CAP Encampment

[KirkF22]

I was wondering if going to an encampment to officially be in civil air patrol is required or if it's a choice to go?

[Pylon]

Yes, you can be a cadet and never go to an encampment but it's not advised for a couple of reasons:


1) Encampment is a really important and formative learning experience for most cadets.  Cadets can gain more from a week-long encampment than from dozens of 2-hour weekly meetings.


2) You will never be able to promote past C/CMSgt without attending encampment.  The Mitchell Award, all CAP scholarships, all National Cadet Special Activities, IACE, Cadet of the Year awards, Cadet Officer School, Region Cadet Leadership School, and a bunch of other stuff will be completely off limits to you because they all require an encampment or something else that requires an encampment to attend.  So after about a year, and only 1/3rd into the Cadet Program, you wouldn't be able to promote again.


Is there some reason you'd want to join CAP but never go to an encampment?  I've been to 7 encampments from New York to Hawaii and loved every single one.

[KirkF22]

Well I would love to go to an encampment for a week just I gotta convince my parents to let me. Thanks fr the info though!

[MIKE]

It is not required for general membership, but if you want to get your Mitchell or participate in NCSAs completing an encampment is a prerequisite.

[KirkF22]

Also is the encampment hard? Like how much sleep do you get?

[Eclipse]

"Hard"? No.

A challenge?  Yes.  It will take you out of your comfort zone and help you become more confident and self-reliant.
It will build on the things you are already learning at your squadron and teach you things you would never learn anywhere
else.

It is a unique and irreplaceable experience for both cadets and senior members, especially the first one.

Your best bet is not to fixate on what "might" happen, or listen to too many wives tales.  Just prepare as they tell you to and
go with the flow.

[C/Haughey]

Encampment will test all of your skills as a cadet. Physically and mentally.

You will get eight hours of sleep.

[a2capt]

There may be other exceptions to the NCSA limit. But NCC is an NCSA and encampment isn't provided. But giving up -a lot- of your weekends is..

[Garibaldi]

I will give you the benefit of my experience. I thought I had a lot but apparently I don't have near enough.

1. They are all correct. You will never be able to advance beyond C/CMSGT without encampment, or go to any other National activity.
2. Encampment will challenge you. In some ways, I felt that one week of encampment was harder than the 4 weeks of Basic Training I went through.
3. You will meet many people from around your Wing. It's a good way to get your name known, for the good or for worse.
4. Don't expect encampment to be a boy scout jamboree. It's tough, sure, and you will have to get used to military customs and courtesies, probably more than you've experienced thus far.
5. If this is your first year in CAP, I'd wait til next year, until you get some experience at home. At least wait until you get your Curry.
6. You will get about 8 hours of sleep all week.
7. You will lose your voice if you don't use your diaphragm.
8. You might get to get a ride in a real military plane, helicopter, or vehicle if you're really lucky. Our cadets this year get Blackhawk rides. I got C-130 rides and a Huey ride once.
9. What experience you get at encampment you can take back to your home unit and apply there.
10. It's a good place to figure out if you want to really go into the military.

I had nothing but good times (that I remember) at all 5 of my cadet encampments and my one senior one. Go. Enjoy. Tell your parents that they can look forward to you being gone for a whole week. My parents fairly pushed me out the door when encampment rolled around. If money is what's stopping you, perhaps your unit has a "scholarship" program like we have, where they subsidize some of the fee if you can't come up with all the money at once.

[Eclipse]

At least wait until you get your Curry.

Curry is a pre-requisite for encampment.

6. You will get about 8 hours of sleep all week.

Just for clarity on today's encampments - many, though not all, have been emphasizing good rack time for everyone, including staff and seniors.
Stuff happens, but being sleep-deprived isn't good for anyone.

Though even with that said, the ops tempo can make if difficult for new people to sleep the first couple of nights.

[Garibaldi]

At least wait until you get your Curry.

Curry is a pre-requisite for encampment.

Whoops. See what I get for NOT being in cadet programs anymore?

6. You will get about 8 hours of sleep all week.

Just for clarity on today's encampments - many, though not all, have been emphasizing good rack time for everyone, including staff and seniors.
Stuff happens, but being sleep-deprived isn't good for anyone.

Though even with that said, the ops tempo can make if difficult for new people to sleep the first couple of nights.

Being away from home makes it difficult to sleep on a lumpy, thin government issue mattress and smelly sheets.

[Eclipse]

Being away from home makes it difficult to sleep on a lumpy, thin government issue mattress and smelly sheets.

Things are a lot different these days in BMT and most schools and academies where we run encampments.
They aren't the Hilton, but they aren't generally too bad, either.

[KirkF22]

When you guys say basic training is that for CAP or is it BMT for military?

[Abby.L]

When you guys say basic training is that for CAP or is it BMT for military?

Those crusty, old people? They're all talking about the real military.

Besides, CAP doesn't have a BMT.

[RogueLeader]

When you guys say basic training is that for CAP or is it BMT for military?

You'll occasionally see use use BMT, Basic, Basic Training, Boot, etc.  Those are terms us "crusty" people use to describe military training, depending on Branch of Service.

Besides, CAP doesn't have a BMT.

Some, a few really could use it.  It's a great experience.

[EMT-83]

Well I would love to go to an encampment for a week just I gotta convince my parents to let me.

Arrange for them to be at the squadron when the cadets return from this year's encampment.  The enthusiasm is somewhat contagious.

[ol'fido]

WIWAC, my first night at encampment, I had the weirdest dream that I still remember. We were staying in old WWII two story barracks on Chanute AFB that had been divided in to about 6 rooms on each floor. We had two bunk bed racks in each room that had to be lined up in the middle of the room end to end with about 2 foot between the racks. I dreamed that the walls and floors were transparent and that we had to line up all our racks on our floor and with the other flights downstairs.

After that first couple of days I was having too much fun to have those kind of dreams. Thank you, Tracy Gould wherever you are. You were an awesome flight leader.

[KirkF22]

Wait do all the cadets in my squadron go to the same encampment at the same time?

[EMT-83]

No, but there is a good chance that a number of cadets will be attending your Wing's encampment.

[Struts]

Wait do all the cadets in my squadron go to the same encampment at the same time?

A good number will usually go around the same time to your wing's encampment. Last year we had around 10 go at the same time and this year around 6 are going from my squadron as basics.