look into Airsoft, and invite your superiors from CAP to play... In a non-CAP capacity, of course. (If they aren't going to write you up for something, then at least shoot them legally).

Okay...now that's funny

Paintball leaves bigger welts...

[DBlair]

As did many of you, I too joined as a Cadet and returned as a SM because I sincerely believe in the program, and in helping to develop these Cadets into the leaders of tomorrow. I do what I do for the Cadets, and I'm proud to say that I feel as if I've had an impact in their lives. I didn't join/re-join or accept the various roles/assignments because I'm on a quest for awards or decorations.

That being said, there is a point where it gets tiring to see everyone else get the decorations/awards for a mere fraction of what you do (or even things you actually did yourself) and you go without any recognition whatsoever. After a while, you start to feel like a sucker.

In a volunteer organization, we are limited in how we thank/recognize our members, and it often comes down to decorations/awards, being offered higher positions, etc. Neither of which have I received, although I've seen largely ineffective members be decorated and offered higher positions at Group, Wing, and Region, meanwhile I'm not even considered for such things. There is a point where it becomes absurd and essentially a slap in the face.

My situation seems very similar to that of NCRblues (posted above) and some others here, but then again, several of you are at Wing, Region, and National, so I'm willing to bet you'll have an ESA within a year. The same goes for your CAC and Color Guards, just for showing up-- it gets annoying when I hear members openly joke about how they merely "showed up" and were awarded their "automatic ESA" which is akin to a slap in the face for the many of us who truly bust our butt to make things happen and yet might (if we're lucky) only get a "thanks" said in passing. 

I'm the Cadet Programs Officer of a Group larger (7 FL counties, ~25 units) than most Wings, doing what equates to the jobs of a DCP and other CP staff officers (combined) in most Wings, and many other 'above and beyond' sort of things, and I get to sit here and watch as others are given positions and decorations-- and its not like I can put myself in for decorations or offer myself better positions. lol

This isn't anything about specific members or commanders, this is rather about the fact that there is a point where it gets tiring being overlooked and unappreciated and you start to feel like a sucker/fool.

To put it bluntly, I'm fed up, and at the point where a 'thanks' said in passing at an activity (without something substantial attached to it) is grossly insufficient and reaching the level of an insult. With this in mind, I'm seriously considering the possibility of stepping back immediately with my involvement (and everything I'm currently doing) until such time as I feel sufficiently appreciated and recognized-- I won't hold my breath, but some people really need to stop taking dedicated and hardworking members for granted and step up to the plate, truly showing their appreciation.

[lordmonar]

It is the same old story....


"I don't get anything and I work my buttt off....but Lt Col Soandso gets one for just showing up!"

The ground reality of it .....is that many commanders don't know or are too busy to put their people in for decorations.

There is no easy answer short of do it yourself.

Of course you are under appriciated.......most of us are.  I just see it as the nature of the beast.   I do not volunteer in CAP to get decorations.....but they are nice to get.....if that is what you want....write up some bullets and give it to your CC for his action.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

Your point is well taken.

As you can tell from my signature pic I don't have a chestful of ribbons myself.

When I got my Commander's Commendation I was surprised, make no mistake.

My own experience is that a lot of it depends on the unit you're in, and I've been in all three types, composite, cadet, and senior.

A couple of examples:

One unit didn't do anything operationally since we didn't have an airplane or access to one...no "find" ribbons.

The flying club senior squadron didn't give a rip about uniforms so they didn't give a rip about ribbons, either.

I know I'm not one who lives CAP 24/7/365, but I do what I can given my circumstances...maybe if I were able to live CAP 24/7/365 I'd have a lot bigger ribbon rack.

[DBlair]

It is the same old story....


"I don't get anything and I work my buttt off....but Lt Col Soandso gets one for just showing up!"

The ground reality of it .....is that many commanders don't know or are too busy to put their people in for decorations.

There is no easy answer short of do it yourself.

Of course you are under appriciated.......most of us are.  I just see it as the nature of the beast.   I do not volunteer in CAP to get decorations.....but they are nice to get.....if that is what you want....write up some bullets and give it to your CC for his action.

a) I agree, some feeling of being unappreciated is probably to be expected as it is nearly impossible to make sure every member is appreciated for everything they do. That being said, there is a point where it demonstrates a member truly being unappreciated, taken for granted, and practically insulted. What I'm mentioning in this thread goes far beyond just some basic everyday desire for appreciation.

b) Regarding submitting CAPF120s myself, I'm pretty sure Wing and Region (let alone my commander) would not exactly see this in the best light. I wouldn't have a problem if (due to personally knowing the details, etc) I was asked to write it up, but to put myself in for it from the start would surely result in a form that doesn't go anywhere and yields nothing more than a rolling of the eyes. This also neglects the primary point here... I shouldn't have to submit a CAPF120 about myself, if I was truly appreciated, others would have done it.

c) This isn't about a self-serving quest for decorations/awards, but rather what they symbolize- recognition and appreciation. It should never even come to the point of this thread in the first place, but unfortunately, it has gone far beyond what is tolerable and into the range of feeling like a slap in the face.

Your point is well taken.

As you can tell from my signature pic I don't have a chestful of ribbons myself.

When I got my Commander's Commendation I was surprised, make no mistake.

My own experience is that a lot of it depends on the unit you're in, and I've been in all three types, composite, cadet, and senior.

A couple of examples:

One unit didn't do anything operationally since we didn't have an airplane or access to one...no "find" ribbons.

The flying club senior squadron didn't give a rip about uniforms so they didn't give a rip about ribbons, either.

I know I'm not one who lives CAP 24/7/365, but I do what I can given my circumstances...maybe if I were able to live CAP 24/7/365 I'd have a lot bigger ribbon rack.

I'm at Group Hq, and a former member of both Cadet and Composite units- both of which felt that a home-made 'certificate of appreciation' was enough for any unit member, yet some of these unit commanders had ComComs and MSAs and felt only they should get decorations, or others were annoyed that they had not themselves received an MSA, therefore nobody should get anything.

As for Group Hq (my unit), it seems that some members get decorations, but these are largely for ES and almost entirely Wing Hq originated, other than an 'automatic' Achievement Award (I don't even have one of these lol) or ComCom for showing up to a 'favorite' activity of certain members. It is both funny and sad that members locally know which activities will yield an 'automatic' ComComm or AA just for showing up, and plan their attendance accordingly.

As for the CAP24/7/365 types, I have been one of those people thus far, but I'm so fed up with others getting recognition for everything from breathing, to showing up, to doing minimal tasks (you'd be amazed at what seems to yield a Decoration), and myself not getting any recognition whatsoever (rarely even a 'thanks') and there being an expectation that I'm going to take on more and more duties without even appreciating what I've done thus far. That 24/7/365 level of effort is going to be greatly reduced in the near/immediate future.

[lordmonar]

DBlair,

I agree with you 100%.

No one should ever have to submit themselves for a decoration.

Our leaders should be seeing what we are doing and submitting them when we deserve them.

However......our leaders are just as busy as you are and are just as under appriciated as you are.

Again there is no easy answer.  The problem is that our leaders are not using good feed back techniques and using the tools provided to recogise our top performers.   

If we could pay them all to spend a couple of weeks at a good managment skills course I would do so.....but again ground truth.....is that we all have a lot to do and only so much time to do it in.  I personally stive to take the time to get the decorations to my people.  But it is hard to find the time to do everthing and my real job, and my family, and my other hobby, and et al .

[jimmydeanno]

My previous squadrons I did A LOT, as you are now, maybe more, maybe a little less.  As a cadet I earned a Commander's Commendation for my work as the Wing CAC chair.

Since turning senior (9 years now), I've done a considerable number of things, like:

Take two units that were about to shut down and within a year (each) turn them into units that were in the top 10% size wise in CAP.

Recruited and trained a color guard that went to National Cadet Competition within 4 months of being CAP members.

Taught at approximately 30 SLS courses, directed 4.
Taught at approximately 10 CLC courses, directed 2.
Taught at approximately 5 UCC courses, directed 1.
Taught at approximately 15 TLC courses, directed 2.
Served as a Seminar Advisor for NSC.
Served as 1 of 3 senior staff members for the Engineering Technologies Academy
Staffed NCC in Washing DC.
Served as a seminar Advisor for COS.
Escorted cadets from multiple countries on IACE.
Served as encampment staff for 6 encampments.
Served as senior advisor for a wing CAC, having the only year (since I was cadet chairman) to have every squadron represented at every meeting.
Spearheaded wing fundraisers.
Been a DCC for units that had more cadets than some wings do.
Helped with editing, contributions and revision of the new cadet leadership books.
Ran a wing Cadet Compeititon
Provided approximately 300 activities for cadets to participate in.
Developed the new layout for the CAP University Page
Aided in the development/editing of several of the new Cadet Programs materials (Cadet Staff Guide, etc) and am writing a soon to be released resource.
Lead recruiting events that have brought about 300 members to the organization.
Personally recruited about 50 people (not through a specific event).
and the list goes on.

This year alone, I've spent nearly 12 weeks at Maxwell this year as a volunteer.

My decorations include, 3 - CCAs, 1 National Commander's Commendation, and 1 Meritorious Service Award in the 15 years I've been in the program and including involvement of things that have obvious National and Regional level impact.  Am I resentful?  No, because the people who get ESAs for being assistant testing officer for the region usually don't even know what they earned it for - it tells me a lot about the award they've earned and their regard for it.  It's also not why I joined CAP, or continue to renew my membership each year.

I can certainly appreciate the sacrifice you make, nearly every day, to the cadets of our program.  Without good Cadet Program leaders our cadet program wouldn't be growing.

[Tim Medeiros]

I've been in this boat before.  Heck, even in the same unit (pretty much, though I was in Group 8 HQ before it merged with Group 3).  What kept me going was the random thanks and appreciation from the cadets.

A "homemade" certificate works for some things, but not everything.  If I personally see someone doing something that would qualify them for any type of award or decoration, I make it a point to talk to their commander.  Most of the time the commander isn't even aware of how to submit someone for a decoration, or they are and are just waiting for the *insert conference/banquet here* awards request from group/wing/region, still others don't know the requirements.

One of the things I've done was talk to a friend of mine also in CAP about some of the stuff I've done, 2 months later I was being handed a decoration.  My most recent supervisor (new to the position at the time) asked me for some bullet points of what I've done in the capacity of one of my jobs, that resulted in another decoration (yet to be presented), all I did was tell him what I've done and he wrote it up.

It's also a good thing to note that there is a certain "style" to how you write up an awards recommendation.  It could be that some were put in for you, but they lacked required language and because of that were not approved.

So, TL;DR: 1) Cadets give the best appreciation in both of our positions, 2) Some people are not up to speed on the process, 3) Write up bullet points and talk to a friend/good supervisor, 4) Make sure friend/good supervisor can write it up "properly".

[Persona non grata]

I dislike when other people take the credit but I know who did the real work so that's OK by me.  As a commander I recognizes the achievements of those under my command.  The previous commander gave out CC to people who took the credit of work that other did.  One officer in particular was always concerned about earning a ribbon and making it know to everyone that she was attempting to gain some sort of attention to get the award(not humble at all).   

[JoeTomasone]

What kept me going was the random thanks and appreciation from the cadets.

You know, great point!   I just got a card from a Cadet thanking me for being a mentor, helping with ES, etc...   Means a lot more to me than an award. 

[Persona non grata]

More thoughtful on the part of the cadet.      Thats a real nice thing to do for SM  :clap: