You never know where you will meet a former CAP member.

[James Shaw]

I recently drove from Albany GA to Huntsville AL for a job interview. This is close to the "last" leg for this job. When the Interviewer picked me up we started talking about our families and things we do outside of work. When I mentioned the Civil Air Patrol, he was slightly surprised. He had been in CAP as a cadet in the 60's and spent four years in. He then joined the Air Force after CAP. He said it was one of the best experiences he ever had as a teenager. When I told him about my participation he had a great attitude about CAP and the senior members he remembered, he was very complimentary about how much the adult members made a difference.

I was never part of his group of course, but it was a nice reminder that our Senior Members do make a difference in peoples lives.

Has anyone had similar expereinces?

Please share.

[SABRE17]

I ran into some Army personnel at NESA 2009, in the laundromat, that were in CAP for a short time. Need i mention they had to carry their Squad Autos around EVERYWHERE, yeah, i folded my BDU's nest to an M249

[Flying Pig]

I ran into some Army personnel at NESA 2009, in the laundromat, that were in CAP for a short time. Need i mention they had to carry their Squad Autos around EVERYWHERE, yeah, i folded my BDU's nest to an M249

To the laundromat?  Where was this?

[davidsinn]

I ran into some Army personnel at NESA 2009, in the laundromat, that were in CAP for a short time. Need i mention they had to carry their Squad Autos around EVERYWHERE, yeah, i folded my BDU's nest to an M249

To the laundromat?  Where was this?

NESA is held at Camp Atterbury. It's a pre-deployment training site for national guard.

[RADIOMAN015]

I'm the HR department guy (along with a lot of other things) at one of our company operating locations/regional office.

Had an applicant come in one day looking for a job --- who basically was someone who had lost his bearing in life.  Was very surprised he listed CAP even though he had only been in the program for about two years.  So I asked him about Civil Air Patrol (not letting him know that I was a member) and he really perked up about the cadet program and how he in retrospect should have stayed in the program.
RM 

[Persona non grata]

Let me guess, he did not get the job because he was a WANABEEEEEEE!. 

[RADIOMAN015]

Let me guess, he did not get the job because he was a WANABEEEEEEE!.

He didn't get the job because there were others in the applicant pool that were a better match for what we were looking for, and their application (job history) and personal interview notes indicate much less of a potential problem if hired.  His two years of CAP membership did not enter the final decision.   I try to help military veterans that come in looking for a job, but again it all gets down to work history and how their interview goes, since my charge is to screen applicants so the hiring supervisors gets the best candidates from the applicant pool.
RM

   

[CAPC/officer125]

I ran into a Spaatz cadet while on duty in the Warbirds section of EAA Oshkosh for NBB. I was just standing there and he came up to me and started talking about when he and his wife (a former cadet, I think also a Spaatz) went to NBB when it was just guarding corn fields. Was a really cool experience.

[ol'fido]

In March 1990, my battalion(4/27th Inf) deployed to ROK for Team Spirit '90. Our base camp was at Osan AFB. Just a bunch of GP tents at the base of a bluff where the ROKs had a battery of quad-50s. Walked into the beer tent one day and there was a guy sitting there who had been a member of the squadron at Scott AFB about 10 years earlier. Tried to strike up a conversation but he didn't seem real excited about it so I left him to his TV and I went and got my beer.

[DBlair]

While I constantly run across Eagle Scouts, only 5 times have I ever come across a former CAP member-- all were former Cadets.

- Former Cadet Major, now Political Staffer.
- Former Cadet, now Businessman
- Former Cadet, now AD Coast Guard Officer/Attorney
- Former Cadet, now Accountant
- Former Cadet, now Military Retiree

...in all five cases, I was attempting to explain CAP and they quickly chimed in that they knew what it is, as they were former Cadets. Other than these cases, (sadly) nobody has ever really known what CAP is and most just assume that we are any of the following: JROTC program, military school, flying club, or CERT team of some sort.

[Ford73Diesel]

I've run into CAP people a fair amount.

1. My mom and my uncle were cadets in CAP. They told me this after I told them I wanted to join CAP.
2. One of my neighbors was a former Spaatz cadet.
3. A recruit in my CG boot camp company was a C/Capt with the same amount of time in as I did.
4. Numerous AF personnel I've ran into at encampments.
5. One of my buddies from middle school was in CAP, the person who got me to join. Oddly, his son never joined CAP


I'm sure I'm forgetting several encounters.

My brother (former cadet) also had a Spaatz cadet in his CG boot camp. He said he was one of the biggest idiots in the company.....

[Zen Master Charlie]

-A new neighbor down my street saw me getting  in my car one day with my BDU's on. He came to me the next day and started recalling his experiances with CAP.
-I recruited a close friend of mine, and it wasn't until he got his Mitchell that his grandfather told us he was a cadet back when they were dropping bombs.
-My drill team was on a cramped little ERJ going to Dayton and an older man asked me what we did (saw our polo shirts, not marked with CAP, simply "Rocky Mountain Region Drill Team" and our names) and I started to explain NCC and CAP to him, and he just smiled and nodded. He didnt tell me until we were leaving the plane that he used to be a cadet.

I love running into former cadets, its a blast to hear what they have to say! 

[JC004]

I run into former CAP members at the USO quite often, some of whom know me.  Every once in a while there's a CAP member who tries to get into the USO on just their CAP status and they tell me all about how they're in the Air Force but that happens very rarely - maybe once every couple months and from what I could tell, most of the time it was the same person.  I couldn't believe how obnoxious that guy was until I took out MY CAP card, told him that I knew well what CAP was and sent him away.  He seemed to be there a bunch - I think he was from MA.  Again, it's a rare thing and was mostly that guy continuously doing it.  Some are CAP members who are let into OTHER USO locations, though. 

MOST of the time, though, it's former cadets now in the military and it's good to see them - especially the cadets I knew.  I've had a number of entertaining late nights talking to former (or even current) CAP/military members there.

[jimmydeanno]

I run into "former CAP members" all the time, too.  Airshows, even recently at a WAA fundraiser.  In a 6 hour period of time I talked to about 22 "former" members.  One was even the founder of our squadron.

Former members are easy to find, it's the actual members that are difficult.

[JC004]

...
Former members are easy to find, it's the actual members that are difficult.

That's true.  I believe there to be an organized effort behind this because I've noticed you can talk to them about anything at all except re-joining.  If you do that, it seems they all carry a lighter in their pockets that the moment you bring it up, they light themselves on fire and say "sorry, I have to go now.  I am on fire."

Very strange.   

[titanII]

it seems they all carry a lighter in their pockets that the moment you bring it up, they light themselves on fire and say "sorry, I have to go now.  I am on fire."

Very strange.   

Ummmm..    Lol

But yes, this does seem to be the case. I always assume that the reason they left CAP is the reason they don't re-join CAP. (got bored, certain people, etc.)