Oakridge man faces sex abuse charges

[NIN]

As a personal rule, I don't add cadets on social media unless I really want to/they request it, and are over 18. Reason being of course that at my age I have pictures at parties where adult beverages/tobacco may be present. Nothing wrong with that, but I don't need younger cadets seeing that side of it. In fact, that VA poser woman would have been a red flag for me personally due to her...interests, and having a ton of cadets accessing her posts.

^^ Indeed, what you say is true. This is a classic example of "overshare."

I have cadets connected to me via social media. In every instance, those cadets are in my "limited profile" group, and they see only those things that other members of the public see if they try to access my social media accounts. (which is to say: not much, and definitely nothing that would be controversial or political)

I do that for the purposes of "professional distance".

And I agree with you about the red-flag on the woman in VA.  I would have a discussion with any officer in my unit who displayed similar habits and a stunningly egregious lack of judgement as it pertained to professionalism online.

[davidsinn]

If nothing else it serves as a reminder why (insert deity, lifeforce, or dimensional prefect) gave us spider sense, and we need to heed it when it tingles. There also might be some room for discussion regarding periodic re-checks on background, or perhaps re-checking anytime a member aspires to be  commander of a unit or an major activity (such as an encampment).  Both jobs are important enough within CAP's structure to warrant it, and those with nothing to hide should have no concerns.

I guess I get the "those with nothing to hide should have no concerns" part.  But as someone who has done (what I hope is) a pretty good job of living my life in that "If it was on the front page of the paper, could I defend myself?" way, why do I need to continue to prove that I'm doing things right?  My actions, my methods and my leadership should, if I am doing things right, stand on its own merit and demonstrate that there is no issue.

I was a squadron commander at 23, then again around 30, and then 33 and again at, uh, what 40?  I had no kids in the program.  I overheard a parent ask one of my seniors "Doesn't he have kids in CAP?" one night.  I felt a little insulted, because at the time my kids were about 3 and 5.  I'd been in CAP for a long time (probably 24 years at that point) and took my duties seriously. I think the implication was that I was pedophile trolling for kids cuz I didn't have any kids of my own in the program, as if somehow having kids in the program would make one immune to potential abuse..

I've said this before, and I will say it again on this subject:  much of this is a cultural issue and requires leaders to act as leaders and members to act as (much as I hate this word in this context) "fiduciaries" of our cadets. 

When someone preys on a cadet, they are NOT operating in a vacuum.  Many of their actions are seen and not reported, or seen and ignored as "OK" when most of the time what they are or were doing is completely against the rules.  They're having inappropriate conversations with cadets, they're in closer than appropriate contact with cadets, there are instances where you see them "outside their lane" as it pertains to cadets. All of this adds up and if you let it continue, people become inured to what is right and suddenly "wrong" becomes "normal."

I fell victim to this in 1998: I moved to a new wing and I went to my first squadron meeting in the new place and introduced myself to the commander.  (I showed up in blues on a BDU night, walked in with my Michigan wing patch on and people were like 'Who the hell is this guy?'..LOL)  At the end of that first night, the unit commander says to me "Hey, can you give Cadet Bagodonuts here a ride home?"

"Uh, what do you mean, sir?"

"Well, he lives up by where your apartment is, him and his mom live about 1/4 mile before your place on that same road."

"Yessir, but what about cadet protection?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't drive a cadet alone in my car, sir."

"Oh, sure you can, I do it all the time. His mom is a senior member, she's fine with it."

(Note: Moms & dads are, usually, "fine" with these kinds of things, right up until it is discovered that their kid is being sexually abused by the person they were "fine" with, and then, suddenly, its really "not fine."  Odd, huh?)

"Sir, I am NOT giving a cadet I don't even know a ride home solo in my car."

Now, I should have had a red flag that there was something funky going on in this squadron and with this squadron commander, but I didn't really pay that much attention. I chalked it up to "Well, that must be how they interpret the CPP here.."  What I should have done was probably call the wing commander and say "hey, uh, I think there is a CPP violation in progress here." But I was brand new to the wing, and I knew that if I was wrong, I wouldn't do any of that "Win friends and influence people" stuff by narc'ing out the unit commander to the boss on the first night in the wing.

(Note: the commander was not abusing anybody, but the wanton flaunting of the CPP was just one symptom of other issues with the unit.  Two or three weeks before I took over that unit about 18 months later, the unit AEO took a bunch of cadets on an AE trip to an air museum. By herself.  I mean, jeez, she was in her 70s and probably was Jimmy Dolittle's crew chief at one point, but it was indicative of the permissive situation under the old commander that had permeated all ranks and the unit culture that the AEO didn't even KNOW that it wasn't OK to take cadets on a trip to an air museum 2 hrs away all by herself.  The acting commander, the former DCC, didn't even *get* why that was wrong, either.  After the change of command, when I finally got all the half-completed finance paperwork from the finance officer, nearly a month after the finance report was due, I noted that the acting-commander had given the AEO a blank squadron check to cover the entrance fee to the museum. It was written to "CASH."  *sigh* CPP, finance regs, etc.  You name it, people didn't know the right way to do it, even.. that was a fun way to start a command tour. Took me 5 years, but we were wing squadron of merit 3 times and region squadron of distinction once...)

There isn't a single CPP violation listed. You only need two deep leadership for an overnight. That's not to say that it isn't a good idea to have it anyway.

[Eclipse]

As written, no.  But it's a text book of the failure of ORM in that regard.

[Майор Хаткевич]

CYA. I tell that to cadets and SMs alike.

[Mslayton_24]

YA, he is just wrong, at least it ws girls and not guys, but still wrong. Now I have know a few guys that got charged because the girls lied. Some of these 14,15 and 16 year old look 20 some things, gotta watch them.

Their gender has nothing to do with this. And how is it any better that it was females and not males? Either way this is a very serious matter that isn't to be taken lightly.