Mission Observer Advancement

Started by Capt Rivera, May 20, 2007, 04:13:56 PM

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Capt Rivera

Does anyone here log MO hours towards Sr. & Master MO? What do you use? I know there used to be log books for this purpose but I have not been able to find one after searching MANY months...  Anyone here have more then the basic Observer status?
//Signed//

Joshua Rivera, Capt, CAP
Squadron Commander
Grand Forks Composite Squadron
North Dakota Wing, Civil Air Patrol
http://www.grandforkscap.org

lordmonar

Vanguard still sells the Observer and Ground Team log books....you just have to call them. 
PATRICK M. HARRIS, SMSgt, CAP

RiverAux

You don't have to use any sort of log book as there isn't anything specific about how hours must be recorded for those achievements.  An excel spreadsheet would probably work just as well. 

Al Sayre

You could also pick up a $10.00 pilots log book at your local FBO or online source.
Lt Col Al Sayre
MS Wing Staff Dude
Admiral, Great Navy of the State of Nebraska
GRW #2787

DeputyDog

Quote from: riveraj on May 20, 2007, 04:13:56 PM
Does anyone here log MO hours towards Sr. & Master MO? What do you use? I know there used to be log books for this purpose but I have not been able to find one after searching MANY months...  Anyone here have more then the basic Observer status?

The logbook that LordMonar mentioned is the one that I use. I only have the basic observer rating.

I have only 95.4 hours to go before I get my senior observer wings.....

SJFedor

www.logshare.com

Free online logbook, pretty customizeable, can add special colums, etc etc.

Operative word being FREE

Steven Fedor, NREMT-P
Master Ambulance Driver
Former Capt, MP, MCPE, MO, MS, GTL, and various other 3-and-4 letter combinations
NESA MAS Instructor, 2008-2010 (#479)

Capt Rivera

Thank you everyone. anyone else with ideas on how to log these hours in a professional looking way please share.
//Signed//

Joshua Rivera, Capt, CAP
Squadron Commander
Grand Forks Composite Squadron
North Dakota Wing, Civil Air Patrol
http://www.grandforkscap.org

Eclipse

OK, I'll be honest, I've never heard of a Senior and Master level for Mission Observer.

What is this, and what does it buy you?

"That Others May Zoom"

DeputyDog

CAPR 35-6 covers it.

You get a star above the observer wings for being an active flying mission observer for 3 years with 100 flying hours as a mission observer. That is the senior rating.

You get a star with a wreath around it above the observer wings for being an active flying mission observer for 5 years with 200 flying hours as a mission observer. You also have to fly 20 sorties as a senior rated mission observer on SAR/DR missions. That is the master rating.

It's blingage.   :)

RiverAux

But extremely hard to achieve blingage.  Not many observers get an opportunity to get those sorts of flying hours.  It is fairly common to see pilots with the higher ratings but I think I only know one Observer with a Senior rating and none with the master rating.  My first Observer flight was over 7 years ago and I'm still 35 hours short of the Senior rating and I'm a pretty active CAP member, though have been doing more mission staff work than flying for the last few years (unfortunately).

Eclipse

Danke - that probably explains why I've never seen anyone with it.

To do it within the 3 years, that's about 16 2-hour missions a year.  Even over six years
that's aggressive, though over the course of an active career probably not that hard, but you have to be tracking the time from the start.

"That Others May Zoom"

DeputyDog

Quote from: Eclipse on May 21, 2007, 03:27:14 AM
Even over six years that's aggressive, though over the course of an active career probably not that hard, but you have to be tracking the time from the start.

That is a problem that I am having with a senior member (officer) in one of the squadrons in my group. The senior member (officer) has been an active flying mission observer since around 1994. That person has tried to produce their records, but there are 2 to 3 year "holes" in their records.

I use it as an example (with the person's permission) to new aircrew members in my group for the importance of logging every flight whether you are a scanner, observer or pilot. It is even more important not to lose that record. Nothing would suck worse than to misplace that log when you are 5 hours from getting the senior observer wings (maybe at 0.5 hours).

SarDragon

There is an older thread on this, from which I quote:

Quote from: Fifinella on March 12, 2007, 08:21:10 AM
For your convenience  :P, Vanguard has items which are not listed on the website.  After a query, Vanguard sent this list to someone in our squadron:

PUBLICATIONS OFFERED BY VANGUARD         
CAP0008   NEXT STEP CD (OCTOBER 2006 REVISION)   $6.00 EACH
CAP0023B   VOL I LEADERSHIP 2000   $10.60    EACH
CAP0023C   VOL II LEADERSHIP 2000   $10.60    EACH
CAP0037D   AEROSPACE DIMENSIONS, MODULES 1-6   $13.30 EACH
CAP0037F   AEROSPACE DIMENSIONS, STUDENT STUDY GUIDE $4.00 EACH
CAP0037H   AEROSPACE DIMENSIONS, LEADER GUIDE $3.00 EACH
CAP0038D   AEROSPACE, THE JOURNEY OF FLIGHT   $18.50 EACH
CAP0038H   AEROSPACE, THE JOURNEY OF FLIGHT, TEACHERS GUIDE $3.00 EACH
CAP0552A   SENIOR MEMBER PACKET   $35.00    EACH
CAP0041AB   CADET PACKET   $45.00    EACH
CAP0048A   PHASE III & IV CADET PACKET   $35.50    EACH
CAP0300A   GROUND & U. D. F. TEAM TASKS   $6.25    EACH
CAP0300B   MISSION BASE STAFF TASK GUIDE   $5.00 EACH
CAP0300C   AIRCREW & FLIGHTLINE TASK GUIDE   $6.50 EACH
CAP0300D   GENERAL EMERGENCY SERVICES TASK GUIDE $2.40 EACH
CAP98000   LOGBOOK GROUND TEAMS   $11.80    EACH
CAP98010   LOGBOOK,SCANNERS & OBSERVERS   $11.80 EACH
CAP0350   REGULATION MANUAL   $3.50    EACH
CAP0023E   DRILL MANUAL   $1.60    EACH
CAP0316H   DISK HOLDER   $0.60    EACH
CAP0380   BINDER, 3 RING   $9.25    EACH
CAP0380A   BINDER, CADET   $20.25    EACH

I guess you have to place a phone order to get things that are not on the website.
Dave Bowles
Maj, CAP
AT1, USN Retired
50 Year Member
Mitchell Award (unnumbered)
C/WO, CAP, Ret

jimmydeanno

[offtopic]How is Vanguard selling items that are provided free of charge from the AF for profit? (Cadet Leadership Manuals...)[/offtopic]
If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law. - Winston Churchill

Pylon

Quote from: jimmydeanno on May 21, 2007, 02:47:40 PM
[offtopic]How is Vanguard selling items that are provided free of charge from the AF for profit? (Cadet Leadership Manuals...)[/offtopic]

They're charging to cover cost of printing.  And the AF does not provide these for free.   Sending these materials is figured into the initial cost of a new member and CAP pays for it with membership dues and other money.


Same thing for uniforms.  Even though the FCU sends them to new cadets for free, doesn't mean that everybody else who wants one gets it for free too.   Come and pay is our mantra and we'll stick right by that.  ;)
Michael F. Kieloch, Maj, CAP

ctrossen

Quote from: riveraj on May 20, 2007, 04:13:56 PM
Does anyone here log MO hours towards Sr. & Master MO? What do you use? I know there used to be log books for this purpose but I have not been able to find one after searching MANY months...  Anyone here have more then the basic Observer status?

We use an Excel spreadsheet to track all ES participation (aircrew, ground team and staff), which includes observer hours flown (assuming those numbers are reported correctly). Of course, we also use that to track info for SAR and Find ribbons.

And yes, it does take a while to accumulate enough observer time to qualify for a higher rating. It took me 10 years to get to Senior Observer, and another 5 after that to hit Master Observer... Which was an awful lot of flying.
Chris Trossen, Lt Col, CAP
Agency Liaison
Wisconsin Wing

wingnut

I was advanced to observer in August 2006,  in the last 10 months I flew over 100 hours as an observer, and I flew 10 sorties on SAR missions.  So if I continue at this rate in three more years I will have enough time to be a Master Observer, but way before then I will have my mission pilot rating. I am I consider a wise observer due to the experience. None of the missions are CD. Should I rate the senior observer?? I am not sure. I can't understand the 3 year rule, but mine is not to reason why

I am Captain wingnut to you >:D

O-Rex

Quote from: Eclipse on May 21, 2007, 02:10:46 AM
OK, I'll be honest, I've never heard of a Senior and Master level for Mission Observer.

What is this, and what does it buy you?

THROW-DOWN RIGHTS, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!  ;D

I respect it because its one of the few CAP gee-gaws that's not "shake & bake:"  you gotta put in your time. 

I got my Senior Observer last March after about 6 years, with another 30 hours since then.  Opportunities have been "feast or famine."  My low point was 3 hrs total in 2004.  Key factor was getting involved with HLS/CD-that's the wave of the future.  Also racked up some time Supporting H's Katrina & Wilma.  More recently, I've been heavily involved in flight evaluations of Obs/Scanner trainees.

Surprisingly, only about 25 hours of my total time to-date has been chasing ELT's.

Technical quals help too.  They're still hashing it out at NHQ, but I've never heard anyone gripe about logging SDIS/ARCHER-time as OBS.  Anyone who's done it will attest that it's a heckofalot more that just scanning.

I figure I can get my Master Obs by 2010: gives me something to look forward to.

As an ex-Mil Observer with over 1000 hours, I've been lobbying for NHQ to accept equivalent Mil experience: A Mil WSO, BN, RIO, Navigator, Observer with skills directly applicable to an observer rating AND documentation should be able to obtain Sr./Master Ratings upon completion of initial training, just as mil or private pilots do.  No luck so far....

I log my time on an excel spreadsheet, with totals for Finds, CD, HLS, DR etc.  I have another tabbed page for GT/UDF work. 

RiverAux

I half-heartedly tried to get about 150 hours of time equivalent to CAP Observer "certified" by CAP, but it didn't fly.  Not a big deal to me, but thought it worth a try. 

As for logging SDIS/Archer Time as Observer I don't know that I agree with that.  Yes, it is more complicated than what we have asked Scanners to do in the past, but it isn't the same stuff we ask of Observers.  I probably could accept it for Archer as that is much, much more than we've ever asked of Scanners before but SDIS is not very hard or complicated and frankly is easier to use than the old Slow Scan equipment we used in the past.  All it is is taking a photo and sending an email messsage. 

stillamarine

Here I am probably in the opposite position of everyone else. I will more than likely have my 100 hours required for Senior Observer well before I get my 3 years in. Unless we get some more aircrew in between now and then. Our Squadron flies an average of 100-150 hours a month, with a little bit more right now due to the fire season. 
Tim Gardiner, 1st LT, CAP

USMC AD 1996-2001
USMCR    2001-2005  Admiral, Great State of Nebraska Navy  MS, MO, UDF
tim.gardiner@gmail.com