Suggestions, tips, pitfalls - advice wanted!
Light a bunch of these:
(https://s8.postimg.cc/czr46x1n9/animated-candle-gif-18.gif)
Make sure you're intimately familiar with these (seems a lot of encampments are "unaware")
https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/cadets/activities/encampment
https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/cadets/activities/encampment/encampment-curriculum
If you're thinking about doing it still this CY, you're already well behind the curve, unless you already
have an approved appropriate venue, and multi-wing likely needs not only approval of all the Wing CCs,
but the Region CC as well. It take 6-8 months of nearly full-time (CAP full time) planning and effort to
plan a successful encampment.
Also, if any of these wings already has an encampment, be prepared to justify why you feel the need to
"compete", as unless the wing in question is very large, or has a huge cadet student population, one will
invariably draw from the other(s).
A strong #2 to you is going to be very important, and your choice for Commandant will make or break the
activity as hots & cots are one thing, but the Commandant is responsible for cadet experience - if you choose
someone based on availability vs. experience, you're cooked.
Your SET choices will be next in regards to success, there is a lot of data to gather and track with all the
evaluations, inspections, and critiques, and other numbers that have to be crunched these days. This member needs
to be experienced with the CP and have a good head for details.
Google drive and the encampment management program are really the only way to manage all this info (though
I'm trying to find "other" myself). You'll need someone who is at least user-level with Access and CAPWATCH (not to mention
right to D/L the CW database for at least your Region).
Brainstorm sessions and weekly conference calls with your staff (one for Senior, one for the Curriculum staff) are going to
be critical for all the details. Cadets with diamonds on their collar and more then one encampment ribbon will be a big help
when trying to ramp up first-year activities like this.
The curriculum calls for at least one TO per flight, and common sense says two so people can go to the bathroom once in a while,
etc. IMHO, an encampment has to have at least 50 students to be worth the effort in most wings, and I would think especially
for a multi-wing affair, so that's 10 adults, plus 1-2 additional (with high experience) as leads to the TO. The TOs have had
significant roles beyond supervision since the latest curriculum was release, so they aren't just chaperones. They have input as well,
which also has to be tracked and mentored.
Figure the average encampment of "normal" scale is going to be about 100 cadets and 30-50 adults (more are required when
you have to cook your own meals).
Perfect - thank you!
Alaska and Oregon have been alternating hosting a winter encampment, with shared staff and cross promotion for a few years.
I'm sure if you reached out to the Cadet Programs folks in either of those wings, they could help.
Asst DCP for AKWG here, I can either answer your questions or get somebody that can.