Promotion procedure for SM

[lordmonar]

1. If you don't care about it.....why should you expect anyone else to care about it?

2.  If you earned it....by the FSM you got every right to get it awarded.....never....ever....suggest that it is beneath someone to ask for what he/she as earned. 

3.  Every leader in CAP needs to keep number 2 in mind.   People give of their time, effort and money to CAP and there is little tangible payback....we need to go out of our way to make sure our people get every promotion, award, pat on the back that they have earned......they certainly are not going to get any money.

4.  Let's face facts....even if you have a good strong leadership team at the squadron/group/wing/region/national level.....we simply don't have the time and people to do it all (we can argue about training and recruiting in another thread) sometimes individuals need and should remind their leadership of their accomplishments...and sometime help them out by filling out the CAPF 120 or CAPF 2 or going to e-service and start the ball rolling.

[/rant]

[LSThiker]

If you do not manage your career, no one else will.

Some times it is a matter of the leader simply not knowing as well.  I had my platoon sergeant ask me about the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.  I never knew he was putting in a lot of extra time into volunteer events.  Although I knew he did some volunteer, I never knew the extent of it.  So over a few weeks, I put in his and 4 other Soldiers recommendations for the MOVSM.  It got the ball rolling for other Soldiers to start to volunteering and my commander put me in for the MOVSM. 

The same can be true for the CAP Community Service.  I do not know what every other member does outside of CAP.  Although I try and ask, I simply do not know it all.  So for a member to ask about getting that ribbon is no skin off my back. 

In addition, I may not know that you saved a person's life by pulling them out of a burning car last week.  My local news requires a subscription that I refuse to pay for high school journalism.  If you do not tell me and no other member tells me, I will never know to put you in a for the Lifesaving Award or a Medal of Valor.   

[Eclipse]

^ A commander should certainly know when someone is coming due for promotion, whether their PD is completed to the appropriate level,
and any typical service or longevity awards.

They should also have been advising those members along the way so that the CAPF24, and the requisite specialty rating isn't treated like a final exam.

[Grumpy]

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.

Yes, and I do believe It 00:05 Hrs that I started the wheels rolling.

[Grumpy]

1. If you don't care about it.....why should you expect anyone else to care about it?

2.  If you earned it....by the FSM you got every right to get it awarded.....never....ever....suggest that it is beneath someone to ask for what he/she as earned. 

3.  Every leader in CAP needs to keep number 2 in mind.   People give of their time, effort and money to CAP and there is little tangible payback....we need to go out of our way to make sure our people get every promotion, award, pat on the back that they have earned......they certainly are not going to get any money.

4.  Let's face facts....even if you have a good strong leadership team at the squadron/group/wing/region/national level.....we simply don't have the time and people to do it all (we can argue about training and recruiting in another thread) sometimes individuals need and should remind their leadership of their accomplishments...and sometime help them out by filling out the CAPF 120 or CAPF 2 or going to e-service and start the ball

[/rant]

Hey, don't jump all over me.  I didn't direct that at Huey at all.  I'm sure he  deserves any promotion or award he gets.  What I'm saying is that we need supervisors who take enough interest in their subordinates activities that they know when a promotion or award is due.

Every month, I ck eServices to see who is eligible for promotion and what they've been doing in CAP.  I enjoy seeing the expression on their faces when they're told they're in improper uniform and we take their gold bar off their shoulder and replace it with a silver bar or what ever.  I enjoy the surprise.

[LSThiker]

^ A commander should certainly know when someone is coming due for promotion, whether their PD is completed to the appropriate level,
and any typical service or longevity awards.

They should also have been advising those members along the way so that the CAPF24, and the requisite specialty rating isn't treated like a final exam.

Yes a professional development officer, personnel officer, or deputy commander of seniors should be briefing the commander on such matters.  However, this does not mean you should not be managing your career as we all know that cracks, laziness, human error, and other matters can interfere. 

The ultimate responsibility of your "career" is you and not the others in the squadron, even though they have some organizational responsibility.  A member cannot be exempt from personal responsibility for their own CAP files, learning, and progress.  The member should also know when they are up for promotion, longevity awards, PD awards.  If something happens that member should be promptly asking what is happening to their promotion or award.  If they do not know, they need to take the personal responsibility to be asking or tracking those requirements.  If you cannot take care of yourself, what makes me think you can take care of other members in the squadron?  Of course, the opposite is true as well since this is a two-way street.

  I used to fill in the CAPF2 and CAPF24 as I went along.  When all the requirements were met, I printed the form and handed it to the personnel officer for appropriate routing.  Both as a cadet and as a senior, every couple of months, I would pull my file and check for completeness on the CAPF45 and CAPF66 (e.g. Activity participation letters, tests recorded, PD certificates, where I stood on specialty ratings).

As with certain awards (e.g. Community service, lifesaving {which is why I chose those specific awards and not those that you listed}), a member may have to initate the award process, as I said, because the leader does not know.  So as

That's something that bugs me about CAP. . . .  the individual submitting paperwork on their own promotions or awards.

this is sometimes a necessary action. 

There really should not be any major surprises for members with the exception of achievement medals, commander's commendations, and other similar award types.

[MSG Mac]

Everyone cadet or senior should be proactive in advancing their CAP careers.Having said that the Commanders, Deputies, and the Personnel Officer should be on top of where everybody stands. I routinely print out the Senior Training, Membership, and Cadet Promotion reports before each meeting. Promotion eligibility can be found in E-Services. The tools are there (Thank You IT persons at National)

[Grumpy]

I'm not saying don't keep track of your career and, yes, there are things that come up that you should bring to the attention of your superiors.  As a squadron commander, I was always checking personnel and training records and initiated most of personnel actions.  Did I have people coming to me saying, "Sir, Lt Johnny Jumpup has been doing an outstanding job for me doing this, that, and the other thing and I want to put him in for a meritorious service ribbon." as they handed me a completed form 2a?  Not very often.

Now, as a PDO, people in my squadron refer to me as "three horses" (nag, nag, nag) because I'm always putting out progress reports and nagging people to progress in their training.

[Grumpy]

Thanks Michael, I believe you just summed up what I was trying to say.

[LSThiker]

I want to put him in for a meritorious service ribbon." as they handed me a completed form 2a?  Not very often.

That is good as they should not.  It should be a CAPF 120. 

[Grumpy]

Oops, you're right.  I know better too

[BHartman007]

Do you have to have actual paperwork for promotions? Mine was all electronic.

[MSG Mac]

For Duty Performance the initiator can do it electronically. For anything else ( Professional, Former Cadet, ex-military, Exceptions, etc) it must be done on a Form 2. Accompanied by supporting documents.

[huey]

^ A commander should certainly know when someone is coming due for promotion, whether their PD is completed to the appropriate level,
and any typical service or longevity awards.

They should also have been advising those members along the way so that the CAPF24, and the requisite specialty rating isn't treated like a final exam.

So, as a PD/Admin/Personnel officer, or vice commander, do I need to submit the request for someone via eServices, or just let it be?

[huey]

My promotion was due, the unit cmdr has approved 2 weeks ago, now waiting for the group cmdr approval. How long do I have to wait, per reg? Tks

BTW, you never said what promotion was pending?

If it's not too early, congrats in advance and thank you for your service to the CAP!

Thanks for the congrats!
I got it by the end of last year!!

BTW, I just raise a question about the reg, b/c I did not see it in any documents a/b the wait: one week, one month, 10 days, 30, 60, 90 days...

Thanks for your input.

[MSG Mac]

^ A commander should certainly know when someone is coming due for promotion, whether their PD is completed to the appropriate level,
and any typical service or longevity awards.

They should also have been advising those members along the way so that the CAPF24, and the requisite specialty rating isn't treated like a final exam.

So, as a PD/Admin/Personnel officer, or vice commander, do I need to submit the request for someone via eServices, or just let it be?

The Personnel Officer, PDO, or Deputy Commander can initiate the promotion action for the Commander.

[Eclipse]

^ This.

If you have all those titles, this is probably your job.

[RogueLeader]

^ This.

If you have all those titles, this is probably your job.

Unfortunately you can't, last I checked, put yourself in E-Services for a promotion.  When I was up for Major, I went to submit myself to the Squadron CC, and it would not let me, so I called him, and he took care of it.

[MSG Mac]

^ This.

If you have all those titles, this is probably your job.

Unfortunately you can't, last I checked, put yourself in E-Services for a promotion.  When I was up for Major, I went to submit myself to the Squadron CC, and it would not let me, so I called him, and he took care of it.

To initiate a promotion through E-services you must be a Commander, Deputy, or Personnel Officer.

[RogueLeader]

^ This.

If you have all those titles, this is probably your job.

Unfortunately you can't, last I checked, put yourself in E-Services for a promotion.  When I was up for Major, I went to submit myself to the Squadron CC, and it would not let me, so I called him, and he took care of it.

To initiate a promotion through E-services you must be a Commander, Deputy, or Personnel Officer.

Right, and I was 2 of the 3.  I could promote others, just not myself.