NEC Meeting Video Stream notes

[Eclipse]

I haven't seen anyone else start a summary post, so here are my notes up until it cut out around lunch.

Form 19 is no longer allowed.

Potential requirement of all members to take OPSEC tabled until winter 2008
   Consensus appeared to be that all members, including sponsors should take OPSEC
   because they may come across information of a confidential nature by accident
        discussion also included comments about the relatively low number of members who
        have ever actually logged into eServices, as well as barring access to most online systems
        to anyone but active members.

000 Squadrons members being blocked from most information access sent to same OPSEC committee
   Col. Hodgkins brought up issue of real strength vs. inactive members
   and that CAP should consider ways to more accurately account for "ready assets" vs. inactive
members.

Region Chaplain Grade as Col.  for Chaplains who have achieved level 5 - defeated
   Main issue appeared to be RealMilitary® Chaplans and commanders are reluctant to deal with anyone    who is not at least the same grade.  Col. Hodgkins commented that this was the first he had heard of the issue with Chaplans, and that it is generally a misunderstanding of the situation by the respective
   officer.  He indicated that anyone having this problem should contact him for assistance.

CAP Property management - referred to committee for review

Flight Release Reporting CAPF99 - amend 4-6C, allows copies of 99 sent to wing, originals retained at unit - passed.

#10 Credits for cadets PD as senior members - passed

#11 Change Moral Leadership to Character Development, docs to be revised on normal cycle - passed
        Concern raised about confusion in abbreviations and the need to change the badge and specialty track.

#12 Appointment of cadet as non-voting Nat baord member - referred to bylaws comittee for Winter 2008
   Audio had issues, but what I could hear sounded as if in general they liked the idea, if only
   to allow cadets to bring agenda items directly to the meetings.

This is where the web stream cut out for me, and then I had to move onto other things.

[Short Field]

Thanks!

[Nomex Maximus]

But what about my proposal for orange flightsuits? Surely there must have been overwhelming support?

[pixelwonk]

But what about my proposal for orange flightsuits? Surely there must have been overwhelming support?

about as much as for your overwhelming signature block.
It's a little early in the thread for drift.  keep to the topic please.

[Short Field]

Thanks!

[O-Rex]

"Discontinue reading if a headache . . . . ."

I think I'm getting one now.

Back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress, please....

[_]

A couple things I caught:

Satellite trouble with SIDS will extend until 2010 when they launch another satellite.  Until then the service will be free.  Air Force is buying cell phone cards for wings along the Atlantic coast and someplace else that I can't remember, to allow for transmission of photos when on ground.  They want to look at a UHF system for transmitting the photos, as a back up.

Our funding through the Air Force is in limbo while congress finalizes the bill.  They expect with the budget to have around $300 per land vehicle for fixing them.  They said they are going to have to try to limit repairs to safety items.  Concern about the age of the fleet was expressed.  It looks like if the bill passes with less money the money will be subtracted out of the budget for the air side and the money for ground vehicles will stay the same but they expect the bill to pass with the more money.

[O-Rex]

They want to look at a UHF system for transmitting the photos, as a back up.

Wonderful: we go back to a slow scan-type system. Can we get a side order of vacuum tubes with that?

Cell phone cards?  How about a slot in the control panel to feed quarters in?

I'm waiting for the proposal to 'can' Globalstar. . . . .

[_]

They want to look at a UHF system for transmitting the photos, as a back up.

Wonderful: we go back to a slow scan-type system. Can we get a side order of vacuum tubes with that?

Cell phone cards?  How about a slot in the control panel to feed quarters in?

I'm waiting for the proposal to 'can' Globalstar. . . . .

I think they said they have a system that can provide high speed comparable to the satellite.  As for other satellite systems.  Isn't the system we use the one that the DOD brought back from the brink of going out of business?  If so we may be getting a pretty good deal when it works.  Plus now we're getting it for free.  They said to switch to another system would require new antennas and equipment.

[Nomex Maximus]

They want to look at a UHF system for transmitting the photos, as a back up.

Wonderful: we go back to a slow scan-type system. Can we get a side order of vacuum tubes with that?

Cell phone cards?  How about a slot in the control panel to feed quarters in?

I'm waiting for the proposal to 'can' Globalstar. . . . .

as an aside...

believe it or not, NM here has worked on Milstar satellite software in the past... And, NM is seriously thinking about how to develop a CAP Flight Manager program that would run on a tablet PC in the airplanes and automate realtime aircrew tasking, reportating and , yes(NM is drinking again, that;s why he is nispelling), possibly even image transfer in realtime over the datalink capablilities of the coming P25 capable radios (!)

...it could happen... just need to get the distraction of  building hours for MP out of the way and I can get started...

[Eclipse]

Cell phone cards?  How about a slot in the control panel to feed quarters in?

Unlimited data plans are available with most major carriers - mine costs $20 a month, and the
majority of the CAP ES people I work with already have devices of one sort or another which will allow tethering or similar access to send photos.

My MDA usually hits about 74-100K, not exactly broadband, but more than enough to send a few photos.

A good solution, if only as a backup.

[O-Rex]

They want to look at a UHF system for transmitting the photos, as a back up.

Wonderful: we go back to a slow scan-type system. Can we get a side order of vacuum tubes with that?

Cell phone cards?  How about a slot in the control panel to feed quarters in?

I'm waiting for the proposal to 'can' Globalstar. . . . .

I think they said they have a system that can provide high speed comparable to the satellite.  As for other satellite systems.  Isn't the system we use the one that the DOD brought back from the brink of going out of business?  If so we may be getting a pretty good deal when it works.  Plus now we're getting it for free.  They said to switch to another system would require new antennas and equipment.

You can actually maximize Globalstar's capability if you find out when the satellite is passing through your 'zone.'

not another system, just another Satcom provider.

SDIS can be easily adapted to Iridium.

[Dragoon]

000 Squadrons members being blocked from most information access sent to same OPSEC committee
   Col. Hodgkins brought up issue of real strength vs. inactive members
   and that CAP should consider ways to more accurately account for "ready assets" vs. inactive
members.

(does a silent happy dance)   

I do hope someone is listening to our esteemed CAP-USAF commander.  As discussed elsewhere, if we're gonna step up to the plate and be professional, we have to focus on the real, working CAP members.  It's a smaller population, but it's the REAL one.

[wingnut]

The Cards that use cell phone towers only work where you have cell phone coverage, we had that problem in the fosset search. RF is limited to line of site, or using a repeater that has that capability, where is our ham guys they have been doing that for years.


I think someone should have thought of Global Star's capability before they purchased the system, the information of the company's problems is common knowledge, If they lied about its capability than it is a fraud issue for the US Govt. Global Star is only placing the new satellites in orbit where they can get business ( Africa, ASIA, Australia) people in the US use cell phones, and the Military uses their own system.

For the record I have had almost a 80% success rate with Global star, but it has taken sometimes 30 to 40 minutes to send one thumbnail image( can you say hit connect 200 times). Pigeons are faster (with a Polaroid of course)


But we are off track, I want to know what was said about Archer?

[isuhawkeye]

Col. Hodgkins brought up issue of real strength vs. inactive members
   and that CAP should consider ways to more accurately account for "ready assets" vs. inactive
members.

Hum....  Any mention of the fact that he just got back from Iowa?

Sounds a lot like the Iowa unit manning document, and the Iowa reserve squadron

They want to look at a UHF system for transmitting the photos, as a back up.

Wonderful: we go back to a slow scan-type system. Can we get a side order of vacuum tubes with that?

Another hum...

With a lack of satalite coverage Iowa has affectively used the Slow scan model to stream images directly to a server for instant access, and real time access across the state. 

[MIKE]

If they are going to do Reserve units/status.... there should be an incentive to do it.  People might be more inclined to do the Patron or Reserve thing if they actually got a break on dues.  I've been told that unless you transfer the  NHQ-996 unit... Patron members don't get a break.

Should change CAPRs to CAPIs so we can add CAPR to our sig elements.

[NEBoom]

If they are going to do Reserve units/status.... there should be an incentive to do it.  People might be more inclined to do the Patron or Reserve thing if they actually got a break on dues.  I've been told that unless you transfer the  NHQ-996 unit... Patron members don't get a break.

Should change CAPRs to CAPIs so we can add CAPR to our sig elements.

You know, after thinking about this for a while, and considering how Iowa is using their -000 unit, this strikes me as another "solution in search of a problem" kind of deal.  All being in the -000 unit means is that you are an inactive member (hopefully temporarily so) and you are not assigned to a unit at present.  But if you have a free weekend and want to participate in something you should (assuming you have all needed qualifications as applicable) be able to.  It's only smart to allow this as it will keep these members' interest in CAP and hopefully they will return to active status when they can.

Start messing with their membership (ie making them patron members or whatever) just because they're inactive for a while, you run the risk of driving them off for good.

Just MHO, YMMV as always.

[isuhawkeye]

there is nothing in the regs prohibiting 000 members form participating in anything.

[NEBoom]

there is nothing in the regs prohibiting 000 members form participating in anything.

Yeah, I know right now there isn't.  Maybe I misunderstood the agenda item, but it seemed to me that they were looking at putting restrictions on the -000 members.  Disregard if I'm wrong on that.

[JC004]

there is nothing in the regs prohibiting 000 members form participating in anything.

Yeah, I know right now there isn't.  Maybe I misunderstood the agenda item, but it seemed to me that they were looking at putting restrictions on the -000 members.  Disregard if I'm wrong on that.

Shouldn't this only be done if the -000 squadron system is applied uniformly throughout the organization?  PAWG's PA-000 has only one member.  (there are a number of reasons for that, at least one of which would cause bloodshed if they tried implementing the 000 squadron for real)