In a thread on school squadrons, a situation existed where CAP and JROTC units were nearly closed due to loss of a willing teacher of Officer to run the program, respectively.
This got me to thinking, while I was examining this situation; how many schools might use CAP as a proxy for a JROTC unit and, if so, if it is successful?
To be honest, Sparky, I think that in a situation where an AFJROTC program might be shut down because a willing officer can't be recruited to run the program ... perhaps a CAP officer who is a teacher could take it over?
The bad side of the issue is that, while the Board of Education pays only half the salary of a JROTC instructor (the AF pays the other half), the entire salary of a CAP officer instructor would be paid by the school board. (And note - the CAP officer is not being paid to be in CAP. He or she is being paid to be a teacher of the JROTC curriculum, and being a CAP officer is only an ancillary matter.)
The good side, of course, is that the JROTC program continues ... and a possible source of dual-enrolled cadets as well.
Feel free to knock the idea down. I tried to start a school-based squadron at my middle school for years, and even got the Board interested in the idea ... but they were concerned about what would happen to the cadets who left the school after 8th grade. The system I was in didn't have JROTC at the high school. I offered to split my time between the middle and high schools to keep the cadets who wanted to stay; then someone asked about the other middle school in the system, and it all went downhill from there.
Jack