I want to be a medic at the 2013-2014 KSWG Winter Encampment

[Cap'n]

I always said that once I was Stan eval my cadet days were on life support.

Did you not like being Stan Eval? I'm just curious- that's what I was selected for, for Encampment this summer.

[Cap'n]

....... well, its over now....

PM sent.

[Майор Хаткевич]

I always said that once I was Stan eval my cadet days were on life support.

Did you not like being Stan Eval? I'm just curious- that's what I was selected for, for Encampment this summer.

I had a blast. But I was also 18, Cadet Commander the year before, out of highschool, and missing  meetings due to work scheduling, and heading off to college at the end of summer. Looking back on it, I would have loved to be line staff.

[Eclipse]

What's missed by a lot of cadets is that they have an expiration date, and when the clock goes "ding", a lot of doors close, never to be opened in the same way again.  Because most wings only have one encampment a year, those opportunities, especially, are as much a matter of timing as
planning, and if you don't take advantage of them, they may never come again, since an adolescent year can bring significant changes.

You can chase ELTs the rest of your life, come back for 20 years as support staff, and bandage blisters for a decade, but that chance to
be a Flight CC or First Shirt might be a one-shot deal, because next year you might no longer be an NCO, be too high in grade, or mom and dad decide
the family reunion is more important.  The opportunities shrink even more as you move up the chain.

It's understandable that when you're 16 all you want to be is "not 16" and get on with life, but the day that door slams shut is when
you realize how much you missed always worrying about "next" and never concentrating on "now".

[Майор Хаткевич]

+1000

[AACS Cadet21]

....... well, its over now....

Yes, for you, but what about other cadets and going forward?

That flight staff was never corrected, which means their behavior will likely propagate to those who were at the encampment,
as well as their home squadrons.   One cadet, you, has disengaged from the standard encampment leadership progression in
favor of a support role that won't help you much in CAP, and how many other cadets simply won't come back, or may have been
negatively influenced by the experience?

These things don't occur in a vacuum, and this is why CAP leaders are supposed to make it clear that this kind of thing is not tolerated.

Don't get me wrong, without all the facts, this could well be a case where the proper intensity level was simply not well received by
you, it wouldn't be the first time, but then in that case, the conversation would switch to your understanding.  Either way,
someone gets corrected, the proper people are aware, somebody(s) learns something, which is the point of the encampment
experience to start with.

I'm not necessarily suggesting you start lighting up emails and making complaints, though that would certainly still be your right,
the practical reality is that the more time and distance from a problem, the less able anyone can fix things, but as general advice to
those who will encounter this in the future, the time to say something is >now<.

They just really really didn't like me! I still have some really great memories from encampment(thanks to the medics). The flight staff were nicer to my roommate, it was something personal I guess... Maybe it was because I went to the devotional every night instead of working on my barracks... Who knows? But no matter what, I'll always have good memories from encampment.

[AngelWings]

What's missed by a lot of cadets is that they have an expiration date, and when the clock goes "ding", a lot of doors close, never to be opened in the same way again.  Because most wings only have one encampment a year, those opportunities, especially, are as much a matter of timing as
planning, and if you don't take advantage of them, they may never come again, since an adolescent year can bring significant changes.

You can chase ELTs the rest of your life, come back for 20 years as support staff, and bandage blisters for a decade, but that chance to
be a Flight CC or First Shirt might be a one-shot deal, because next year you might no longer be an NCO, be too high in grade, or mom and dad decide
the family reunion is more important.  The opportunities shrink even more as you move up the chain.

It's understandable that when you're 16 all you want to be is "not 16" and get on with life, but the day that door slams shut is when
you realize how much you missed always worrying about "next" and never concentrating on "now".

This I learned the hard way. You gain many and lose many chances as you try to grow. This year has been a thousand and one opened and closed doors for me.

Seize the moment.

[Jaison009]

 :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:. You are so right Eclipse. When the clock dings and the doors close cadets should have no regret. WIWAC I went to 5 encampments and wish I had gone to more. On those I was element leader, cadet medic, flight sergeant, and Flight CC. I wish I had went to more but life happened. While you have time you need to do as much as you can as a Cadet. I would have loved to have been a Squadron CC or Cadet CC. I also would have tried so much harder on getting PT in check for my Spaatz award. Not getting the third diamond is the biggest regret of my time as a Cadet (and trusting others that had to get me in ECI13 which ultimately cost me nearly a year screwing with the then mail in ECI13 course).

[quote author Eclipse link=topic=17692.msg319386#msg319386 date=1375333394]
What's missed by a lot of cadets is that they have an expiration date, and when the clock goes "ding", a lot of doors close, never to be opened in the same way again.  Because most wings only have one encampment a year, those opportunities, especially, are as much a matter of timing as
planning, and if you don't take advantage of them, they may never come again, since an adolescent year can bring significant changes.

You can chase ELTs the rest of your life, come back for 20 years as support staff, and bandage blisters for a decade, but that chance to
be a Flight CC or First Shirt might be a one-shot deal, because next year you might no longer be an NCO, be too high in grade, or mom and dad decide
the family reunion is more important.  The opportunities shrink even more as you move up the chain.

It's understandable that when you're 16 all you want to be is "not 16" and get on with life, but the day that door slams shut is when
you realize how much you missed always worrying about "next" and never concentrating on "now".
[/quote]

[Майор Хаткевич]

No kidding. I loved pretty much most of what I went through as a cadet, but things like never getting to do line staff at encampment, actually working on my fitness to be able to reach Spaatz, that's what pains the most. Heck, it's not even the diamonds or the award, or anything related to it. The journey through phase IV would most likely have been the most interesting to me as an 18+ year old cadet, and that's what I really miss the most.

[AACS Cadet21]

No kidding. I loved pretty much most of what I went through as a cadet, but things like never getting to do line staff at encampment, actually working on my fitness to be able to reach Spaatz, that's what pains the most. Heck, it's not even the diamonds or the award, or anything related to it. The journey through phase IV would most likely have been the most interesting to me as an 18+ year old cadet, and that's what I really miss the most.

You guys are all so right, I want more than anything to get my Spaatz... That's why I want to go to so many encampments...  In CAP, hard work pays off, for example: I'm only an airman, but I've worked hard and now I'm an element leader!(which is awesome!)  Hard work gets noticed, so work hard!  :clap: