No-notice exercises

[Spaceman3750]

How about a full-notice but you have no idea where you will go?

We already played this game with Ardent Sentry to a degree. I won't be playing again.

[Eclipse]

How about a full-notice but you have no idea where you will go?

We already played this game with Ardent Sentry to a degree. I won't be playing again.

Not really fair considering the primary player called things off on us, though there was plenty of activity all over the state.

[LGM30GMCC]

No notice during non-duty hours, sure I'd likely go:

Here's the cite for USAF AD folks BTW from AFI 36-3003 Table 7. Authorizing Permissive Temporary Duty.

24 to perform emergency duties as members of the Civil Air Patrol, unit commander may approve up to 4 days.

So an ES-exercise...not an emergency, therefore taking PTDY for it would be in violation of that, and unless/until you got leave/pass for it you would be there on false pretenses...which would be really, really bad. I'd need to talk to a JAG but I'm willing to bet at the very least they could burn you leave, at the very worst go for something more severe. I don't know of many commanders that would let you stay if it were not an emergency and you had used this to get there. And likely would be disinclined to approve it again even if it was one. Especially not in the OPS world where you screw up the schedule and it affects a lot of other people.

[Eclipse]

So.

Don't.

Respond.

You're not rolling on a 1-day emergency anyway since it takes longer than that to get approval, and further, you can't go at all without
written orders, which would likely not be cut for a no-notice exercise.  However, again, if AFRCC cuts the mission symbol correctly, A is A,
the orders are proper, and you should be granted the leave if you want it.  Most likely the backchannels of this sort of thing would
be more than capable of confirming if your involvement in the exercise was more important than your day job.  If you are a key-twister,
and the other guy is sick, stay at work.

There's no point in continuing to cite all the 1% cases where the OSS will hunt down a volunteer "only" practicing.  By far the majority of
members do not fall into that category in even a remote way, and further to that, we all know that in the "real" world, how you characterize things
makes a huge difference, since most of us would be granted leave based on the integrity of the need, not the letter in the mission number.

[wuzafuzz]

Civil or criminal....whatever.  The bottom line is some state laws only protect CAP members for actual emergencies.  People who unwittingly respond to a non-emergent situation could be forced to burn vacation time or suffer the time without pay.  Anyone who initiates a call out that denies members the opportunity to make an informed decision whether to respond deserves a boot to the head. 

Exercises or not, all call outs should include some basic mission info.  Alert pages in my wing are brief but informative.  Something like "11-M-xxxx.  Need AOBD and aircrew with mountain pilot for missing person search in Land of Oz.  IC is Joe Cool (800-123-####).  Exercise messages start and end with "EXERCISE EXERCISE EXERCISE."  Formats vary of course, but no one should be responding to an exercise without knowing it's an exercise.  For live missions the basics such as general location and mission type help all of us determine whether the mission rates leaving work, bailing on other plans, etc.

[Eclipse]

None of the states require leave with pay for CAP.  It's a way on the member or per the agreement with the employer.
Just like military leave, they only protect the job (or require a "similar" one be provided on return).

I'd have no issue with informing the member after they respond of the type of activity.  We have members now who won't even answer the phone during business hours or after bedtime.

[a2capt]

Plus, determining if a call out is a fake or not should be fairly easy. They have to include something about it in the page. Just look at the news ;-)

[sardak]

None of the states require leave with pay for CAP.

Wrong.  Colorado Revised Statutes
28-1-104. Public employees - leave of absence.
(1) Any member who is an officer or employee of the state or of any political subdivision, municipal corporation, or other public agency of the state and who is called to duty for a civil air patrol mission is entitled to a leave of absence from the member's office or employment for the time when the member is engaged in the civil air patrol mission without loss of pay...

28-1-105. Private employees - leave of absence.
This section entitles CAP members to leave without pay.

For purposes of these sections:
"Civil air patrol mission" means an actual emergency operational mission of the Colorado wing of civil air patrol that has been duly authorized under civil air patrol regulations, including, but not limited to, through the United States Air Force, the governor's office, or other political subdivision of the state that has the authority to authorize an emergency operational mission of the Colorado wing of the civil air patrol.

So no leave for exercises or trainings.

The law provides these same benefits, with the public-private employer differences, to members of other volunteer organizations when responding on actual emergency missions.

Mike

[Eclipse]

I stand corrected, or at least reminded, I do recall now that several states provide paid leave to employees for CAP and other volunteer activities.
Why shouldn't they?  It isn't their money, and in reality the employee is still serving the people of the state, just in a different capacity.

However there are no states which mandate paid leave for private businesses, and in nearly all cases one's ability to leave for any CAP
activity during their working hours is based mostly on their relationship with their employer and direct supervisor and much less on
any of the state's leave acts.  Union shops notwithstanding, which tend to be adversarial by design, if you have to wave a leave act in your
bosses face in order to go shore up a levy, or other humanitarian service, you're probably better off not responding.  The only way to enforce the
acts is through civil court action, and I think we all know which way a career track goes when you sue your employer. "Right" or not.

Continuing to quote the leave acts as if they were relevant to this discussion just gives us all posting numbers.  The leave acts only indicate what an employer is required to provide to employees, not the maximum benefit.  For the most part the leave acts are just "nice to haves", or check box requirements in a few states because of employer contracts or union agreements.  They give state legislators something to add to their election materials, but they have not made much of an impact in our actual readiness or ability to respond, since the majority of those who "come when called" did so and continue to do so outside the need for a leave act because of their personal flexibility or their personal agreements with their employers.

If you can't go, you can't go.  And if you're mandated to have 24+ hours notice, then you'll never be a factor in the normal 1-2 day ELT and missing person searches common to week-day call-ups.