Reservations about joining CAP...

[ELTHunter]

First off, welcome and thank you for joining CAP.  Do not get discouraged, someone with your background can give a lot to the organization, particularly in cadet programs and emergency services.

When the squadron I work with has visitors, I always tell them to visit for a few meetings to see how they like it before joining.  Also, I suggest that they visit several units in the area.  Each unit has its own personality and style depending upon the commander and people in the unit.  I'm not suggesting you find another unit, the one you are in may take some familiarization and be a good fit for you.  If not, I urge you to visit others and see if you find one that you like.

Also, composite squadrons can be like two different units in one.  The senior side may be one way, and the cadets another, depending upon how much interdependance they have and how the meetings are run.  I got involved in the cadet program in my squadron, which I found to be a very rewarding experience even though I never worked with youth before and had no intention of doing that when I joined.

The eight years I have been in CAP have been some of the most rewarding and enjoyable I have ever had.  However, you will find that, although it is military based, it is still a volunteer organization.  That causes some unique challenges and problems, many of which you have read about here.  If you approach CAP knowing this and are willing to overlook some of these things and "roll with the punches", you will do fine and enjoy your experience.

My first squadron commander told me when I first joind that if one joins CAP asking "what can CAP do for me", they will be dissapointed.  But, if you join asking" what can I do for CAP" you will do OK.  Like any other activity, you get out of it what you put into it.

Don't be scared away by what you read here and on other boards.  Some of the folks here have something against CAP for one reason or the other.  Many more of the regulars here are "die hard" CAP members.  We may grouse and complain about a few things, but for the most part, we have the best interests of the organization at heart and only want to help it live up to the vision we have for it.  Also, the audience here tends to be more involved in CAP then most, so we may be more aware of the problems abd complaints that are voiced here.  Many members who do not live and breath CAP, as some of us do, may never even be aware of a lot of these things we talk about, or don't view them as problems.

Another thing to remember, there are almost 60,000 CAP members, but only a few people who regularly post to this board.  What we say may not necessarily be representitive of the membership as a whole, so take it with a grain of salt and form your own opinion.

Again, thanks for joining.

[Camas]

The one place you need to be aggressive in CAP right from the beginning is getting your training done.

Good advice!  You'll want to do all of your Level One training as soon as you can unless you've already completed it.  All of this is now done online.  It includes the CAP Foundation Course along with the Cadet Protection Program Training or CPPT and OPSEC or Operations Security Awareness Training.  Follow the instructions; take the tests and bring the material to your commander or designee.  Be sure to stay in touch with your unit professional development officer for assistance if needed.  Also be sure to read up on CAPR 50-17 which has to do with professional development opportunities for all CAP officers.  You'll find that and other publications, forms and regulations here.  Good luck and welcome!

[ELTHunter]

CAP is what you make of it. Being an Army officer, I am sure youhave heard the saying "You have to manage your own career". The same is true in CAP. You have to put yourself in for training. Put yourself in for actvities, and yes you may even have to put yourself in for awards and promotions. When I first joined CAP, I wqas 15 years old. I got a set of manuals (this is before the internet and I had to read this really big thick blue book) and I read the regs that pertained to me and I learned what I needed to do to get promtoed, a duty position and evrything else. So, you do have to do a ot on your own. There is a lot to do in CAP, but you have to take it upon yourself to do it.

Good point Flyguy.  Because the organization is entirely staffed by volunteers in the field, relying on the officers at your local unit to guide you closely may, or may not, work, depending on your unit.

Some units might have people that seem to be reluctant to ask you to help, or assign real work to you.  I think because they are afraid of burdening you or putting you out some how.  CAP is littered with the bodies of people that came into the organization and either got overworked because they couldn't say no, or left because nobody gave then anything meaningful to do.  Like I said earlier, you will get out of the experience what you put into it.  Know what you are comfortable doing, and willing to commit to, then don't be afraid to identify where you think you can help and make sure people know you are willing.  Being a former military officer, remember, you are probably capable of doing anything in the organization once you learn how things get done.

[NEBoom]

Well, just joined CAP last month and I have some reservations. 

Well, I've been in CAP for about twenty years now, and I still have reservations about it from time to time.  Beyond what's already been said, please take the time to learn about CAP and its missions, and get a vision in your head of what this organization should be like.  See the potential.  Then do your best to help the organization reach that potential.  I'll warn you though, it'll take years.

I frequently get frustrated with the politics that goes on in CAP.  We all have only so much time and energy to expend on CAP and we waste so darn much of it on stupid "male bovine fecal matter" and at the end of the day nothing gets done.  Best advice I can give you here is just don't get involved with it.  The higher-ups have their stupid games they play, but most of that will not affect you at the squadron level.

And as has already been said, enjoy the cadets.  They're the future of the organization, and the country.  Build a challenging program for them and hold them to the highest standard.  Be reasonable and fair of course, but make it an honest challenge for them.  Someday one of your cadets who is now the most silly, childish member of your squadron will walk up to you wearing an <insert military branch here> uniform with captain's bars or sergeant's stripes on it.  Oh, and he'll be taller than you are and maybe be wearing wings.  You'll wonder for a minute how the heck that happened, then he'll tell you it was (at least in part) because of CAP, and because of you.  And that is the payoff for putting up with all the stupid/unprofessional garbage in CAP.

Welcome aboard, and good luck.

[Rangersigo]

Thanks again for all the comments and PMs...  I guess if I have the opportunity through CAP to change one person's direction for the better, to save a life, to teach someone to save a life, to motivate it would be worth it... 

Thanks again for the suggestions.  I knocked out my Level I training, completed the Yeager Test, and will be signing up for anything that I can.

Sua Sponte
"Of Their Own Accord"

Rangersigo

[flyguy06]

By your tag Rangersigo. I take it you are a signal guy ( how in the world did you get a tab?)

What type of flying do you do? What lisence are you working on?

[Rangersigo]

I started as an Infantryman (enlisted) and after Task Force Ranger, went to OCS - branch detail from Intantry to Signal after 4 years...

Working on my Private Pilot - about half way there.

Served in 3-75 enlisted - then again as a Signal Officer..

[flyguy06]

I started as an Infantryman (enlisted) and after Task Force Ranger, went to OCS - branch detail from Intantry to Signal after 4 years...

Working on my Private Pilot - about half way there.

Served in 3-75 enlisted - then again as a Signal Officer..

Ahhhh, you traitor you.
just kidding. I have been an 11 series soldier my entire career bith enlisted and officer side. But its all good. you probably are the smarter one. Good luck on your Private pilots lisence. This is definantly the place to come to get some advice. There is also a website called studentpilot.com thats real good

[Becks]

I started as an Infantryman (enlisted) and after Task Force Ranger...

Wow...

[AlaskanCFI]

Rangersigo,

Don't let the small stuff get you down.  I am ex-Navy 6 years, went into police work and later jumped into the Army (2 hitches) as a Cav Scout and later in a LRS det.  Followed by returning to law enforcement full time and 13 years of Air Guard.  None of those services seemed to understand the others.
My wife is also ex-Army and a disabled vet.   
Most of the local CAP guys don't get it and I have just about quit on several occasions over the years.

Just make your mission and your personal impact, your signature on the organization.  Let the rest of the minor stuff run off your back, like water off a duck

[DNall]

Welcome Sir... I'll be rather brief on this one. Certainly you have several skill sets we can make very good use of, and I think any of us would be very happy to have you in our Sq.

That siad, CAP has a lot of problems - so does the Army - you just take it & soldier on. That seems like a bad answer, but hell yes the mission outweighs the BS. Personally, I hate many many thinga bout CAP, sometimes CAP itself, but I love what I do & love seeing the effects it has on the people I impact. As a soldier you did importnat work, but probably didn't get to see many of the good effects directly.

It takes some getting used to & there's a lot of BS to put up with, but stick with it a bit & you'll start to see what a really big deal it is & what important stuff you're able to accomplish thru this org. Don't sweat the small stuff. Even the nit picking uniform conversations you see around here are for the most part a side effect of bigger issues &/or frustration with the screwy interaction Congress has set up for us w/ AF & how it handcuffs everyone. It's all a little silly, but we do the best we can & try to help everyone else along.

[bosshawk]

Rangersigo: you have now gotten lots of advice from lots of people, including me.  Some of the posters have mentioned how upset they get, from time to time, with CAP and wonder how and why they stay.  I can vouch that, for 14 straight years, I come up to membership renewal and stop and think about whether or not I want to renew.  I just got my renewal notice from National this morning: I paused for the 15th time and asked myself whether or not I wanted to invest $76 more dollars and tons of time.  The answer: YES.  The organization has lots of good people, some poor people and some who are very neutral.  It does good things most of the time and falls flat on its face on occasion.  On balance, I believe that it is worth my time, money and effort to support CAP and the many fine people that I have encountered in CAP.  The nation certainly needs what we do and the young people who we are trying to influence to continue the service tradition.

In my personal position, I have been in a service mode for my entire adult life, so not being of service would be unnatural to me. 

Stand tall, do your best and use your best judgement: none of that will fail you nor will it fail CAP.

[Dragoon]

Here's some different advice. 

You've got a lot to offer - but it won't be readily apparent to others.  No reason to push it - if you're good, they'll figure it out rather quickly.  Take a slow and gentle approach.  Just offer to help when you can.  I wouldn't even worry about the bling - establish your rep slowly and THEN pull out the bling.

In the meantime, take time to figure out what CAP is and what it isn't.  Army preconceptions are often wrong (heck, I was a cadet before I was in the Army, and when I came back to CAP I was still a bit too gung ho).

Because in the end, it ain't about what you were, it's about how well you work and play with others right now.

[DogCollar]

Hi All,
I have monitored CAPtalk for several weeks before deciding to register and add my 2 cents.  First, thanks for all the first rate and passionate discussion on all manner of CAP issues!  To me, the passion is an example of members great desire for the organization to grow and prosper and continue to serve.

Like Rangersigo, I am fairly new to CAP (I was a Cadet for a short period of time in '70's).  I also never served in the military, and I am not a pilot (and frankly, have no interest in becoming one!)

I have been a Lutheran pastor for 20 years, presently serving as a hospital chaplain.  I was looking for away to utilize/volunteer my specific skills in chaplaincy, including trainig in CISM.  I joined in June of 06, and received my appointment as a Squadron Chaplain in September.  While I am continuing to try and find my way to use my specific training, I am greatly enjoying my time formally (leading Moral Leadership) and informally with our cadets (we have a very small squadron)   I am delighted to serve as a squadron chaplain. 

I do find many of the regulations confusing...some even arbitrary.  However, on the whole, I am glad I joined.