How many missions does it take to keep you highly motivated?

[Eclipse]

^ Pretty much spot on.  Most agencies I've dealt with (ARC, EMAs, CERTs) have a need for warm bodies, but are not interested in
a separate, ancillary command structure outside their own - it adds too much overhead to what is generally a simple situation.

Most are willing to accept the situation when discussing air assets, if for no other reasons then an airplane isn't something
most local agencies can gin-up, for free, very quickly, but for "people", they prefer their own people with their own training,
reporting direct to them.

This is why I keep harping on the need for NHQ to get moving on establishing CAP as part of the doctrine at the highest
levels of 3/4 letter agencies.  We're funded that way, we need to respond that way.

It should simply be a matter of accepted course that when FEMA, NOAA, or military agencies (as a start) are brought in,
localized CAP assets are on the call sheets.  Of course 3/4 letter agencies, themselves, have their own job, budgets, and
fiefdoms to protect, so you have to deal with that as well.

In a lot of ways, CAP is too big and capable for its own good.  Scaled to the logical readiness purported in the brochures,
CAP would wind up impacting a lot of jobs and walled villages, so its left with the "toaster leavins" when an agency is
either too small to respond, or the incident is so large that anything with a pulse is needed.

Also, a frustrated +1 on all those people who whine about never getting called, and then don't respond when
they are called, especially those who constantly say "I'd be there for a real-world..." and then aren't.

[Storm Chaser]

Also, a frustrated +1 on all those people who whine about never getting called, and then don't respond when
they are called, especially those who constantly say "I'd be there for a real-world..." and then aren't.

That's so true. We were asked to respond to a REDCAP recently and putting teams together was extremely challenging, even though we had plenty of people trained and qualified. Even getting folks to respond to the 4-5 ELT searches a year we have in our AOR is not as easy as one would think.

[Майор Хаткевич]

We recently qual'd a whole lot of GTLs. We have a SAREX coming up. It is like pulling teeth to get people to show up and get the UDF/GTM training. UDF - the basic of the basics. If you want to help on a REDCAP, that's the best point to start, and can be done in a WEEKEND. But a lot of people talk about wanting the TRAINING (Not even missions), and yet it's hard to get them there.

This is why my main CAP focus is Cadet Programs. Typically they are there because they want to be. There's also plenty going on, to the point where it's sometimes a game of catching yourself missing small things here and there, and striving to get better all the time.

[Eclipse]

Also, a frustrated +1 on all those people who whine about never getting called, and then don't respond when
they are called, especially those who constantly say "I'd be there for a real-world..." and then aren't.

That's so true. We were asked to respond to a REDCAP recently and putting teams together was extremely challenging, even though we had plenty of people trained and qualified. Even getting folks to respond to the 4-5 ELT searches a year we have in our AOR is not as easy as one would think.

This also gets back to properly reporting manpower, normalizing the membership, and terminating or patronizing the empty shirts.

In my wing, less then 1/3rd of the membership does the majority of the heavy lifting, and most of those people
are dual-tracked, working in both of CAP's actual missions (CP & ES*).  Schedule training or an encampment the same
time or within a few weeks of each other and you have a real issue.

* Yeah, I said it, CAP has two missions.  99.9% of AE is encompassed within, and would not exist without, CP or ES...

[RiverAux]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with someone wanting to participate in some minimal number of actual missions in order to personally justify their investment in time and money in order to respond to such missions.  Yes, someone else has to be having a very bad day in order for CAP to be called and no one wishes such bad days to occur, but if they're not, then the need for our services may not be there.

Say you were in an organization dedicated to responding to catastrophic meteor hits on the Earth.  Is it worth dedicating your spare time to volunteering with that organization if in all likelihood you're never going to get called as these come around only on a geological time scale?  Same exact issue.

But, different people are going to have different tolerances for waiting for actual missions. 

CAP does need to take this into account.  While the common problem is not having enough missions to keep people happy, in certain areas and times there may be too many missions for the people available. 

[Eclipse]

CAP does need to take this into account.  While the common problem is not having enough missions to keep people happy, in certain areas and times there may be too many missions for the people available.

Agree completely, especially in that the rhetoric in the marketing collateral implicates that CAP is a highly active ES asset,
when in fact it's hit-or-miss no matter what wing you are in and there and many units where ES is no factor, even to the
point of being disdained.

[A.Member]

. disregard

[srosenberg]

Something to think about and a dose of perspective. 911 was one of the reasons I joined. If you joined for the emergency services there are times that it is used to find ELTs in garbage dumps and in hangared aircraft.  There are going to be the ground searches through the swamps and pricker bushes to be called off when the target is found a county away. That will happen and cost you effort and time for not much in return.

Consider this question. The next 911 type national crisis. Do you know where your place is in the response, or would you care to watch it on TV feeling completely helpless? Dwight D. Eisenhower said about D-day that the plan was worthless, but the planning was crucial. Being in CAP is similar. If you don't feel that you are doing enough, dig in, double down and train. Enjoy the comradery. Learn how to work effectively with those who train with you and get to know them to accomplish the real thing.

If you are the kind of person who is gnashing teeth because there are no redcaps around... stay tuned. CAP will need you support the mission with your training, leadership and confidence.

[lordmonar]

It is a volunteer gig guys.

And volunteers are people.....each with a "thing" that make them tick.

Bottom line is......if you are not satisfied with the "Pay off" you receive from all your time, effort and money....then it is time to take a break.   

Transfer to patron status or just go ghost for a while.

Asking how many missions do you need to keep motivated is not really a PC sort of question.   The only "good" answer is zero....otherwise you are hoping that someone gets into trouble so that you can feel good about your commitment to this program.

I get it.....that you may not feel needed.....that happens.  If that is what you are experiencing....maybe you need to look for other avenues to fulfill your needs.

And this is not a crack on anyone.    It is basic human nature.   If you are not having fun, don't feel like you are contributing, or doing a lot of training for no reasons......it is okay to say "Thanks guys, it was fun.  I'm going to go look elsewhere."

[Spaceman3750]

I train others to stay motivated. It keeps my skills sharp and I pass them on to someone else, who may later use them to save lives. It's about more than just ES though. I staff NESA not because I get to teach SAR, I do it because I get to use SAR as the context in which our cadets learn land navigation, critical thinking, follower ship, leadership, and basically get an experience their peers will only dream of from their couch in front of the Xbox.

[Private Investigator]

Something to think about and a dose of perspective. 911 was one of the reasons I joined. If you joined for the emergency services there are times that it is used to find ELTs in garbage dumps and in hangared aircraft.  There are going to be the ground searches through the swamps and pricker bushes to be called off when the target is found a county away. That will happen and cost you effort and time for not much in return.

Consider this question. The next 911 type national crisis. Do you know where your place is in the response, or would you care to watch it on TV feeling completely helpless? Dwight D. Eisenhower said about D-day that the plan was worthless, but the planning was crucial. Being in CAP is similar. If you don't feel that you are doing enough, dig in, double down and train. Enjoy the comradery. Learn how to work effectively with those who train with you and get to know them to accomplish the real thing.

If you are the kind of person who is gnashing teeth because there are no redcaps around... stay tuned. CAP will need you support the mission with your training, leadership and confidence.

Very good points. Welcome aboard. 

[Eclipse]

The next 911 type national crisis. Do you know where your place is in the response..."

Does CAP?

[Private Investigator]

The next 911 type national crisis. Do you know where your place is in the response..."

Does CAP?

Does anyone?   

[JeffDG]

How many missions does it take to keep me motivated:  3

ES
CP
AE

[pierson777]

How many missions does it take to keep me motivated:  3

ES
CP
AE

That's AWESOME!! :clap:

For some it's just one mission: CP.
For others it's also just one mission: AE.
And thanks to a select few, it's not even one "mission".  Rather they duties fall within CAP's three missions, yet many members plug away year-after-year doing these tasks without participating in CAP three missions.  I guess for them the answer is "none".

Thank you to all those dedicated members of the support group.

[rustyjeeper]

I haven't yet participated in a mission outside of SAREXs, but I'm holding out for the call!

Dont hold your breath!

[Fubar]

I don't mind continual training for a mission that never comes, it's when the mission comes and either CAP isn't invited or I'm not a part of the insiders club within CAP that gets the call that generates a certain amount of annoyance.

[RiverAux]

How many missions does it take to keep me motivated:  3

ES
CP
AE

If CP and AE (such as it is in CAP) are your thing, I'm glad that you're into those programs and more power to you, but this thread isn't for you. 

[JeffDG]

How many missions does it take to keep me motivated:  3

ES
CP
AE

If CP and AE (such as it is in CAP) are your thing, I'm glad that you're into those programs and more power to you, but this thread isn't for you.

He asked how many missions are necessary.

CAP has precisely three missions a year, every year.

[RiverAux]

He asked how many missions are necessary.

Yes, I did -- In the Emergency Services section of CAPTalk and with an introductory post that specifically discusses ES missions.