Should I join?

[kg7fxt]

I am 16 and about to go into my junior year would it be worth it for me to join. I do not have any plans of going into the military after college.
I am also a little overweight and might not be able to pass the of tests would this hold me back a lot?

[DakRadz]

I joined at exactly that age. I left (early, marriage and all) the cadet program as a C/Capt.

If you are dedicated to challenging yourself and improving, then I'd say give it a go.

What I got out of CAP:
Mentors
Friends
My current career field as a firefighter and paramedic
Confidence and humility
Leadership skills  (once I figured out how to start using them)
Too much more to list


It wasn't always easy, but I gained so much. One of the first things I ever dedicated myself to was this cadet program, and it took exactly that for me to see a return from it.

1st Lt Raduenz

[whatevah]

There are a lot of "depends" in answering your questions.  Congrats on passing the Extra exam (fellow Extra here!), you're clearly intelligent enough to do anything you want.  However, going into 11th grade is a little late to join as you're going to have a lot more stuff going on in and out of school, so it'll be harder than if you joined a few years earlier. That said, CAP can provide a great deal of leadership training and problem solving skills plus military/aviation/outdoors experiences hard to find elsewhere... there are a couple squadrons near you, check them out and see how you feel about them.  http://hosted.where2getit.com/civilairpatrol/

Regarding physical shape, weight isn't everything... muscle, speed and agility can be obtained even with a few extra pounds.  Again, check with the local units for a taste of what they do. 

[Jester]

If PT is a worry, this could be the thing that gets you moving and you can learn what works so you can go from there.

You don't have to be THE best, you just have to be YOUR best. The more you work at it, the better your best becomes.

[GaryVC]

I joined at 16 in 1964 and have never regretted it. I have never been thin but at the moment my weight is petty good and less than when I retired from the AF. CAP may open your eyes to other career possibilities although it is much more difficult to become a military officer then when I joined in the draft era. There wasn't a physical fitness program in CAP when I joined so what they have now is a vast improvement.