QUestion about DCS sections

[flyguy06]

What are the different DCS sections at National, and can us volunteers be on that staff as assistants and how?

[arajca]

The DCS sections are Deputy Chiefs of Staff. as for volunteers being put on staff, you'd have to ask the folks in those positions.

[Hartley]

Hi Guys,

  The four DCS positions are: Operations, Support, Training and Strategic Missions. (see attached)

  And yes, the volunteers who are in these positions are authorized to establish staffs as they see fit - for example, Communications is under Operations, and I am a volunteer (one of 5) who is involved as staff within Comm.  "How" would be entirely up to the folks in the area you are interested in!

73 DE Hartley

[Hartley]

Hi Y'all,

  Flyguy said I could post my PM response here, in case others are interested:
*****
Well, I really can't tell you much specific outside of the Comm world, because the whole setup is more than a little bit personality-driven.

  Here's some background:  over the years, there have been MANY different structures in the volunteer leadership - some organized, some very ad-hoc.  For many years, various forms of committees, sub-committees and special-purpose working groups held sway in the various areas, particularly in Operations, where the majority of the interest (and action) is.  Frankly, some areas like Safety and Finance don't seem to attract much interest..:-)
  The people who are up near the top of such structures are generally long-term CAP members (LOTS of Colonels) with literally decades of experience both inside and outside of CAP (and yes, there is a dinosaur factor, but many of those very senior folks are VERY up-to-date in their subjects).  Below them are people they know, or have come to know, and some of these people are much younger/less experienced, but who have been selected based on their ability to contribute to the program.  The exact structure and task assignments are highly variable, usually based on the current needs and "projects".

  When MajGen Pineda came in, he abolished some of the then-existing committees and appointed a number of "Directors" (which were quickly changed to "Advisors" when political problems cropped up) though he left some of the longest-standing committees (like the Ops Committee) in place.  Recently, he re-formatted the setup to the four DCS positions and eliminated the Ops committee, though as I understand it,  much of the former membership of the Ops committee remains in various support staff positions.   
  You should know that the structure of the paid part of HQ is aligned with these volunteer positions, and the volunteers are generally involved with the paid staff at some level in whatever they are doing, though there are exceptions, such as reviewing agenda items before the NB, where HQ staff and the volunteer side sometimes conduct separate evaluations for the board.
  What does the National-level volunteer staff do?  - Lots of stuff - assist in researching and writing policies, regulations and other materials, working on developing and testing training materials and programs, researching and evaluating items for purchase and stuff like answering questions and assisting other members.  The ratio of hard and sometimes tedious work to glory is pretty large..:-)

  I still don't know what area of CAP interests you, but here's what I would recommend:
1. DON'T call the DCS - he's a busy guy and unless you are somebody he really needs to talk to, he won't welcome your advances.
2. DO get involved in the management process of your chosen area at whatever level you are at now - with an eye to moving up.  This will both potentially get you "known" by those up above and give you valuable experience in how the structure and pecking order works in your chosen area.
3.  Work your way up the CAP senior membership "ladder" - SLS, CLC, ECI-13, RSC, etc.  - this will also help get you into a management position.
4. Use that position to establish yourself as an expert (or at least a hard-working learner!) in that field and actively work to contact those who are working that area at NHQ (paid or volunteer) - be ready to offer to help with "scut work" like proofreading documents or researching items (like say, the applicable AF regulations for that area).
5. Once they know you, be prepared to be asked to assist with a work group project - if your area involves an activity (like ES Academy or a glider encampment) then be prepared to work on one of those - remember, the idea is to get known and trusted by those who, believe me, really are looking for folks to help out!   Meeting and talking to the top folks in your area at things like the summer NB is also a good idea - they can tell you what they are looking for, and get to meet you in a much better way than email or even a phone call.

  Remember, these guys get approached by folks who REALLY don't belong at the HQ level quite often, and their "guard" is often up a bit - but they warm up quite quickly once they realize you're not a "pretender" and you really can help them.

  How do we meet?  Outside of NB, where we do sometimes get to see each other, 99% of our work is conducted on the internet or on the phone.  NHQ has a phone bridge that makes phone conferencing easy and effective when an active discussion is called for.   

73 DE Hartley