That Cadet

Eagle · May 30, 2012, 04:01:55 PM

I'm having trouble with a certain cadet in my flight. The cadet is rude, disrespectful, and thinks he's "all that". He continually tries to take command of the flight from my flight sergeant, or openly disobeys the orders of the night. I've talked to the cadet commander, but he can't do anything about it. We can't get him to tell us when he's coming, and when he's not coming, and we can't talk to the seniors about it because his dad is in charge of promotions.

Any ideas?

lordmonar · May 30, 2012, 04:11:41 PM

Where are you in the chain of command?

You can always talk to the Deputy Commander for Cadets or the Squadron Commander about the issue.

As for what you can do to correct his behavior.

First....start with a CAPF50....you will need a senior member for this....list out his short commings, clearly explain what he is doing wrong, how you want him to change his behavior and in what time frame you expect those changes.

Second...once that is done...you can hold his promotion....or more specfically your commander can.

Third....once you have done the CAPF 50 if the behavior continues or gets worse the commander can demote him IAW CAPR 52-16.

So.....my recommendation, as you have discribed the situaiton, is to get with your C/CC and your DCC and/or CC and tell them the situation. Your leadership can't fix things they don't know about.

Do that....if that does not work.....then we can tell you of the other routes you can take.

Good Luck.

manfredvonrichthofen · May 30, 2012, 04:14:53 PM

Tread carefully when bringing intersquadron issues in the open public. It can backfire on you. This also sounds like something for your chain of command. Bring it to the DCC, he is your next line since you have already taken it to your cadet commander. But as a cadet officer, this should be within your realm of leadership. Take the reigns that have been handed to you as an officer. Talk to him, stress the chain of command, and what his role in the squadron is.

Eagle · May 30, 2012, 04:22:27 PM

Quote from: lordmonar on May 30, 2012, 04:11:41 PM
Where are you in the chain of command?

You can always talk to the Deputy Commander for Cadets or the Squadron Commander about the issue.

As for what you can do to correct his behavior.

First....start with a CAPF50....you will need a senior member for this....list out his short commings, clearly explain what he is doing wrong, how you want him to change his behavior and in what time frame you expect those changes.

Second...once that is done...you can hold his promotion....or more specfically your commander can.

Third....once you have done the CAPF 50 if the behavior continues or gets worse the commander can demote him IAW CAPR 52-16.

So.....my recommendation, as you have discribed the situaiton, is to get with your C/CC and your DCC and/or CC and tell them the situation. Your leadership can't fix things they don't know about.

Do that....if that does not work.....then we can tell you of the other routes you can take.

Good Luck.

I'm his Flight Commander. The problem is, he thinks he can run everything. I've tried to discuss it with him before, but to no avail. He thinks he's absolutely right, all the time. I'll try my C/CC again, and then I'll go up to my DCC. The main problem is that his dad is one of the senior staff, and he thinks his son is "The Best".

Quote from: manfredvonrichthofen on May 30, 2012, 04:14:53 PM
Tread carefully when bringing intersquadron issues in the open public. It can backfire on you. This also sounds like something for your chain of command. Bring it to the DCC, he is your next line since you have already taken it to your cadet commander. But as a cadet officer, this should be within your realm of leadership. Take the reigns that have been handed to you as an officer. Talk to him, stress the chain of command, and what his role in the squadron is.

As I mentioned above, he doesn't agree with everything I've told him, and he just ignores anything I ask him to correct. The major problem is that he's a C/CMSgt, and he outranks the Flight Sergeant and his element leader.

Eclipse · May 30, 2012, 04:28:39 PM

Quote from: Eagle on May 30, 2012, 04:22:27 PMAs I mentioned above, he doesn't agree with everything I've told him, and he just ignores anything I ask him to correct. The major problem is that he's a C/CMSgt, and he outranks the Flight Sergeant and his element leader.

The this will be an excellent teachable moment regarding positional authority...

Eagle · May 30, 2012, 04:33:50 PM

Quote from: Eclipse on May 30, 2012, 04:28:39 PM
Quote from: Eagle on May 30, 2012, 04:22:27 PMAs I mentioned above, he doesn't agree with everything I've told him, and he just ignores anything I ask him to correct. The major problem is that he's a C/CMSgt, and he outranks the Flight Sergeant and his element leader.

The this will be an excellent teachable moment regarding positional authority...

True, sir. He used to be a flight sergeant, but then he was removed from the position about two years ago, but he still feels like he should be that position.

lordmonar · May 30, 2012, 04:38:13 PM

Quote from: Eagle on May 30, 2012, 04:33:50 PM
Quote from: Eclipse on May 30, 2012, 04:28:39 PM
Quote from: Eagle on May 30, 2012, 04:22:27 PMAs I mentioned above, he doesn't agree with everything I've told him, and he just ignores anything I ask him to correct. The major problem is that he's a C/CMSgt, and he outranks the Flight Sergeant and his element leader.

The this will be an excellent teachable moment regarding positional authority...

True, sir. He used to be a flight sergeant, but then he was removed from the position about two years ago, but he still feels like he should be that position.

Your best bet is to stop posting any more informaiton and take it up with your C/CC and DCC. I understand you have to tread lightly because of his parent....but that is the job of the DCC and the CC.

Handle it in house as best you can.

Eclipse · May 30, 2012, 04:39:25 PM

+1

Eagle · May 30, 2012, 04:39:57 PM

Thanks, all!

EMT-83 · May 31, 2012, 12:14:04 AM

Be sure to document specific incidents, so this doesn't seem like a personality conflict as you move up the chain of command.

If your complaint sounds as if the two of you simply don't see eye-to-eye, I wouldn't expect to get very far.

Extremepredjudice · May 31, 2012, 12:32:27 AM

Like EMT said document everything. You will be able to cite specifics.

Spartan · May 31, 2012, 02:14:55 AM

Another tool that is a little more specific than a CAPF 50 is a CAPF 40. It gives you more specific areas to focus on than the CAPF 50 does, allowing you to be more objective. A particular section that I believe will be of interest would be section 2, Professional Qualities.

Quote from: EMT-83 on May 31, 2012, 12:14:04 AM
Be sure to document specific incidents, so this doesn't seem like a personality conflict as you move up the chain of command.

This is the best thing to do to support a claim that someone is not acting in a professional manner. Make sure what you document is objective. Being disruptive is a very subjective assessment and open to interpretation. Interrupting the instructor X times, making disparaging comments under their breath, specifically "blah blah blah", contridicting information publicly without support, and making disparaging comments about fellow cadets specifically, "cadet snuffy is Y", is a much more measurable, objective assessment of behavior. The more objective you can be in providing the description of the offending behavior, the better the cadet leadership or the offending cadet can address the behavior (they may not realize they are doing something wrong). If it comes to a suspension or other disciplinary action, the objective description of the behavior will give the leadership a solid foundation to act on.