What kind of facility do you meet in?

[Walkman]

My unit meets at the Army Reserve Center downtown. It's not a "base" so we don;t have to do ID checks and all to get in. We pretty much have the run of the building on meeting nights. There are several classrooms and a large open cafeteria/multi-purpose room we do drill, PT and formations in. Right now the building is undergoing extensive renovations and pretty much every area is closed off except one smaller classroom. The construction is going to last throughout the summer.

In that light, I'm looking at possibilities for temporary, alternate meeting places, especially for PT. I thought I'd ask here what other types of facilities people use to give me ideas of what to look for.

[Spaceman3750]

We currently use the old terminal of the regional airport we meet at. Before that we used the EAA hanger. Most of the units around here meet at an airport somehow, either on a base or in an empty building/hanger/FBO.

[pierson777]

My unit is fortunate enough to operate out of a dedicated CAP building that was funded and built by CAP members.  The project started late around 1969 and completed around 1972. 

The facility serves as a Squadron HQ and as an incident command post, it includes
Lobby
Large meeting room (mostly used by cadets)
Small meeting room (mostly used by seniors)
Commander's office
Support section office (admin, personnel, PD, etc.)
Operations section office with storage closet (ES, Health, Ops, etc)
Logistics section office with storage office (logistics, supply, transportation)
Finance office
Cadet Commander office
Deputy Commander for Cadets office
Multipurpose classroom (meetings, boards, briefing, training, etc.)
3 Restrooms (men, women, plus a smaller restroom near the offices)
Pilot "cave" (flight planning, briefing, training, etc.)
Communications room, enough room for four stations
Three storage closets (1. cadet programs & aero ed, 2. Janitorial and Building Maintenance, 3. Ground Team)
The unit also has a large storage hanger at the airport (at the end of a row of T-hangers)
Up until a few years ago, our back patio was also the ramp for parking the airplane.  We could fit probably eight at one time.  Unfortunately, the airport was fenced and gated and it was too logistically difficult to include the CAP facility within the secured area of the airport.
We also have a large park behind our building where we can do PFT, sports, volleyball, picnic parties, etc.

If you think all this is awesome, I agree.  But keep in mind we are constantly dealing with maintenance, a huge property full of weeds, roof leaks, etc.  It's a pain, but it's worth it.  I've also been in a squadron that  the only asset was a couple file boxes that we took the meeting...wherever it happened to be this week (school, municipal building, park, etc).

[THRAWN]

My unit meets at the Army Reserve Center downtown. It's not a "base" so we don;t have to do ID checks and all to get in. We pretty much have the run of the building on meeting nights. There are several classrooms and a large open cafeteria/multi-purpose room we do drill, PT and formations in. Right now the building is undergoing extensive renovations and pretty much every area is closed off except one smaller classroom. The construction is going to last throughout the summer.

In that light, I'm looking at possibilities for temporary, alternate meeting places, especially for PT. I thought I'd ask here what other types of facilities people use to give me ideas of what to look for.

Where is the AR unit relocated to? See if you can "tag along". Contact your local schools district. They have buildings and space, especially during the summer months. Look at local churches. Contact the VFW/AL to see if they have some space you might use. Near an airport? Hit up the FBO.

[Walkman]

Where is the AR unit relocated to? See if you can "tag along". Contact your local schools district. They have buildings and space, especially during the summer months. Look at local churches. Contact the VFW/AL to see if they have some space you might use. Near an airport? Hit up the FBO.

The AR units are staying in place at the moment. The work is all HVAC. They might be drilling at an ANG base 30 minutes east of here for weekends.

[NIN]

My unit is fortunate enough to operate out of a dedicated CAP building that was funded and built by CAP members.  The project started late around 1969 and completed around 1972. 

The facility serves as a Squadron HQ and as an incident command post, it includes
Lobby
Large meeting room (mostly used by cadets)
Small meeting room (mostly used by seniors)
Commander's office
Support section office (admin, personnel, PD, etc.)
Operations section office with storage closet (ES, Health, Ops, etc)
Logistics section office with storage office (logistics, supply, transportation)
Finance office
Cadet Commander office
Deputy Commander for Cadets office
Multipurpose classroom (meetings, boards, briefing, training, etc.)
3 Restrooms (men, women, plus a smaller restroom near the offices)
Pilot "cave" (flight planning, briefing, training, etc.)
Communications room, enough room for four stations
Three storage closets (1. cadet programs & aero ed, 2. Janitorial and Building Maintenance, 3. Ground Team)
The unit also has a large storage hanger at the airport (at the end of a row of T-hangers)
Up until a few years ago, our back patio was also the ramp for parking the airplane.  We could fit probably eight at one time.  Unfortunately, the airport was fenced and gated and it was too logistically difficult to include the CAP facility within the secured area of the airport.
We also have a large park behind our building where we can do PFT, sports, volleyball, picnic parties, etc.

If you think all this is awesome, I agree.  But keep in mind we are constantly dealing with maintenance, a huge property full of weeds, roof leaks, etc.  It's a pain, but it's worth it.  I've also been in a squadron that  the only asset was a couple file boxes that we took the meeting...wherever it happened to be this week (school, municipal building, park, etc).

Thats awesome. Got pictures?

[FlyTiger77]

My unit is fortunate enough to operate out of a dedicated CAP building that was funded and built by CAP members.  The project started late around 1969 and completed around 1972... 

Thats awesome. Got pictures?

My thougths exactly. Inside and outside pictures would be great!

[pierson777]

This photo on this site is probably ten years old.  We have a new sign now and for some the reason the flag pole was missing when that photo was taken. https://plus.google.com/113126725507791032707/about?gl=US&hl=en-US

[Stonewall]

My last unit:  FL-383 (our own building at the local municipal airport.

[NIN]

Nobody who 's been in CAP more than 3-4 years hasn't taken out the graph paper and drawn up the "ultimate squadron HQ", amIright?

Mine is in chief architect.

People would ask what I wanted out of an HQ. I always said "A commander's office."   What's not clear about that answer is that the CO's office is like 15th on the wish list.  A whole lot of other stuff comes before that.

[Shotgun]

Like Walkman, we too meet in the local Army Reserve Center.
(It must be a Michigan thing!)

The mother of one of our cadets is the facility manager.

We have a large parking lot in which to drill, an large conference room with conference table that seats about 16 people with space around the outside of the room for twice as many more, and a large multi purpose room (think school lunch room ) where we hold formations and joint senior/cadet classes.

We have a cabinet to hold our projector, files, supplies, etc.

[TarRiverRat]

At Tar River Composite MER-NC-057, we have a dedicated CAP building.  It was the old manned Weather Station for the airport at Rocky Mount-Wilson Airport (RWI).  There is still a weather station room in the building that is automated and off limits to the squadron.  It is one of 2 dedicated mission bases in the NC Wing.  I believe that is correct ref to 2 dedicated mission bases.  Maybe more now.  I do know that Burlington is one and we are the other.  There maybe is one in the western part of the state as well, but not sure.  We have offices, training room, supply, kitchen, and operations.  It is a nice building and the airport uses the training center as they need to as well.   

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

I have never been fortunate enough to have a CAP-dedicated facility.

First squadron (composite) - Armed Forces Reserve Centre, along with National Guard, Navy and Marine Reserves, NSCC.  Had a very good relationship with the National Guard; they basically set aside a hallway with two rooms on each side for us, along with use of drill hall.

Second squadron (senior) - One room at aviation training facility at airport.  Offered use of ANG facility, but refused by CC because base commander insisted on proper uniforms.

Third squadron (composite) - Law enforcement/snow removal/dump truck repair garage.  Cold and damp in winter, humid in summer, always smelt like burning oil.

Fourth squadron (cadet) - Building on ANG facility.  Generally good relationship with the Guard.  Excellent indoor/outdoor drill facilities.

Current squadron (composite) - Two rooms in airport terminal.  Crowded, and hot in summer, but beggars can't be choosers, and the airport management are as nice as nice can be, and provide hangar space for the bird.

[UH60guy]

We have a hanger on an Air Force base used for static displays and ceremonies. Clean and sized appropriately for drill and PT. Upstairs, we have a classroom, supply room, conference room, and a few other small rooms all our own. It's a great setup, the only pain is the getting on and off base (for new members before ID card, sometimes guards uninformed about the CAP agreements, etc).

[FlyTiger77]

Two of my squadrons are in dedicated facilities (hand-me-down trailers from TVA construction projects). One of these squadrons is in a triple-wide trailer on school property about 3/4 of a mile from where the local airport was until about this time last year. The other is on the airport grounds and has a single-, double- and a triple-wide connected by a wood deck and under a common roof.

One squadron meets in a local church and has use of one room for an office.

One squadron meets in the Beechcraft Museum but really doesn't have any dedicated space.

One squadron meets in the FBO (sort of like a lobby, but sort of not...)

My senior squadron meets in a conference room at what was once an FBO at KCHA (the city bought TAC Air out of their lease, but that is another story for another day...)

Nobody who 's been in CAP more than 3-4 years hasn't taken out the graph paper and drawn up the "ultimate squadron HQ", amIright? 

I have $5,000,000 set aside from any future lottery winnings (over $100M take home) to build the ultimate facility. Now, if I only bought lottery tickets...

[SunDog]

Sports bar sometimes. But usually in a smallish building on the airport, gratis by the local authority.  It isn't dedicated to us, but it's almost always available, and reserved for our normal meeting times.

We get more done at the airport, but the bar is way more fun.  The cadets meet at the airport exclusively, since they proved to be sloppy drinkers. And they gawk at the waitresses. 

[Spaceman3750]

Sports bar sometimes. But usually in a smallish building on the airport, gratis by the local authority.  It isn't dedicated to us, but it's almost always available, and reserved for our normal meeting times.

We get more done at the airport, but the bar is way more fun.  The cadets meet at the airport exclusively, since they proved to be sloppy drinkers. And they gawk at the waitresses.

+1

The seniors at my unit used to get together at a member's house on a saturday night every couple months for dinner and a work evening. That was always a lot of fun. We haven't done it lately, or the others have stopped inviting me.

[Brit_in_CAP]

Used to meet at a former hospital (actual a mental health facility...hmmm...) now we meet at the local FBO which is provided free of charge.  Very limited space and no advantage being at the airport - too small to be relevant and we don't have a bird.

Personally, I like the earlier suggestions of schools, churches etc.  Anywhere you can get some reasonable space to work,.  If the admin has to go mobile for a few months - use it as a chance to thin out the paper mountain!  Seriously: you could put your admin function in the back of a vehicle in the short term if you can get good classroom space and so on at (e.g. one of the schools).  You could also contact the school board directly; some of them have conference facilities they'd let you use FOC in the week.

[JeffDG]

I have $5,000,000 set aside from any future lottery winnings (over $100M take home) to build the ultimate facility. Now, if I only bought lottery tickets...

Lotteries are an Innumeracy Tax.

[Private Investigator]

Sports bar sometimes. But usually in a smallish building on the airport, gratis by the local authority.  It isn't dedicated to us, but it's almost always available, and reserved for our normal meeting times.

We get more done at the airport, but the bar is way more fun.  The cadets meet at the airport exclusively, since they proved to be sloppy drinkers. And they gawk at the waitresses.

+2

No Cadets in uniform at Hooters.