Quote from: jeders on June 09, 2022, 01:45:33 PM

Quote from: JohhnyD on June 09, 2022, 03:08:36 AMMy experience is that many cadet families grew disillusioned and are never coming back.

I think we've all seen a lot of that, and not just over the last two years but over the last 80 years. This is nothing new or unique to Covid. The job now is to build up your local program and recruit new people.

I think there is a level of caution to be maintained here, though. We cannot be a reactive organization in respect to the thought that we can "just recruit new members later." You have to really watch the branding on that type of program; outside opinion is a thing. Your public cannot look at your program and say "Why does this organization whatever?" and you expect recruits off of that.

We really want a solid, stable, productive program to offer. Being reactive and "late to the game" in assessing a plan of actions (or options) is not preferred.

Quote from: JohhnyD on June 09, 2022, 03:08:36 AMMy experience is that many cadet families grew disillusioned and are never coming back.

And not just with the COVID issues. Our missions are changing. We market ourselves as an exciting org with photos/videos of us searching in the forest or in airplanes and saving lives, yet technology (cell phone team) has taken over 95% of that mission. So we recruit people, provide too few ops to actually train, and then when they do train, its for missions that rarely, if ever, come.  So yes, many get disillusioned.  We are way overdue for redefining our missions. If our future is handing out water bottles as DR, then lets market ourselves that way and get the volunteers that are interested in helping that way.

Quote from: JohhnyD on June 09, 2022, 03:08:36 AM

Quote from: jeders on June 08, 2022, 03:55:04 PM

Quote from: JohhnyD on June 08, 2022, 02:37:03 AM

Quote from: Eclipse on June 06, 2022, 12:55:15 PM

Quote from: OldGuy on June 06, 2022, 04:37:14 AMOh, maybe how effective was the near total shutdown versus perhaps isolating the most vulnerable?

Nothing to do with CAP.

I disagree. CAP shutdown the cadet program with no science behind that decision. The losses were real, and we may never fully recover.

CAP, in response to available guidance and varying government mandates, shut down in person operations. While yes, there were some membership losses, the decision to do so was driven primarily by external forces. So as Eclipse said, it really had nothing to do with CAP.

As for your assertion that the losses were real and that we may never recover; I would say that the losses were mostly those members who weren't really active to begin with and were essentially empty shirts. And while nationally we have not yet recovered to pre-pandemic membership levels (we're about 10,000 total members below where we were in Feb 2020), at least locally we have more total members and more active members than we've had in 20 years. YMMV.

Nope. My experience is that many cadet families grew disillusioned and are never coming back. This is our future and we squandered it.

NHQ chose expedience over leadership. As they have on a number of woke subjects, and we may never recover. I would not ever allow my children to go to another overnight activity, for example, where mixed sex dorms are allowed because of wokeness. I suspect my time in the organization grows short, after 5 decades. The banning of people for dissent here is simply a reflection of the wokeness throughout. Facts no longer matter, only being politically correct does.

We had a great 8 decade run. Sad that it ends this way.

How do you have children in the organization after being in for 50 years?

Quote from: JayT on June 09, 2022, 02:38:25 PMHow do you have children in the organization after being in for 50 years?

Do you uh, need a birds and bees conversation? Or a discussion on of multi-generational families in CAP?

Quote from: etodd on June 09, 2022, 02:24:15 PM

Quote from: JohhnyD on June 09, 2022, 03:08:36 AMMy experience is that many cadet families grew disillusioned and are never coming back.

And not just with the COVID issues. Our missions are changing. We market ourselves as an exciting org with photos/videos of us searching in the forest or in airplanes and saving lives, yet technology (cell phone team) has taken over 95% of that mission. So we recruit people, provide too few ops to actually train, and then when they do train, its for missions that rarely, if ever, come.  So yes, many get disillusioned.  We are way overdue for redefining our missions. If our future is handing out water bottles as DR, then lets market ourselves that way and get the volunteers that are interested in helping that way.

So many missed opportunities. We should be far more active in the ham radio world, in the local sUAS world, the EAA, etc. We are a tiny splinter group with some really cool USAF bought planes, comms and vehicles and no support staff and dysfunctional leadership. And the China Virus exposed these flaws in a very real way.

Quote from: Holding Pattern on June 09, 2022, 10:52:38 PM

Quote from: JayT on June 09, 2022, 02:38:25 PMHow do you have children in the organization after being in for 50 years?

Do you uh, need a birds and bees conversation? Or a discussion on of multi-generational families in CAP?

Someone being in their 60s or 70s and having teenage children, while possible, is not at all common. If instead someone in their 60s and 70s is exerting control over their grown children or teenage grandchildren, that is disturbing as well.

Quote from: jeders on June 10, 2022, 01:46:08 PM

Quote from: Holding Pattern on June 09, 2022, 10:52:38 PM

Quote from: JayT on June 09, 2022, 02:38:25 PMHow do you have children in the organization after being in for 50 years?

Do you uh, need a birds and bees conversation? Or a discussion on of multi-generational families in CAP?

Someone being in their 60s or 70s and having teenage children, while possible, is not at all common. If instead someone in their 60s and 70s is exerting control over their grown children or teenage grandchildren, that is disturbing as well.

What an odd comment.

Quote from: jeders on June 10, 2022, 01:46:08 PM

Quote from: Holding Pattern on June 09, 2022, 10:52:38 PM

Quote from: JayT on June 09, 2022, 02:38:25 PMHow do you have children in the organization after being in for 50 years?

Do you uh, need a birds and bees conversation? Or a discussion on of multi-generational families in CAP?

Someone being in their 60s or 70s and having teenage children, while possible, is not at all common. If instead someone in their 60s and 70s is exerting control over their grown children or teenage grandchildren, that is disturbing as well.

Respectfully, I'm fifty two and daughter is seven. My eighty two year old Mother is very involved in my daughters life. In five years my daughter could join CAP; both I and my mother would encourage it.

Question, how many children do you have and how many are involved in CAP?

Quote from: Shuman 14 on June 27, 2022, 08:57:21 PM

Quote from: jeders on June 10, 2022, 01:46:08 PM

Quote from: Holding Pattern on June 09, 2022, 10:52:38 PM

Quote from: JayT on June 09, 2022, 02:38:25 PMHow do you have children in the organization after being in for 50 years?

Do you uh, need a birds and bees conversation? Or a discussion on of multi-generational families in CAP?

Someone being in their 60s or 70s and having teenage children, while possible, is not at all common. If instead someone in their 60s and 70s is exerting control over their grown children or teenage grandchildren, that is disturbing as well.

Respectfully, I'm fifty two and daughter is seven. My eighty two year old Mother is very involved in my daughters life. In five years my daughter could join CAP; both I and my mother would encourage it.

Question, how many children do you have and how many are involved in CAP?

If you are told your daughter will be in an effectively coed encampment room how will you feel about that?

Quote from: JohhnyD on June 28, 2022, 03:36:27 AMIf you are told your daughter will be in an effectively coed encampment room how will you feel about that?

CAP policy does not currently allow that... I'll address that question when it does.

How did we go from the COVID-19 AAR to a conversation on gender?

This thread is like a typical staff meeting where someone starts to brief or pose a question about aircraft availability, and 5 minutes later, we're discussing the importance of ground teams in the future of CAP's mission scope and how we need to switch to an all-blue uniform. More so, it's like a typical CAPTalk thread.

That'll do it.

~ 9907