Support staff specalist plan

[Nathan]

I recently worked with my cadet commander at my squadron to develop a program I think is somewhat unique. I'm interested to hear if anyone else has used anything similar.

I figured that, unfortunately, CAP seems to underutilize cadets who just join in, assuming, I guess, that they are so focused on getting rank and responsibility that we can't trust them with certain tasks. I found this notion a little unsettling, since the cadets joined to DO something in CAP, not to be herded around like sheep from class to class.

Following that vein, I decided that while not every cadet wants to go on O-Rides, or do ES, or is able to make it out for community service projects, the cadet still show up in uniform every week to make a difference, and I thought that it was worth figuring out how.

My plan was to implement EVERY SINGLE CADET who is at least a C/Amn in some sort of support position. This position would not interfere with his/ her regular duties in drill, promoting, and so on, but would rather be worked on outside of the program with a few exceptions during weekly meetings. For instance, the cadet safety specialist, a C/Amn, writes out the safety briefing, delivers the speech, and may even work with the planners of a bivouac as a safety specialist. The AE specialist would do many of the same things, but may also work with the Activities specialist to plan a model rocketry activity, AS A C/AMN.

Not only that, but because there are usually more cadets than there are support positions, we have a few "task forces." Basically, these are groups of cadets who work on the same project. However, there is ALWAYS a leader of the group, even if there are only two people. The leader of the group is ALWAYS the higher ranking cadet, and this cadet will coordinate the one or two cadets under his/her command in order to get the job done.

It is important to note that these cadets are not flying solo. Each cadet is paired with the corresponding senior member, or if there are none, a cadet officer who is willing to supervise the group as a specialist. All cadets, as support staff groups, report to the cadet executive officer, and it is our C/XO's job to coordinate all support positions and ensure the jobs are getting done. But as regular cadets during regular meetings, the regular chain of command (flight sergeant, flight commander, etc) is followed.

This does a few things. First, it gives us the ability to REALLY use a C/XO, which is always difficult to do outside of an encampment. Since every cadet has some support staff function (outside of the training flight), the C/XO is actually kept pretty busy. This pleases me greatly.

Second, and most importantly, it gives our cadets SOMETHING TO DO outside of CAP. We all know we cannot run CAP 2.5 hours a week. It just doesn't happen. But giving these cadets jobs, real duties, makes it FAR more RealMilitary than we could do without them. Furthermore, cadets who may not otherwise hold a flight sergeant position due to unavailability of command positions might be able to command a task force and get that leadership training. And even further than that, the cadet is getting extremely valuable experience in each position as leadership specialist, safety specialist, aerospace specialist, etc. They should have very little trouble with their SDA's after this.

I am extremely excited about this, and we just started it last week. It seems to be a hit with the cadets so far, who seemed to jump into the idea of having a real job with extreme enthusiasm. I have a feeling that this is going to increase recruiting, retention, and enthusiasm exponentially. Eventually, I'm going to be writing a full, formal briefing on this plan and how to implement it, which I will be posting here in entirety for free use as soon as it's completed.

While I would like to think that I am a Cadet Extraordinaire (inside joke for those who have known me long enough  ), I would love to hear if anyone else has done anything like this, and if so, if it worked/what improvements could be made.

Thanks!

[lordmonar]

Too much too soon.

If you change your focus from all cadet to just cadet officers you would have something.

Cadets have plenty to do outside of CAP.

They have homework, chores and playing with friends.  If they have extra time for CAP work they should be studying for their tests, doing 30 minutes of exercise everyday or prepring their ES gear.

It sounds like you are trying to justify the C/XO's job.

[Nathan]

Too much too soon.

If you change your focus from all cadet to just cadet officers you would have something.

Cadets have plenty to do outside of CAP.

They have homework, chores and playing with friends.  If they have extra time for CAP work they should be studying for their tests, doing 30 minutes of exercise everyday or prepring their ES gear.

It sounds like you are trying to justify the C/XO's job.

Not really. I had no problem getting rid of the C/XO in the past when he had nothing to do and reassigning him somewhere else.

Rather, this is simply giving the cadets the jobs they wanted to do anyway when they came into CAP. Too many times, even in good squadrons, they are simply shuffled from class to class. They do that in school during the day, and CAP doesn't need to be simply another school for them, especially for the ones that actually joined to DO something.

And I wouldn't imagine that in a properly-implemented system that the work would be overloading. There are many cadet officers who (just in terms of CAP) have to study, do SDA's, plan activities, hold a staff position, and teach other cadets. Many cadet officers are around the same age as the basic cadets, and even if they weren't, an older cadet officer is likely to have MORE to do outside of CAP than a younger cadet.

I simply think that giving a cadet a job to do is likely to make the cadet feel far more important that simply attending and being talked at, and I have little doubt that if a cadet can hold the "element leader" position as described in the L2K book, they can certainly hold the position of Cadet Safety Specialist.

[Senior]

It is a great idea to include the newer cadets.  Here comes the "but".
The new cadet must learn the basics and learn their position within the
unit.  They have to learn to follow.  They have to depend on their cadet
leaders/officers to lead them.  You become a good leader by being a good
follower(orders, directions, rules,commands)first.  Keep thinking but don't
lay too much on new cadets.

[DC]

I had a similar idea a while back, but it relied on NCOs prepping for a job in the Chain of Command. They would serve as the cadet support staff, and rotate out as the Flight Sergeant and Flight Commander every two months or so to gain experience in those positions. When an opening for someone of their becomes available then the most capable NCO would be selected to fill the position out of the 'Support Flight'.

The C/XO would be responsible for managing and overseeing that flight, thus keeping them busy, and getting the junior NCOs some real experience, rather than hanging out with the C/Amn in the regular flights.

I have tried to give junior cadets jobs before, such as coordinating O-Flights with the SMs (basically picking a date, and getting people signed up..), presenting safety briefings, etc, and have been continually disappointed when they cannot or do not do their job. New Cadets have a lot to learn, and making them the Special Deputy Assistant to the Assistant Safety Specialist isn't going to accomplish anything more than detract from what they should be doing, i.e. Passing Aerospace Module Two, mastering drill, and dreaming about achieving Encampment glory... Let the NCOs and Officers worry about running the squadron and teaching classes, that's their job.

[gistek]

I'd wait until after they've earned their Wright Brothers award to give them staff positions. Even then, make sure the staff position is useful to the squadron and the cadet is capable of handling the duties. Sure Cadet Assistant Webmaster sounds like a great title, but if you give it to someone who's never done more than post in forums or send e-mail, it just won't work.

The only exception is the "Mentor" position. Any cadet should be able to mentor a cadet of lower rank. It's the one leadership position anyone from Airman on up can handle.

[notaNCO forever]

     I think it is a good idea. Instead of having more than one cadet working in positions like AE specialist; I would only have one specialist for each position. Doing this would make the cadets try to shine above the others to get that position.
Which would theoretically result in better cadets since they want to show you they are more suited for the position then the other cadets.