wait to go to encampment?

Started by whatevah, February 21, 2005, 12:15:42 AM

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whatevah

over on cadetstuff, somebody brought up a question similar to this...

how long should cadets wait before they attend their first encampment?

minimum of a month?  6 months?  a year?  until they have passed the Wright Brothers Award?

personally, as long as they have passed the Curry (like the regs say), I think they should attend encampment ASAP. Passing the Curry ensures they have a basic knowledge of CAP, have at least a complete blues uniform (by regs), and should have a complete bdu set.   Waiting longer will make the encampment classes a little more boring, and the cadets will zone out stuff they may not know. And, of course... who wants a C/CMSgt as a trainee when his encampment flight sergeant is a C/MSgt or C/SMSgt? :)

your comments?
Jerry Horn
CAPTalk Co-Admin

MIKE

I went to my first encampment as a C/MSgt in 1999 at 18... It wasn't very high on my list of priorities up until I was a SNCO and getting my Mitchell started to look like it was likely gonna happen... When I joined in summer of 1997 promoting was not a high priority since we had an established cadet cadre and other stuff kept me ocuppied... Getting my Mitchell was pretty far off then... I was never one of those cadets who has ambitions of getting the Spaatz or what not.

At first encampment was one of those things to get out of the way on the road to getting a set of pips... I ended up returning the next year as a C/1st Lt and served in the Headquarters Squadron.

I think a minimum time in service of 6 months sounds like a good minimum wait time before cadets attend their first encampment.  Rushing  new cadets through Achievement 1 and encampment within a month of initial membership creates too much of a burden for all concerned IMO.  6 months TIS seems like it would help a new cadet get acclimated to CAP prior to encampment.
Mike Johnston

whatevah

so, if a cadet joins in February, and you have encampments in the beginning of July, the cadet should wait until the next year?

'Tis my opinion that cadets attend encampment as soon as possible. Encampments (that I've been to) teach all the basics cadets need to know, instill the followership and teamwork principles and give a good view of what's possible in the Cadet Program, CAP and the military.

Plus, the statistics show that cadets who attend an encampment will stay in longer than those who don't.  That alone should be reason enough to encourage cadets who attend encampment. It's one of the most memorable events they'll attend in CAP.
Jerry Horn
CAPTalk Co-Admin

Pylon

I'm of the opinion that cadets should go at their first opportunity.  Why wait?  The whole purpose of the encampment is to be a well-rounded, all-encompassing, orientation to CAP and military life.  I don't see why a cadet should wait longer.  Seems to me that the longer a cadet waits to do their basic encampment, the more they will find boring at encampment because they already know it.

Cadet retention is hard, but encampment is one of those things that ropes cadets in, breaks up the monotony of the weekly squadron meetings, and gives cadets something to look forward to for the next summer.

In addition, the earlier a cadet gets an encampment under their belt, the earlier they can start looking at NCSAs.  If they wait another year to go to an encampment, they lose the opportunity to go to NCSAs for the next summer as well.

I've seen plenty of "newbie" cadets show up, barely just having their first stripe pinned on, and do just fine at encampment.  In their orientation phase of just entering the cadet program, they should be sufficiently orientated by the time they get that Curry stripe to handle encampment.  With their Curry done, they should already know things like the grade structures, cadet oath, how to wear their uniform properly, and other basic things about CAP. 

Encampment's role is not to build upon advanced skills assuming that the basics are already known, but rather to re-hash over all the basics and make sure that all the cadets are well-rounded and are on the same page.
Michael F. Kieloch, Maj, CAP

abysmal

I am STRONGLY encouraging ALL of my Cadets to attend this summer's encampment. 50% of my Cadets are Sr. Airman or Below. And of my 28 total Cadets not more than 6 of them have ever been to Encampment, and 5 of those are 2nd Lt.

When I was a Cadet many long years ago, I went to my first encampment at Fort Ord and had such a good time that I went back to a 2nd encampment a few weeks later at March AFB the same summer.

Those two encampments back to back made for one heck of a great summer when I was a teenager.
2LT Christopher M. Parrett
[red]Deputy Commander of Cadets, Cadet Programs Officer[/red]
London Bridge Composite Squadron 501
SWR-AZ-112,  Lake Havasu City, Arizona

arajca

Quote from: abysmal on March 10, 2005, 11:37:39 PM
I am STRONGLY encouraging ALL of my Cadets to attend this summer's encampment. 50% of my Cadets are Sr. Airman or Below. And of my 28 total Cadets not more than 6 of them have ever been to Encampment, and 5 of those are 2nd Lt.
I was under the impression that encampment was a requirement for the Mitchell.

abysmal

It is, but why wait till the last minute?
2LT Christopher M. Parrett
[red]Deputy Commander of Cadets, Cadet Programs Officer[/red]
London Bridge Composite Squadron 501
SWR-AZ-112,  Lake Havasu City, Arizona

arajca

So how did those 5 C/2d Lt's get their grade?

abysmal

Quote from: arajca on March 11, 2005, 12:55:36 AM
So how did those 5 C/2d Lt's get their grade?

All 5 of them have been to encampment.
They make up 5 of the 6 total cadets in the sqaudron that have been.
2LT Christopher M. Parrett
[red]Deputy Commander of Cadets, Cadet Programs Officer[/red]
London Bridge Composite Squadron 501
SWR-AZ-112,  Lake Havasu City, Arizona

MIKE

Quote from: abysmal on March 11, 2005, 01:20:28 AM
Quote from: arajca on March 11, 2005, 12:55:36 AM
So how did those 5 C/2d Lt's get their grade?

All 5 of them have been to encampment.
They make up 5 of the 6 total cadets in the sqaudron that have been.

If arajca read it like I did the first time through, he may have been thinking that you had at least one C/2d Lt who had not completed an encampment prior to promotion action as required per CAPR 52-16.
Mike Johnston

abysmal

I can see where he might have read into it like that.
2LT Christopher M. Parrett
[red]Deputy Commander of Cadets, Cadet Programs Officer[/red]
London Bridge Composite Squadron 501
SWR-AZ-112,  Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Da Big Daddy K

The BEST encampment that I have personally seen is TRI WING IN MARYLAND. Both cadets and staff do a lot and learn a lot.Remember CAP is about what you learn as you are going up the ranks LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP. :D
BOHICA
The most one learns in the military is when one has no rank or responsibility so one can concentrate on learning

abysmal

Quote from: Da Big Daddy K on March 12, 2005, 01:38:59 AM
The BEST encampment that I have personally seen is TRI WING IN MARYLAND. Both cadets and staff do a lot and learn a lot.Remember CAP is about what you learn as you are going up the ranks LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP. :D

Looking back on my short years as a cadet, encampment was, without a doubt,  the highlight of it.

But then I didn't find out about CAP till I was 17.
2LT Christopher M. Parrett
[red]Deputy Commander of Cadets, Cadet Programs Officer[/red]
London Bridge Composite Squadron 501
SWR-AZ-112,  Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Schmidty06

Get them to go to encampment ASAP.  I see it as you're not a "real" or "full-blown" cadet until after you've graduated your first encampment.  It teaches you a lot of the knowledge that you need early on in the program.

abysmal

Quote from: Schmidty06 on April 16, 2005, 05:30:35 AM
Get them to go to encampment ASAP.  I see it as you're not a "real" or "full-blown" cadet until after you've graduated your first encampment.  It teaches you a lot of the knowledge that you need early on in the program.

I wish it was so easy.
The basic cost of $225 is a major issue.
But then add in the transportation costs to get halfway across the state, and all of the required uniform items and personal items and it will cost my Cadets $400 to go to encampment.
And in this little river town, that is a HUGE amount of money for most of these Cadets.

Thus I only have 2 out of 29 that can afford to attend this year, and the squardon is in no shape to help off-set any of those costs.
2LT Christopher M. Parrett
[red]Deputy Commander of Cadets, Cadet Programs Officer[/red]
London Bridge Composite Squadron 501
SWR-AZ-112,  Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Schmidty06

Depending on your starting and finishing points, yo ucould possibly request military airlift for transport.

whatevah

man... $225 for an encampment.  I think our encampment is down to $80 for cadets, and FREE for seniors.

Back at my old squadron, when the encampment cost was around $120, my squadron would pay for all members who attended, by holding various fundraisers throughout the year.
Jerry Horn
CAPTalk Co-Admin

abysmal

Quote from: whatevah on April 17, 2005, 01:48:09 AM
man... $225 for an encampment.  I think our encampment is down to $80 for cadets, and FREE for seniors.

Back at my old squadron, when the encampment cost was around $120, my squadron would pay for all members who attended, by holding various fundraisers throughout the year.

And based on the cadet's ability to pay, it looks like we are going to HAVE TO DO some major fundraising this year in preperation for next year's encampment if we want any of our cadet to attend.
2LT Christopher M. Parrett
[red]Deputy Commander of Cadets, Cadet Programs Officer[/red]
London Bridge Composite Squadron 501
SWR-AZ-112,  Lake Havasu City, Arizona

A1Steaksauce

haha my FltSgt was a C/MSgt and i was a Chief. I basicly did his job.

ZigZag911

Based on experience as:

1) basic at encampment
2) two time cadet staff member
3) ten years encampment staff as a senior, including four tours at 'executive'
level

my observation is that cadets need about 6 months adjustment to CAP to do well in the encampment environment.

This varies somewhat according to age....the new cadet who comes aboard in February would probably do OK at July encampment....unless the individual is somewhat immature, not used to being away from home.....with cadets like that, the 6 to 18 months that pass before their SECOND encampment opportunity, plus the advancement in and experience of the CAP cadet program, bring the to encampment better prepared and in a better frame of mind to participate and enjoy the learning experience.