Interested in Joining CAP

[AngelWings]

It shouldn't be dependent on our new members walking in the door to fix our problems.  When you go to a restaurant and the food sucks, do you jump in the kitchen and show them how to cook?

New members should be able to join our units and start getting the knowledge they'd need to perform our missions, not be thrown into "fixing our problems."  It seems a bit odd that the expectation is that the new folks walking in the door know how to do what we do better than we do.  Maybe we should do some in house sprucing up first.

It shouldn't, you're 100% correct. I agree with you, and wish what I said was totally wrong. However, it seems people don't want to change their style to incorpoate new things, and a push here and a training oppurtunity there certainly makes things move. It is not the new members fault at all, it is the leadership that is resistant to any form of change's fault. It is a lesson I've learned in CAP. Not everyone shares the same interest in training and missions. Look at how divided the we are. There are units out there that focus on one aspect of our 3 missions, and there are Drill squadrons, flying club squadrons, ES squadron, Cadet Programs squadrons, Senior squadrons, Cadet squadrons, Military minded squadrons, "I don't like military uniforms" squadrons, and more. The variety is astounding. Sometimes, a new member has to push for change for things to change in a squadron. I know, I know, it isn't their responsibility to, but if they want it done, it sometimes is their job to push for it.

[Private Investigator]

I have concluded this organization is a joke...

Well that is an interesting opinion. Some people are a better fit for Red Cross or the Salvation Army. Some Cadets will be better off in girl scouts or being the little league hero.   

[a2capt]

Well, yes- there's been some things that have been a joke over the last 10 years.

OTOH, the things I have done that I have been able to make a difference in someones life, the cadets and senior members that have thanked me, the commanders and project officers that have put me in for awards for recognition, and more ...

Have all been worth every gallon of gasoline I've bought so cadets can get to Color Guard practices, O-Flights, mission bases, and many more activities. All of the supplies I've burned through, hours in front of the computer into the wee hours of the morning...

All of it. 100% of it, practically without any payback other than "Thank You", has been worth it ten times over.

[Extremepredjudice]

Thank you sir, for all your hard work.