Updated CAPR 35-5 released today (11 Aug 14)

[LSThiker]

I don't know where you are, but our ground team members are down to zilch.  We spent 36 hours trying to get a non-distress ground team or UDF team out last month.  There are no ground team missions and people are tired of recertifying every 2 years for nada.     

That is not due to the release of new standards as in 2003.  That is due to the upgrade in technology and downward trend of less false ELTs. 

There is no need for the cadet program, recruiting is down, there is no need for the AE program, that stuff is covered on TV and the internet daily.

So there is no need for schools or education any more?  Well I guess I can tell my government to stop paying teachers. 

All of this has nothing to do with new standards for senior member promotions.

[Eclipse]

I get that the idea was to begin a mental shift on what grade means in CAP, I've advocated a reboot for years,
and there's sadly no way to not catch some people mid-stream, that's going to happen anytime disruptive change happens,
but in typical CAP fashion, the pendulum swung too far the other way, knocking down people on the backswing.

At a minimum, there should have been more thought and process given to those on the fence.

Members engaged in meaningful, high-ROI CAP activities are always less concerned with grade then those
with less to do and more time to think about it.  There were times early-on when I was so busy "doing" I could
have cared less about what grade I was, etc. But then you reach a lull, and you look around at a staff meeting,
and you realize "I just spent a year hard-charging for everyone else, and all I have to show for it are the
receipts, while Major Seatfiller over there spent the year pushing his own 120s and 2s up the chain...".
That doesn't engender more initiative, especially if you hit a wall of GOB or "fluid" regulations that favor
those sitting nearest to the approver over those with less direct contact.

It still flabbergasts me that a culture where grade confers no authority or monetary compensation has the allowance
for a subjective end-game "no", which basically comes down to whether or not a member "pleased" someone with
a pen, despite the fact that the pen holder may have never met or worked with that member, never made any expectations,
and generally could not care less about that person's CAP experience. That's part of the paradigm problem - something
which only denotes accomplishment still wants to be treated as if it denotes responsibility and authority, yet CAP does not
even hold itself to it's only policies on who should be assigned where.

If a Region CC is the approver of Lt Col, then no one should be considered for that grade unless they have, or will
assume the commensurate responsibilities, meaning Wing or Higher.  But we all know how that works.

Human nature - people aren't necessarily that excited about public recognition, except and until you see people
doing less being praised / advanced more. (The subjective "less" being in the eyes of the beholder.")

Thankfully, for the most part, I had the benefit of good leaders who did their jobs and recognized their people,
though a fair amount of my progression started like Lt Col Blake's initiatives, self-written and initialed in the pile.

With that said, there should be a process to recognize those qualified >today< who simply did not put in for the
promotion, are awaiting that "one more thing", or have any of the other 20 CAP reasons, many times out of their control,
why they didn't progress properly and in the requisite time.  There are wings where PD is nearly non-existent,
promotions wind up behind the file cabinet for a year, etc., etc.

Even something as simple as saying "those currently enrolled have until the end of their normal minimum time to
promote to complete the requirements under the current program before changing over."  That normalizes things in ~1-3
years without overly alienating those invested in the organization. 

Will this kill CAP?  No, of course not.  Heck, 1/3rd of the membership won't even know anything changed,
and as we all know, the percentage of members who ascend to the field grades is relatively small.

An organization like CAP dies by 1000 cuts, this is just one more on the pile.  CAP has a churn that
would kill most businesses. The trend line of membership, without any normalization, has been down
for nearly a decade, and would look worse if CAP reported the numbers properly.  Unit charters have shrunk
by at least 10% during that same period, and during that same time our ES mission is struggling for
relevance and viability, while the joiner demographic in the cadet ranks gets smaller every year, and the
economy continues to huff and puff leaving the appropriations vulnerable and the member pool with less
disposable income and time.

These are not guesses, nor conjecture, but simple facts supported by NHQ statistics.
Do the math from there.

[AirAux]

One of the real problems is that CAP is falling into alignment with the Air Force, structure and rank wise.  That said, I would dare say that less than 10% of all squadrons, Wings, Groups, and Regions are fully staffed.  Currently undergoing an IG inspection.  The few worker bees are having to do the work of the slots that do not have anyone in them.  Do you have any idea what kind of stress this palces on the worker bees?  It is also a sham as it will make the unit look on paper like everything is fine, when it is not.  Unfortunately, the powers that be, don't care and make no allowances for these things.  So, is CAP and the Air Force going to get rid of these diffective squadrons?  Time will tell, but that looks like what will happen.  I think I read one time that the average squadron size throughout the US is something like 10-14 people (how many active we must wonder?).  The new program is not set up to accommodate that. 

[LSThiker]

The new program is not set up to accommodate that.

How is the new program not set up to accommodate this?  There is not anything that different from the "old" program.  The changes were simply aligning the SM PD levels with promotions and requiring a little more time for promotion.  It is not like they added any major new requirements to the PD levels that were not there before.  You do not need to go jumping through any more hoops that were not already in place prior.

The problems such as diminishing charters, relevance, financial burdens were all in place way before and have nothing to do with the release of CAPR 35-5.  I am sure if we went back to the 1960s, these same problems were being argued.  The fact that now most people will top out at Level 4 Major instead of Level 4 Lt Col has little to do with CAP needing to find a new direction.  As pointed out, rank has little to do with authority.  So is doing the same job as a Level 4 Major and not as a Level 4 Lt Col going to change anything in the long run?   

[Devil Doc]

Soooo... based on the new Regs, When Can I be Eligible for CAPT? DOR is Feb 2014.

[Eclipse]

My guess is that most members will top out Captain.  RSC is a non-trivial pinch point for a lot of members.

Another reason to eliminate mission skills promotions and other special promotions.

[Eclipse]

Soooo... based on the new Regs, When Can I be Eligible for CAPT? DOR is Feb 2014.

DOR? Did you leave your liner by the bell?

Capt is now Level III + 2.5 years as a 1st Lt., so +30 months from whatever the 1st Lt. date is in eServices,
assuming you complete Level III.

[LSThiker]

My guess is that most members will top out Captain.  RSC is a non-trivial pinch point for a lot of members.

Another reason to eliminate mission skills promotions and other special promotions.

Okay true.  So people top out as a Level 3 Captain instead of a Level 3 Major. 

[Devil Doc]

DOR is Date of Rank, It is now 2.5 Years, but my TIG is grandfathered correct?

[LSThiker]

DOR is Date of Rank, It is now 2.5 Years, but my TIG is grandfathered correct?

As long as you promote before June 2018, yes.

[Eclipse]

DOR is Date of Rank, It is now 2.5 Years, but my TIG is grandfathered correct?

Yes, until 2018, however you'll have to get Level III instead of Level II, which includes the wrinkle of a command or staff assignment,
which, if not properly recorded, might prolong the time it takes to complete it.  No such requirement was in Level II.

[NC Hokie]

Soooo... based on the new Regs, When Can I be Eligible for CAPT? DOR is Feb 2014.

DOR? Did you leave your liner by the bell?

Capt is now Level III + 2.5 years as a 1st Lt., so +30 months from whatever the 1st Lt. date is in eServices,
assuming you complete Level III.

Actually, he beat the 1 June 14 date for the grandfather clause, so he SHOULD be allowed 18 months from his promotion to 1st Lt to complete Level III, which I believe gives him until the end of Aug 2015.  The trick is that he will probably need to finish Level II and then complete all of Level III by then.

[CAP_truth]

As of today e-services reflects the new requirements for promotion. A member who was eligible for major last week now shows new PD requirements today.

[Eclipse]

A correction for table numbering was just pushed: http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/R035_005_489E25C089E93.pdf

As well as a new Form 2 showing the updated requirements: http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/F002_F6DCA8184C671.pdf

[Bluelakes 13]

So are we saying that a Major needs to complete Level 5 to be promoted to LtCol?

[NC Hokie]

So are we saying that a Major needs to complete Level 5 to be promoted to LtCol?

That is correct.

[Panache]

So are we saying that a Major needs to complete Level 5 to be promoted to LtCol?

Yes.

2d Lt -> Level I
1st Lt -> Level II
Captain -> Level III
Major -> Level IV
Lt Col -> Level V

[RMW14]

I am in the same boat as Devil Doc. I am just awaiting my time in grade for promotion to Capt, which would come in Feb 2015. Now I have to jump through all sorts of hoops to get Level 3 done while not only running the cadet program at my squadron, going to school full time, and working full time. The new requirements pretty much suck for anyone who is not already in a grade. I have busted my behind for the past 3 years or so and now I am not sure it has been worth it. I don't know that I have the time to complete everything for Level 3 since my wing only runs CLC once per year and I can't travel outside the wing due to school and work. On top of that, I have to start over on my Senior rating in Cadet Programs since they now included the DDR stuff in CP.
If they wanted to make a change, they should make everyone meet the requirements of the new set of skills that I have to meet for grade. There are plenty of people who were pencil whipped into their current grade and are for the most part, non functional in their specialty tracks.

Then again no one listens to the little people who run the day to day squadron level operations.

[CAP_truth]

There is an online version available.

[RMW14]

I believe that my wing will not allow me to take the online class unless there is some sort of preclusion from me taking the in residence course (i.e. being deployed to AFG)