encampment dance

[Spaceman3750]

Of course, it would have to be cleared with the host... Also, see my edit above.

[kd8gua]

Back at my Basic Encampment, we did not have a dance, but we did have a pizza party/relax social setting. It was nice to unwind for a bit, that's for sure.

[Spaceman3750]

Back at my Basic Encampment, we did not have a dance, but we did have a pizza party/relax social setting. It was nice to unwind for a bit, that's for sure.

I forgot to mention, that's what we did at mine, it was a nice way to relax. I suspect it's the most common end of week activity, but can't verify it.

[Daniel]

Back at my Basic Encampment, we did not have a dance, but we did have a pizza party/relax social setting. It was nice to unwind for a bit, that's for sure.

I forgot to mention, that's what we did at mine, it was a nice way to relax. I suspect it's the most common end of week activity, but can't verify it.

at my basic encampment they didn't believe in relaxation.

[Cobra1597]

MAWG has had a "cadet social" at our encampments for as long as I can remember, usually in the form of a dance. We've usually been able to DJ it with a cadet, for some reason some cadet in the wing always has had access to the equipment. Often times cadet staff have also brought in and distributed things like glowsticks. Makes for a pretty show that looks like a rave, but with the added benefit of a true drug free environment. Might also help that often earlier in the week, we've had a DDR talk from someone in law enforcement on the physical effects of common rave drugs

I fully approve of doing something like this. It is a great way to unwind, to further make friends beyond what the week itself has provided, and have some more fun at the end of the week.

It's pretty well supervised. The senior members are chaperons, enforcing rules like the "six inches," forming an observed barrier that cadets can't cross to find "secluded corners," often patrolling other areas that cadets can try to "hide" in, like the barracks.

That actually led to a fun experience for me one of the first years I was a senior member. In addition to the inside activity, we had a "dump tank." I think that's what they are called, the things where you sit on a platform above a tank of water, and people are throwing balls at a button, and if they hit it, you sink into the water. All of the cadet and senior staff had to sit on their at some point (can you imagine the joy a core cadet had in sinking the Cadet Commander or Group First Sergeant?  ), and most if not all of the senior members sat up there too. After my turn going back to the barracks to change, I was somewhat severely "challenged" by one of the senior members patrolling the barracks and making sure no cadets were they unsupervised. I didn't exactly look old enough to be a senior member (I guess 22 doesn't cut it), and it took fishing through my stuff to find where I'd put my wallet to keep dry.

[Eclipse]

Good point. That's probably why most encampments don't have them.

Most encampments don't have them because they are inappropriate to a paramilitary training environment which is why you are there.
Further, the female population of most CAP activities runs below the 20% mark, so even if this was a good idea, what's the point?

I love the notion that cadets and staff have to "unwind" after a whole week of doing something most look forward to and throughly enjoy.  Every single participant is there because they want to be, so much so that they paid for the experience.
For every uncomfortable or "stressful" thing they had to endure (like a CAP-USAF chain of command briefing), they did five cool things
that they would pay to do again.

Conversations like this make Curry and Spaatz spin in their monuments.

[CCAlex]

OK my turn. our encampment dance was a bit unusual, but I'll start at the beginning of the dance day. so we get to wake up a usual with no pt though. when we go to breakfast, our flight sergeant (a very attractive Austrian girl) gets her first date request. she laughs a bit and says.........."absolutely not!" on the bus, another cadet asks the proper way to ask a girl out. so our flight commander C/Capt so and so, said "alright listen up you bus of hooligans! I'll show you the proper way to ask a girl out. so one of you KIDS want to ask sergeant dixon out. you go up to her and ask "seargeant dixon, permission to take you out to the dance" and of course she will reply if your lucky, no, huh-uh, or absolutely NOT. so keep your hands eyes off my flight sergeant, close your mouths, stop drooling and stare ouside!" of course everyone was just looking at her reflection in the window.

later that night after group inspection, we go to the dance and got my first date! (NO snide comments because yes I asked HER out and not the other way around.) she was a nice brunette and sadly when we slow danced, after a minute she just walked away to another guy, who was slightly taller than me. that's my story.

[Spaceman3750]

Good point. That's probably why most encampments don't have them.

I love the notion that cadets and staff have to "unwind" after a whole week of doing something most look forward to and throughly enjoy.
...
Conversations like this make Curry and Spaatz spin in their monuments.

Really Eclipse? A conversation about the possibility of teenagers going to a (gasp) DANCE (even at a CAP activity) is making Curry and Spaatz spin in their monuments? A little bit over the top, don't you think?

OK, so I know that we won't see a dance on the ILWG Spring Encampment agenda, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with giving cadets some time off at the end of a week. We're talking in large part about 12, 13, and 14 year olds here. For a lot of them, this is there first time away from home, and they're going away to a very rigid and rushed environment where it's pretty easy to get burned out quick if you're not used to it.

Essentially, your people put in a good week of work and training (even if they did get enjoyment out of some of it), and there's nothing wrong with rewarding them with a pizza party, dance, or some other form of R&R for it.

I do agree with the bit about the low number of females though, and you're right on that point. However, a dance is just as much about 5 male buddies getting together and having fun as it is to go on a date.

Daniel and I were simply having a friendly conversation and brainstorming. That's new things and good changes happen. It's also how we ended up with "US Civil Air Patrol" nametapes and 87 logos, so it can go both ways.

[DakRadz]

Click the pic for a labeled picture.

Okay, so here's how our social went about. Conducted in a fully lit room, similar to a high school gym. No dark spots, SMs were everywhere, so no off-limits. You could eat, socialize, or dance. No one danced with each other- it was more Cha-Cha, Cupid Shuffle, rap, country and rock and roll. All fast stuff to have fun to. All appropriate. CAP/Staff member-owned items were used, no paying a DJ.

The picture is fairly well to scale- small dance area, except for when the Train went around the whole room
Mostly socializing and enjoying *lemonade! and sweet tea* and the BBQ Pork or Chicken plates.

So, it wasn't a problem for anyone.

This was NOT a have-a-date dance. There was no slow-dancing, or dancing together. It was fun, plain and simple.

[Eclipse]

Really Eclipse? A conversation about the possibility of teenagers going to a (gasp) DANCE (even at a CAP activity) is making Curry and Spaatz spin in their monuments? A little bit over the top, don't you think?

No - and CCALEX's description of the events should be all we need to say "no more".

As a concept we are supposed to be discouraging fraternization in the ranks and dating in general within CAP.  Once again for you scoring at home, CAP IS NOT A DATING SERVICE.  The fact that "kids will be kids" does not change that, and putting together an activity at an encampment which encourages dating is just asking for trouble.

It's inappropriate and unnecessary.  If units want to host dining out's or banquets, great.  We don't need a "dance" during an encampment.

[DakRadz]

*Still thinks his staff did a great job for the event*

CCAlex's does seem to have been over the top. The whole "dancing with each other" is what puts it there, really.

I think mine was A-OK.

Even JROTC discourages dating other cadets- obviously more leeway and such due to the nature of the program, but still. Mostly where dancing with other cadets takes place is at Military Ball, and that's more friends- all but maybe 3 cadets out of 50-60+ bring a non-cadet date.

CCAlex's sounds too dating-encouraging

[PHall]

The "dance" at the CAWG/NVWG Encampment was nothing more then a pizza party with some music and dancing thrown in.
With everything under constant observation...
The cadets have basically completed encampment at this point and all they have to do in the morning is pack their stuff and go march around the square.
We use it as a mechanism to allow the basics to "decompress" following a rather stressful week before we give them back to Mommy and Daddy.

[DakRadz]

Aha. The description was inaccurate then.

Eclipse:
I agree with the decompressing. Yes,  I volunteered to go, wanted to go badly, paid to go, and having done NJROTC's equivalent, even knew, in a general sort of way, the type of environment I was going to be in; that doesn't mean it isn't stress-inducing.

Having your roommate not tell encampment about several health issues and place himself in danger, that's stress-inducing. Same roommate falling out of top bunk, that's stress-inducing (luckily he wasn't severely injured). Having your Flt/CC get hurt mid-week and replaced by a support staff "floater" (replacement did do outstanding, BUT) that's stress-inducing.

There are more non-typical events that went on at this encampment, which stressed out our dozens-of-encampments-prior-to-this SMs more than usual.

So a chance to unwind is welcome.

[JayT]

I remember there was an article on Cadet Stuff at some point to the effect of 'You wanna dance? Well fall in!'

It's a stress inducing environment, but at the end of the day it is also a paramilitary training environment.

I'm only twenty two, but are out teenagers really at the point where a week away from home is 'stressful' enough to require decompression?

[DakRadz]

As I was trying to say in my previous post, no sir, not at all. The planned stress of encampment with activities, marching, etc. etc., that's something which should be taken and dealt with personally- you should know what's coming there.

When a cadet can't breath, hasn't told anyone he needs an inhaler frequently (parents were wrong here as well), and no one can find his PT shorts where he left that inhaler- things like this cause stress many teenagers aren't used to. This kind of stress upsets our SMs as well, so I'm sure that's not supposed to be a part of the "average" encampment.

For that, I enjoy the chance to relax, for a few hours. I think our social was 2 hours long. Before that, we were conducting a normal daily encampment schedule- activities, classroom, meals. After the social was over, we were sent back to our rooms where we were inspected for Honor Cadet/Honor Flight purposes (). Not exactly Easy Street anytime other than at the social.

If someone feels Flt/Sgt Ermey was too hard on him because his bed wasn't made, drink a nice tall glass of Suck It Up^TM. That doesn't require or warrant decompression.

[Daniel]

On the whole 'encampment isnt stress inducing' thing, Yes, Yes,  it is. The only other camp I and many other cadets had been too was church camp which is anything but stress inducing. So that was all I had to go on. I didnt have a second to think at encampment and I didnt have a moment to do anything as the only personal time we had was used as inspection prep.


on the topic of the dance and asking your flight sargeant to dance. Yes, cap isnt a dating service and even at that staff are staff and basics are basics. staff should dance with staff and basics should dance with basics.

oh and Id be the kind of guy to stay in the office and avoid said dance

[Eclipse]

When a cadet can't breath, hasn't told anyone he needs an inhaler frequently (parents were wrong here as well), and no one can find his PT shorts where he left that inhaler- things like this cause stress many teenagers aren't used to. This kind of stress upsets our SMs as well, so I'm sure that's not supposed to be a part of the "average" encampment.

Unless its you, its not your problem, and if adults can't deal with something like the above without experiencing "stress", they need to find someplace else to spend their volunteer time.  We're an ES organization for gosh sake.

Most parents experience 5x's the above trying to get their kids out the door in the AM.

One phone call and borrowed shorts fixes the above.

[Spaceman3750]

When a cadet can't breath, hasn't told anyone he needs an inhaler frequently (parents were wrong here as well), and no one can find his PT shorts where he left that inhaler- things like this cause stress many teenagers aren't used to. This kind of stress upsets our SMs as well, so I'm sure that's not supposed to be a part of the "average" encampment.

One phone call and borrowed shorts fixes the above.

The way I read it, it was the inhaler in the PT shorts that was important...

[DakRadz]

It's my problem when he has an attack in the barracks and I'm nearest to him. We were all in our rooms cleaning up, getting dressed- flight staff had to go to their rooms as well.

It's still somewhat stressful if a cadet is in front of you having an asthma attack and you have no inhaler for him. Even as an adult, I dare say.

The PT shorts were found- the problem was that his only inhaler was in them, so those particular shorts were a teensy bit necessary. (Spaceman got that)

One incident out of a few dozen within my flight that were not planned. Not all health concerns, but still stressful when you're not expecting it.

The staff were professional and reacted quickly with making sure cadets were properly taken care of (a few hospital incidents); I merely meant that I know that was a bit of added stress from talking to the ones I know. As a basic, it's worse. No RST for us. (obviously; I'm talking when something comes up, we haven't been given instructions on how to react).

[boomshtick]

at my basic encampment they didn't believe in relaxation.

here here!