Are Seniors starting to lack imagination?

[flyerthom]

To echo words written here...
I'm surprised that y'all have not started a thread asking CAP members what they would do if their town was invaded & occupied by aliens.

Some might classify this as "STUPID & a total waste of time." 

I live in Vegas. The place is full of aliens - in more ways than one...

cosmo

How about that? A G rated double entendre! 

As for seniors lacking imagination, it's because our cholesterol is getting dangerously close to normal since the doughnuts have been cut back.

In all due seriousness, because our mission is changing post 2001, it can be difficult to see innovation in progress. Yet it's there. How many would have seen Archer come on line just 7 years ago? How many would have predicted the mass use of digital photography just 5 years ago? How many would have thought of the use of the IMU and ICS before September 11?
Many of the things CAP thought important 20 years ago have faded and many things undreamed of 20 years ago are at the fore front. And 20 years from now those things may have faded and new challenges will arise. It's not that we lack imagination, it's that we move slowly but adapt quickly so we may not see what's in plain (plane) sight.

Either that, or we're so busy looking for old doughnuts we miss the Starbucks coffee...

[RogueLeader]

Here's a remake of a saying of Pres. Kennedy:

Ask not what your Country can do for CAP, but what CAP can do for the Country.

[RogueLeader]

I think that this thread needs to be resurected, lest we go it all again.

[Eclipse]

Why?

This isn't "coffee talk" its "CAPTalk", and certainly these "what if" scenarios are time / bit wasters.

There's plenty of other boards where you can discuss whatever you want. 

This is for CAP-related topics (yeah, and I know, I toss a tangentially related one once in a while, too, but you're not going to see me asking what we should do if t there's another civil war, or aliens invade, or if we became the 17th uniformed service under the central corps of the public dog catching service - I'm about coffee and uniform).

If, every once in a while, there's wasn't any traffic here, that'd be ok, too.

[GoofyOne]

It is not a lack of imagination.

It is being stifiled by others higher in the CoC.

It is politics of somebody thinking a new idea might make them look bad even though it isn't meant to.

It is fear of ticking somebody off with new fresh ideas and having a IG come visit for something totally different.

If somebody doesn't realize, and do it soon, our membership will continue to drop or get a lack of participation.  Everybody wants to feel needed and having an idea a least heard does wonders.  If the idea never makes it past the ears of the next level we'll never know if it was a good idea or not.

[Johnny Yuma]

Seniors don't need imagination. THat's what we have a cadet program for.

Full time Auxilliary? It'd be a pay cut for me, sorry.

[Short Field]

Not to call you out I just dont see how being both an officer and enlisted is possible. 

Been going on since at least the end of WWII.  Every time there is a reduction in force (RIF), many officers decided to accept an enlisted rank instead of separating from the service.  They hold a RESERVE commission and are in Inactive status while serving on active duty.   Back when we had Regular and Reserve and then Temporary and Permanent promotion boards, it was not uncommon to see a Staff Sargent who was a Reserve Major just putting in his last three years so he could retire as a Major.  IIRC, it was even possible for a really bad luck Lt Col to end up in the same situation.  Individual had been promoted to Lt Col on the Temp Board  but the Permanent Board did not select him.  So he wore stripes for a few years and retired as a Lt Col.

[cap235629]

or an officer who has served his maximum allowed commissioned service but is still not old enough for mandatory retirement.  Usually happens with AGR folks and Most take a warrant to get to 62, but some reenlist as an E8 or E9

[Short Field]

The biggest problem I find is NOT a lack of imagination but the LACK of an executable plan to make it happen.  An executable plan is something that only needs approval from up the chain to make happen.   It does not require the higher ups to (1) come up with funding, (2) do battle with the USAF and win, (3) do most of the work to make it happen, or (4) totally reorganizes/renames everything to solve a non-problem.  It also has to have enough buy-in at the appropriate levels to provide the manpower to make it work. 

[Rotorhead]

The problem with these "imagination" threads is, they always end up being about:

(a) what if we were part of the Real Air Force?

or (b) what if CAP was called upon to fight?

True "imagination in CAP" would deal with how we can better fulfill the three primary objectives of the organization, not figure out how we could do things that the Real Military already does.

Rarely does any discussion of an expanded role for CAP deal with mundane work that might need to be done (say, admin and other paperwork jobs)--no, it always posits that CAP members could fight alongside the active-duty military.

Of course, doing those admin jobs wouldn't be exciting, would it?

These threads often suggest that members aren't satisfied with doing what CAP does; that is why you get into the "wannabe military" arguments and name-calling.

[sparks]

Every squadron I've participated in had one or more KEY "sparkplugs" to keep activities moving. Those people were senior and cadet members that made meetings interesting and engaging. Without those folks the comment about senior members lacking imagination will kill a squadron. The same statement can be applied to any organization or club you care to name. You have to have someone taking ownership of the activity that has the time and desire to make it successful. Nothing new in that just stating the obvious.

[RogueLeader]

The big reason that I starte4d this thread, and resurected it; is not the imagination of doing new missions, or new proposals.  It is about thinking outside the box- dear Lord for me saying that.

It is to be looking at things in new ways, or ways that aren't the prettiest; then to be able to THINK about what you would do.  The only wrong answer is the one that does not address the question.  I want to provoke images of a bad situation, and see how you react.  Whether you see more into the question, that does not answer it.  If you weant to take it further than I want it too, please take it somewhere else.  that does not allow for the critical thought process of the topic that I want.

Should you choose a way that differs from mine, thats fine, thats normal discussion, as well aas whats to be expected.  When you put more meaning into whats given, you can radically change the tone of the thread.

That is what I meant by lacking imagination:  can't think in absrtacs.

[Rotorhead]

I want to provoke images of a bad situation, and see how you react. 

It might help our ability to think out of the box if you explained what you mean by "a bad situation."

[Rotorhead]

There are no comment boxes at my Wing HQ.....is there a comment box in YOUR Wing HQ?  Most likely NO!

But I do own a telephone and am able to call our Wing CC or Chief of Staff almost any time.

Email works, too.

I'll bet you could do the same.

This forum is one of the only places where our voices can be heard and recognized by the leadership in general. 

Have you tried sending a letter any anyone at NHQ? That's a way your "voice can be heard."

[RogueLeader]

I want to provoke images of a bad situation, and see how you react. 

It might help our ability to think out of the box if you explained what you mean by "a bad situation."

take my last topic about comply or not, or theres a thread about a year ago about us getting invaded.  A bad situtation is akin to Worst Case Senario type deal.  One that we all hope that never happens , but theoretically could.  It is not the type, however, that nothing can be done: ie: a huge meteroid is hurtuling towards the planet and will hit in one year.  Nothing we can do to stop it or change the outcome.

There are no comment boxes at my Wing HQ.....is there a comment box in YOUR Wing HQ?  Most likely NO!

But I do own a telephone and am able to call our Wing CC or Chief of Staff almost any time.

Email works, too.

I'll bet you could do the same.

This forum is one of the only places where our voices can be heard and recognized by the leadership in general. 

Have you tried sending a letter any anyone at NHQ? That's a way your "voice can be heard."

Again, not in the scope of the thread.  Please trake it elsewhere.

[Rob Sherlin]

 I don't think it so much of a "lack of imagination" as it is "coming up with a great idea and making it go somewhere". You have a lot of people in CAP (even right here on CAPtalk), that have awesome ideas. It just seems like to much of a haul to get them to go anywhere considering all the red tape.

[BuckeyeDEJ]

When Mexico invades & occupies the south-western U.S. I'll quit calling that STUPID thread STUPID.

There are some who would say Mexico silently has. Careful there....

[BuckeyeDEJ]

There are no comment boxes at my Wing HQ.....is there a comment box in YOUR Wing HQ?  Most likely NO!

But I do own a telephone and am able to call our Wing CC or Chief of Staff almost any time.
Email works, too.
I'll bet you could do the same.

This forum is one of the only places where our voices can be heard and recognized by the leadership in general. 

Have you tried sending a letter any anyone at NHQ? That's a way your "voice can be heard."

One problem: Chain of command. I can talk to my PA counterparts at squadrons below and wing, region and NHQ above, but I can't jump over my commander to talk to the wing commander about policy. Too often, we forget the chain... though, to be fair, sometimes it can be an impediment, depending on who's in someone's certain chain.

[RogueLeader]

HELLO!!!!

Did you not see my last post? ?
PLEASE!!!!!

[arajca]

I don't think it so much of a "lack of imagination" as it is "coming up with a great idea and making it go somewhere". You have a lot of people in CAP (even right here on CAPtalk), that have awesome ideas. It just seems like to much of a haul to get them to go anywhere considering all the red tape.

It's not just red tape. Many members come up with ideas, but do not want to spend the time to make them happen. Had a member come up with an idea to a AE activity based on CAP-N-Space (from Missouri?). He was told many times that the commander and the few active seniors didn't have time to plan/research it and he was asked to put together a written plan. Finally, we had to tell him no - not because his idea was bad, but because he refused to put in the time to plan it. We've seen the same from cadets, although a couple of times the cadet started planning and realized what his great idea would take ($$$$$$$$) and called it off.