Myths and Ledgends

[notaNCO forever]

They are BDU CAPS, FLIGHT CAPS, SERVICE CAPS, WATCH CAPS, etc. not covers or hats. In fact, hats are for civilians and any military TI will gladly remind you of it. A "cover" is a general term used in the military to describe all kinds of head coverings (there are oh so many kinds). It isn't a degrading or unprofessional term, so I see no reason to fight against the tide to stop people from saying it.

However, the proper, official, and regulatory term is cap.

Who really cares

[JayT]

Also, CAP referring to a hat as a cover.  The Navy and Marine Corps have covers, the Army and Air Force have hats.  Refer to it as such.

Let's not get started on this again. 
Even when I was in army basic, it was called a "cover".  It's just old terminology that carries over from the military.  If everyone would follow 39-1, everyone would call it the BDU cap.  You can't be wrong if you follow 39-1. 

Is there any regulation or publication to support cover vs hat? My mother was in the Army NG and they called them covers.. One of my friends (and a former cadet) is AD Army, she calls it a cover.. Another one fo my friends is in AFROTC, they call them covers... I have never met an experienced CAP Cadet that refered to their headgear as a hat...

Besides me?

[SSgt Rudin]

Also, CAP referring to a hat as a cover.  The Navy and Marine Corps have covers, the Army and Air Force have hats.  Refer to it as such.

Let's not get started on this again. 
Even when I was in army basic, it was called a "cover".  It's just old terminology that carries over from the military.  If everyone would follow 39-1, everyone would call it the BDU cap.  You can't be wrong if you follow 39-1. 

Is there any regulation or publication to support cover vs hat? My mother was in the Army NG and they called them covers.. One of my friends (and a former cadet) is AD Army, she calls it a cover.. Another one fo my friends is in AFROTC, they call them covers... I have never met an experienced CAP Cadet that refered to their headgear as a hat...

Besides me?

(/drift)

It would be nice if one, just one of the topics I start don't end up locked... 

[Pingree1492]

If you haven't checked out the new draft version of CAPP 151 on the National Proving Grounds website, now might be a good time (www.cap.gov/provinggrounds).  Though it is not yet an official regulation, it goes a long way into clearing up a lot of iffy situations that cadets & seniors might find themselves in- many of which have led to some pretty absurd customs in some squadrons/encampments.  I would suggest taking a look.

A fairly common mis-conception that I have seen is the proper way conduct the push-up section of the Cadet Physical Fitness Test.  The most common thing I have heard is squadrons requiring cadets to stay in the down position for the entire 3 seconds of the pushup.  The correct way to do it is here:

6. Resting. The cadet is free to take as long as they wish to reach the up position, and as long as they
wish to reach the down position, provided they begin a new push-up every 3 seconds. The cadet
may rest in the up or down position, but the President's Challenge recommends cadets remain in
motion throughout the entire 3-second interval to achieve the best results.
[CAPP 52-18, page 25]

The only other pet-peeve that comes to mind (non-drill related) is cadets (and seniors for that matter) using the correct abbreviation for their grades.  I've seen too many c/SAmn (for C/SrA), c/Capt. (C/Capt), C/2LT (C/2d Lt); etc.  The reference for the correct cadet abbreviations can be found in CAPR 52-16, page 30, Figure 2-3.