Retired & Active Military experiences with CAP

[armyguy]

I am interested in hearing about your experiences (good & bad) as a prior military member with CAP.  I am soon to be retiring O4 and want to work with the cadet program.  I started as a CAP cadet 40+ years ago and found the program was a great start on my military career.  I want to "pay it forward," and give back to the cadet program.  What are some of the frustrations that you may have run into.  I just want to focus on teaching and mentoring the future generation - I don't care if they join the military or not, just as long as they grow up to be great Americans. 

[TheSkyHornet]

The goods:
Your mileage may vary. For me, it's exceptionally rewarding in the mission itself: to develop young people into leaders as they grow into adulthood. You'll find that, in a lot of circumstances, many of these teens don't have role models at home, or, often, not what most would consider an appropriate role model. Many cadets would be totally lost without CAP.

The bads:
I think you'll probably find the most frustrating part is the phase of being a new CAP member getting involved in Cadet Programs. While the program definitely requires patience, it can often take exceedingly long times to really understand the ins and outs of the program; and my personal experience was a total lack of mentoring and guidance in my first couple of years in. I think smaller units, in particular, have this problem. You'll find there may be one individual in the unit who is really the go-to for managing the local cadet program; or not at all.

My advice:
Once you're in, start exploring. Do your own research. Read through the regulations. Take classes. I don't need to tell you the typical military leadership expectations (be visible, etc.). But this program is far from being run like a military organization. It wants to mimic that, but so many people have absolutely no experience in military operations or unit culture, and they're "role playing" based on what they think it should be. Learn everything. Maintain that patience. And, honestly, give it time. Nothing will come overnight, or even in just a few weeks. It'll take months, maybe a year. Go with the flow, but learn everything you can along the way (good and bad).

[Brit_in_CAP]

Fully endorse the post from TheSkyHornet

[Jester]

The biggest disconnects:

- There's usually not some other shop to handle whatever you need done.  Admin, logistics, etc in the military is usually manned at some level and are there to deal with support functions.  In CAP there's a very real possibility that you're it.  Line units are the focus and many are struggling to survive.  We can't get enough seniors to effectively run a squadron, much less have dedicated group and wing staffs that aren't also juggling squadron-level duties.  I'm helping locally with my squadron as we struggle out of the pandemic, the group that is also somewhat on life support, the region, and nationally.  All I want to do is squadron stuff but I help when I'm asked.  It would be great to focus on just one level (or 2 max) but it just isn't feasible.

- You're going to see a bunch of people that either spent 0 years in the military or maybe a single enlistment decades ago that will quickly jump on the paramilitary uniform/rank/title train but are really just playing Air Force.  The fact that they come in the door not knowing any better is one thing, but in many cases it is an intentional pushback to uphold standards ("we're only volunteers").

[Pinecone]

I am a former 0-3, and former cadet that recently rejoined CAP.

I would say check out all the squadrons that are a reasonable distance.  Talk the commander and the members.  Attend a meeting or two or three.

Each unit has a personality.  Some are quite laid back.  Others are more military than the military.  Find the one that is the best fit.

Once you jump through some hoops, you will get your active duty rank in CAP, but in CAP rank is not the same as in the military.  My current squadron commander is a 1st LT.  There are several Captains, Majors, and at least one Lt Col in the unit.

[PHall]

I am a former 0-3, and former cadet that recently rejoined CAP.

I would say check out all the squadrons that are a reasonable distance.  Talk the commander and the members.  Attend a meeting or two or three.

Each unit has a personality.  Some are quite laid back.  Others are more military than the military.  Find the one that is the best fit.

Once you jump through some hoops, you will get your active duty rank in CAP, but in CAP rank is not the same as in the military.  My current squadron commander is a 1st LT.  There are several Captains, Majors, and at least one Lt Col in the unit.

Squadron Commanders are usually the person who volunteers for the job. Not like the military where you can be assigned the job.

[etodd]

Each unit has a personality.  Some are quite laid back.  Others are more military than the military.  Find the one that is the best fit.

^^^ That needs to be in big bold print on the national website for potential members to see. Don't judge CAP by the one squadron you visit.

[PHall]

Each unit has a personality.  Some are quite laid back.  Others are more military than the military.  Find the one that is the best fit.

^^^ That needs to be in big bold print on the national website for potential members to see. Don't judge CAP by the one squadron you visit.

And don't forget that the units you visit are looking at you too.

[Imouttahere]

Former Air Force O-3 here. I approached CAP thinking it would be "more Air Force" and therefore more familiar to me than it actually was. If you go in recognizing that CAP is a entirely different thing that has evolved differently and has its own culture, you'll have a better time. Go in with humility, learn the culture, but independently verify information by reading the regs yourself (as several have suggested), and I think you input and experience will be valued.

CAP is (or can be) an incredible organization, depending on the Wing. Occasionally CAP gets out of its own way and amazing things happen that justify the frustrations. Working with cadets is 100% worth it. They're some of the sharpest humans you'll encounter.


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[PHall]

Former Air Force O-3 here. I approached CAP thinking it would be "more Air Force" and therefore more familiar to me than it actually was. If you go in recognizing that CAP is a entirely different thing that has evolved differently and has its own culture, you'll have a better time. Go in with humility, learn the culture, but independently verify information by reading the regs yourself (as several have suggested), and I think you input and experience will be valued.

CAP is (or can be) an incredible organization, depending on the Wing. Occasionally CAP gets out of its own way and amazing things happen that justify the frustrations. Working with cadets is 100% worth it. They're some of the sharpest humans you'll encounter.


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You sound exactly like the guys who go from Active Duty to the Air Guard or Reserve.
They think it should be the same but it isn't.

[Eclipse]

Part of the issue is the rhetoric, especially recently from NHQ, in marketing to the
services, especially NCOs.

"Get back that Esprit-de-Corps you miss so much."

What they find are 3 Tactical Assault Moms running a squadron that hasn't seen
a plane in 10 years, and "doesn't do wing events because that one guy was mean that one time".

The beret-wearing C/TSgt Cadet-Commander (who wants to start an Honor Guard) is the uniform and drill expert,
and other then that time someone logged a broken chair in ORMS as "found on base", no one from higher HQ pays them any attention.


Rinse, Repeat.

[heliodoc]

This is why I like to read CAPTalk..

Depending upon the Wing or Sqdn....

One could have all these organizational mishaps happening all at once like Eclipse
describes  requiring a CAPF 160.....gotta keep residual risks at Moderate when one knows there's a Catastrophic issue going on

[Imouttahere]

Former Air Force O-3 here. I approached CAP thinking it would be "more Air Force" and therefore more familiar to me than it actually was. If you go in recognizing that CAP is a entirely different thing that has evolved differently and has its own culture, you'll have a better time. Go in with humility, learn the culture, but independently verify information by reading the regs yourself (as several have suggested), and I think you input and experience will be valued.

CAP is (or can be) an incredible organization, depending on the Wing. Occasionally CAP gets out of its own way and amazing things happen that justify the frustrations. Working with cadets is 100% worth it. They're some of the sharpest humans you'll encounter.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You sound exactly like the guys who go from Active Duty to the Air Guard or Reserve.
They think it should be the same but it isn't.

I can only imagine. Maybe it's an active duty mentality but I guess going into something new with a open mind is never a bad thing. The struggle is when guys try to make it what they feel like it should be versus what it is.


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[Pinecone]

You sound exactly like the guys who go from Active Duty to the Air Guard or Reserve.

They think it should be the same but it isn't.

No, ANG/RES are better.

FYI, former MD ANG member.

[TheSkyHornet]

The struggle is when guys try to make it what they feel like it should be versus what it is.

I don't necessarily think it's a matter of malice, though, at least not in most cases.

I think there is a legitimate want to be of assistance of to see improvement in the program. The problem is that the program is far more complicated than just being a "military-style training program," and even more so from the standpoint of what the CAP Cadet Program is fundamentally about and the intricacies of the rules/regulations/bureaucracy surrounding its management.

There was a recent TLC in which there was a fantastic discussion regarding the differences of perceptions by career/lifer military service members in comparison to those 1-term enlisted "did my time and got the heck out when I could." You tend to see a totally different perspective from those who went through ROTC-type officer training programs, and senior NCOs who spent decades working with younger age groups, particularly in training environments. As one retired officer said, "As I got older, the soldiers kept getting younger." But that puts that individual into a much more relatable environment because for most cadets, the senior members are the "old guys;" and for most senior members, the cadets are the pain-in-the-butt typical teens who are avidly involved in becoming great leaders someday.

Every new member, particularly those with prior service, though, need to really anticipate that you're going to have those hot-head prior service guys who just can't shake that this isn't boot camp, and they need to have a very high level of patience with an extremely young age group that doesn't know jack when they come in the door (and in many cases, haven't been adequately trained despite being in the program for quite some time). I think, though, the program tends to lean itself to a lot less direct training of cadets and much more training of the senior member cadre at each unit in how to work with cadets rather than directly teaching the cadets themselves. If you can manage a training cadre, and you can fall in as a member of the training cadre and remember that you don't know most things in this environment, you'll probably do okay.

There is a reason why ROTCs tend to target former drill sergeant/instructors and career service members: they're used to rookies coming in with absolutely no prior experience/training, and the level of turnover as you stamp out new recruits and start training the next batch. You have to really be okay with being in a perpetual environment of new faces coming in, training them up, and them leaving you after a few years with the hopes that they learned something and that they'll be okay in the world once they walk out those doors. And in comes the next round...and repeat.