General Ranks

[Nolan Teel]

I'm curious to what everyone has to say about this.  Pulled it right off the meeting agenda for National Boards coming up in Sept.  As I read this, this was tabled from 2001.  Do I understand CAP to be voting on if they want to go to the AF and request the additional Stars?  Not trying to start a huge debate but I'm curious to what the members think/know about this. 

National Commander- Lieutenant General
National Vice Commander- Major General
National Chief of Staff- Brigadier General
National Legal Officer- Brigadier General
National Finance Officer- Brigadier General
National Controller- Brigadier General
Eight CAP region commanders Brigadier General

[SarDragon]

There's discussion on another thread that I'm too lazy to look up. IMHO, and that of others, it will go down in flames. There's no problem that needs that fix.

YMMV.

[Nolan Teel]

ahhh i didnt see it.  Just curious to what the membership thinks of this?  I personally think its a bad Idea.  Im not to impressed with the direction CAP is going these days.  How can having more Stars help us.

[D2SK]

I think it is silly.

Of all the things that need to be done....this shouldn't even be on the list.

[FW]

 :redx:

I can't garantee what will happen but, consider this agenda item dead.

[Rotorhead]

I think it is silly.

Of all the things that need to be done....this shouldn't even be on the list.

Agreed.

[sparks]

This initiative is DOA as it should be. Our leadership should be much more concerned with the shrinking membership and mission loss instead of padding their shoulders with stars!

[flyguy06]

membership is shrinking because people arent getting what they thought CAP was when they joined?

Most guys on here dont care about rank anyway.  But since the question was thrown out there I think each Wing Commander should be a Brig Gen. that way they can better sit down and talk with their respective state Adjutants General.

Commander should be a Brig Gen as well. I dontthink CAP should go above two stars though

[Nolan Teel]

Lets all just go to polo shirts....  Wouldnt that be easy?  Cheap to.  Plus that would cut down on National changing up the uniforms on us every 6 months.

[MIKE]

Snowballs chance in hell... Don't see this going over well at all with "the approving authority", and it really is in poor taste given recent events.  It still seems like CAP just got authorization for major general.

Frankly, thats too many general officers... CAP has too many colonels as it is, but making them brigadier generals just makes it worse. It'd be like the CGAux with all the 1,2 and 3 star commodores walking around.

[flyguy06]

Lets all just go to polo shirts....  Wouldnt that be easy?  Cheap to.  Plus that would cut down on National changing up the uniforms on us every 6 months.

I would definanly quit CAP if we did that.

[Nolan Teel]

I just dont see how it would help CAP.  We need National to be working on making CAP more user friendly, putting more training online, cutting down on paperwork.  It seems the last few years its how we look to others and not how we do out job.  Id also like to see them focus on CAPs internal customers... The Members.

[RiverAux]

Seeing as how CAP-USAF non-concurred with the proposal it is dead whether or not the NB approves it since the AF has final authority in this area. 

[Eclipse]

I just dont see how it would help CAP.  We need National to be working on making CAP more user friendly, putting more training online, cutting down on paperwork.  It seems the last few years its how we look to others and not how we do out job.  Id also like to see them focus on CAPs internal customers... The Members.

And how are these ideas mutually exclusive?

Its an interesting mentality that asserts human beings, especially committees, are only capable of addressing a single issue at any given time.  Its also a way to deflect a discussion from the real message and interject unrelated minutia.

I don't think adding stars to the membership lists means much either way, I'd frankly be in favor of measures which would raise the bar on anything above Captain and suppress the grade structure, perhaps even to the point of making Majors and Lt. Col. positional and temporary so that as people get older and start to be less active, they would collect at Captain instead of Lt. Col.  Those that stick around
to a real retirement could be reinstated at their highest grade as part of the exit paperwork.

But just because this is on the table doesn't mean other work isn't getting done.

Perhaps if we could just close background noise questions like these quickly and efficiently, there would be more time for other discussions.  Many of the questions being considered this round, and other recent meetings, have been on the table, in one form or another, for years.  Many times instead of being voted down the proposals are rescinded and then they pop up next meeting.

[Nolan Teel]

Thats not a bad Idea... Maybe something along the lines of Group commanders LTC, Unit Commanders Maj.  The rest of the membership Captains or below...

[notaNCO forever]

Thats not a bad Idea... Maybe something along the lines of Group commanders LTC, Unit Commanders Maj.  The rest of the membership Captains or below...

That gets rid of squadron members having higher grade than the CC, so I think that is a good idea.

[Rotorhead]

Lets all just go to polo shirts....  Wouldnt that be easy?  Cheap to.  Plus that would cut down on National changing up the uniforms on us every 6 months.

I would definanly quit CAP if we did that.

Yes, we know.

[MIKE]

Thats not a bad Idea... Maybe something along the lines of Group commanders LTC, Unit Commanders Maj.  The rest of the membership Captains or below...

In my alter ego I'm a butter bar as a staff officer at the unit level.  To change them out for silver I would have to be (or have been) the "deputy commander" or the "commander" for railroad tracks... or a staff officer at the "group" level and so on.  But like I said we still have "regionish commanders" who are one stars, some 2 star billets and a "national commander" who is a 3 star.

IMO, your average CAP squadron is a captain billet or less for the commander. 1st lieutenant or less for the deputy(s)... both flights and groups should be mandatory and get wings off of state boundaries.  Some "wings" today could conceivably be groups commanded by a Maj or Lt Col.

[Johnny Yuma]

Every time they want to put more stars on shoulders at NHQ I'm reminded of the Harwell debacle and my head starts to hurt.

[RiverAux]

Some "wings" today could conceivably be groups commanded by a Maj or Lt Col.

Most wings were commanded by Majors and Lt. Cols. during WWII when membership was 5x what it is today.  Heck, there was even a very short period where a Captain commanded the Kentucky Wing (Capt. Howard B. Brown, Jr., June 1-23, 1943).