Acceptable Encampment Identifiers

[IceNine]

If you want to run a by the book compliant encampment you have no options for such items.  39-1 specifically says that while wing cc's can authorize items (shoulder cords, white gloves, white and black belts, and helmet liners) They will not be worn at encampments without approval from National HQ (re: 39-1 table 1-3 line 2)

There are no provisions for hats, shirts, flashes, armbands, etc.

You can use shoulder cords, white gloves, white and black belts, helmet liners, and berets. IF you have approval from CAP/NHQ

[MIKE]

I forgot about that part. 

[ol'fido]

Oh well, I guess we'll just have to muddle through being non-compliant.

Signed,
Olefido
Summer Person

[SWASH]

I think different colored hats work best. I TXWG makes their basics all wear CAP cutouts, which is 100% unauthorized.  But then again SMs at the ILWG SE said TXWG had a star wars themed encampment and the top 3 cadets came to formation with lightsabers    A Lt Col, the commandant, told us this. He is from TXWG. 

[Eclipse]

TXWG makes their basics all wear CAP cutouts, which is 100% unauthorized.

Where?

On ball caps?  No.

In lieu of their actual grade? Which would have to be at least Curry to qualify for participation.  No.

Both are clearly and specifically in violation of applicable regulations.

[jimmydeanno]

In lieu of their actual grade? Which would have to be at least Curry to qualify for participation.  No.

Or fall under the temporary promotion/demotion rule in 52-16.

[SWASH]

52-16 states cadets will wear their earned grade at encampment. Well if I remember it was 52-16....

[Eclipse]

52-16 states cadets will wear their earned grade at encampment. Well if I remember it was 52-16....

Right - so, where is it "100% authorized" to be force cadets to wear cutouts? (as you indicate above)

[lordmonar]

52-16 states cadets will wear their earned grade at encampment. Well if I remember it was 52-16....

Right - so, where is it "100% authorized" to be force cadets to wear cutouts? (as you indicate above)

Go back and read that again...he said "100% unauthorised".

[Eclipse]

crap...yes he did...duh.

The mind is a terrible thing to taste...

[wacapgh]

52-16 states cadets will wear their earned grade at encampment. Well if I remember it was 52-16....

You are correct:

e. Temporary & Discretionary Grades. There are no temporary promotions or demotions, including temporary or "field" promotions or demotions at encampments and other activities. There are no discretionary grades. Cadets will wear their earned grade on their uniform at every CAP activity.

[lordmonar]

crap...yes he did...duh.

The mind is a terrible thing to taste...

Actually it is quite good with a little butter and garlic. 

[Nathan]

We had a successful system at an encampment I worked during a summer. Black hats for senior members, cadet commander, cadet executive officer, cadet squadron commanders, and cadet first sergeants.

There were multiple flights, each with a different color of hat. The flight staff was given the same color hat, but with a black Sharpie stripe drawn across the brim that allowed everyone (staff, flight, parents, and other basics) to tell that they were the ones in charge of the flight.

The system worked really well, since the staff could peruse the battlefield and easily tell at a glance which flights were where. TACs could easily find their flights, staff unfamiliar with the flights could report on the location of a certain color of hat instead of the flight name, and it helped differentiate the flights and give them a bit of unit cohesion.

I would recommend it highly to those who can afford the hats. No need to get special insignia, patches, or whatever, and it gives them a hat that they can wear at home without feeling like a CAP nerd for wearing a CAP hat.

[IceNine]

Oh well, I guess we'll just have to muddle through being non-compliant.

Signed,
Olefido
Summer Person

Or you could just follow proper channel's and get the stuff approved.  But I guess it's much easier to ask forgiveness than ask permission   

[Cecil DP]

Or you could actually run the encampment like you do your units,. Everyone should know who their superiors are without a neon sign. for most of the cadets, they really only have to know their flight staff. Anyone higher is the Flight Commander's problem.

[SWASH]

crap...yes he did...duh.

The mind is a terrible thing to taste...

It's ok, Eclipse.  Everybody makes their mistakes...

[Ford73Diesel]

At OHWG encampment, we used colored ball caps as well.

Black for senior staff, cadet command staff, and support staff (SM and cadet)

Each squadron has a choice of colors depending on how well prepared their staff is. The most prepared also gets choice of floor for the dorms. the Sq and Flt TAC's wear the same color as the squadron. The ATF also gets a choice of hats.
The usual colors are:

Dark green
Blue
Maroon
Tan
Navy blue


Some cadets wear grade on the hat in years past, but I finally stamped that out this year.

I know this is not the advice you are looking for and has been stated before, but there really is no need for the cadet staff to look any different than the basics. The system above has worked flawlessly for us. I've never confused a staff member and a basic. The basics will know who is in their CoC soon enough.

[jb512]

TXWG has their basics wear colored foam under their stripes/cutouts in the color of the flight they are in.  They do not make the cadets wear cutouts only.

And yes, they did do Star Wars themed formations where the cadet staff had lightsabres.   

[Nathan]

Or you could actually run the encampment like you do your units,. Everyone should know who their superiors are without a neon sign. for most of the cadets, they really only have to know their flight staff. Anyone higher is the Flight Commander's problem.

I used to take that position, until I was the one actually in charge of selecting the staff, planning most of the encampment, overseeing the activities, being responsible for all 100+ cadets, and still having to know where every single cadet under me fell in the chain. When I had 20+ cadet staff to remember in addition to ensuring the hectic encampment day went to par (along with everything else going on in that short week), I don't always have time to root through my brain to remember who is in charge what. Especially when we had two or three sets of twins at this encampment, one pair holding staff positions.

The basics aren't the only ones who need to know who is who. Granted, I didn't necessarily HAVE to know immediately which cadets were where and in charge of what. I TECHNICALLY only had to know where my squadron commanders and C/XO were, but it made my job a whole lot easier to be able to tell at a glance who goes where. For instance, I had several points during the encampment where there were literally six different activities going on at once, staggered, in order to accomdate for helicopter rides, and I was coordinating it all from a room with a radio. It made things immensely easier for me to look out the window and see that my blue flight, was drilling, Red Flight was heading to the barracks, Green flight was in the classroom, etc.

Encampment is not designed to be run like a weekly meeting. That's why it's an encampment. I know that there will be those on this board who are going to reply with, "Well, I rank an encampment twice as big, with a week to plan it, on a base the size of Nevada, and all the cadets were clones. And I didn't need no silly colored hats." In which case I would say, "Congratulations. But my job was much easier with the hats."

[PHall]

TXWG has their basics wear colored foam under their stripes/cutouts in the color of the flight they are in.  They do not make the cadets wear cutouts only.

They used to, and the complaints from some parents, yeah those parents, is one of the reasons why the 52-16 is worded like it is.