After 27 years as a senior member (3 years as a Cadet), our Wing Commander called to inform me that he likes to call all his Captains to congratulate them when he promotes them to Major. I almost thought it was a joke, but I knew it wasn't.
Having contracted Multiple Sclerosis 14 years ago after my return from Turkey with my Squadron after our last Operation Northern Watch deployment, my health deteriorated to the point where being active in CAP was hurting me and making me a drain on the organization. So, I promised my wife that when I was promoted, I would retire.
These past few years, my disease made actively participating in CAP activities difficult (not fair having my wife, a public school Speech-Language Pathologist who works 50 hrs a week, drive me to activities). So, working hard, I finally got everything completed last summer to be promoted to Major.
This promotion brings the promised retirement from serving CAP for these past 27 years (three more as a cadet) to a close. I need to conserve what strength I have, to do those household chores needed, so my wife doesn't have to.
I'll miss CAP, especially all those years helping adolescents become mature and successful citizens.
I've run afoul of the leadership of CAP, mostly because I reacted negatively to things done to me which I thought were unfair, but to be honest, I should have handled those situations differently, so I'm certainly the cause of half of the problems I've experienced in this organization (shame I'm leaving after learning what to do and not do to survive in this organization).
Bottom line, overall, 90% of my time in CAP was exciting, interesting, and rewarding. I've learned that you don't get mad in CAP. You find the governing regulation and work the issue respectfully. Simple. Overall, this group in particular has helped me with obtaining all the information I needed so I could obtain my Senior Rating last June, so I could be promoted to Major, now (I was growing anxious since I was running out of time for promotion since I was grandfathered in under the old rules for promotion which ends this coming 13 Aug 2018).
I plan on retiring at our next Wing conference this coming March 2018.
I kept my CAP membership for all the time I was in the military. I just wished I would have been professional enough to treat CAP in the same professional manner I gave the military. I foolishly reacted negatively to some of the worst abuses you can do to someone and not get thrown out. I learned too late in my CAP career that if you want to be a part of this organization, you have to never cross those in power. If you can't take that, then just leave. I should have left CAP eight years ago, but somehow I always thought I'd dig myself out of the problem. I never did. Being promoted to Major was a gift, and I'm grateful to have it as I leave.
Thanks for all your help these past several years I've been a part of CAPtalk :clap:
Warmly,
Major (as of Friday), David D'Arcy (https://www.facebook.com/drc3david?fref=gs&dti=579714812230105&hc_location=group), CAP
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[edited to correct formatting issues]
Hand... SALUTE! Two!
Dave, I will see you at Wing Conference, I'm glad I can be there personally to see your retirement. You were a huge influence during my Cadet Career, and I wish you well in the future! Congrats on your promotion, I know it's been a long time coming!
1st Lt Matt Thompson
Thanks for the kind words, Matt :)
Congratulations! And thank you for hanging in there as long as you did. Best of Luck!
Congrats.
Congratulations. I went the retirement route many years ago and still consider myself a member - a retired member going on 51 years. Take care. - Lance
Congratulations on your promotion and thank you for your service. Enjoy your retirement. You earned it!
If there are any Michigan Wing members on this site, I'd love to hear from you. You can send me a private note. Hopefully I'll see you at our Wing Conference in Saginaw. My parents live near Flint. Don't think my 85 year old mother will be able to see me retire and receive my promotion and retirement certificate, but I know my dad will be there (he told me so).
I'll continue to share what CAP does. I've changed churches this year, but I recruited a 'baker's dozen' for the decade I've been out here in West Michigan.
Finally, I was saddened to hear that much of the old historian reports were destroyed by flood. Maybe someone can encourage historians to try to piece their history together. I see with the new websites, the one I helped create had the history all the way back to Sinney Sinclair, who during WWII, helped train aviators for the war and held joint exercises with the Michigan State Police. Don't know which squadron is the oldest but it would be interesting to find out.