"If you go to church, then you can go to the CAP meeting"

Started by RiseAbove, February 25, 2008, 08:30:32 PM

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RiseAbove

Major Lord,

You are probably right, I would be there mostly to keep my Mom company and to keep her mind at rest.

Question though, how would I go about getting into the ES specialization, would I talk to the Squadron Commander or the ES Officer or the Cadet Commander, and would I have to take courses at the squadron level or wing level?

Thank you all very much,
Zach Tucker
C/Tucker
Goddard Cadet Squadron
NER-MA-007

Major Lord

Zach,

I would find the person in your Squadron most active an interested in ES. The entry level "course" to Emergency Services is an online presentation and test called General Emergency Services. It is not hard, not particularly relevant to what you will be doing, but allows you to sign on to real world missions and excercises. Many Cadets never get that far!

Although cadets can fly in CAP, they don't fly in Aircraft on missions. You will be involved in Ground teams. (and in all fairness, no CAP ground team has ever fallen out of the sky and burst into flames on impact) You would initially start training in "UDF" or Urban Direction Finding. This trainee status allows you to go out on ground team missions that don''t require extensive off-road work. This is good, because the vast majortity of our current ELT missions are not wilderness environments, and working in the city, open country, and airports helps you develop good RDF, (Radio Direction Finding) Investigative, and Public relations skills you will need to advance to the more challenging, and less frequent lost-airplane-in-the-woods scenarios.

Within the ES field, there are many other areas for training and specialization. CAP has a number of National Activities for Cadets interested in more extensive outdoor skills. I am currently involved with a CAP School in California called the Cadet Survival School, which would be the kind of thing that Cadets interested in remaing alive should, in my humble opinion, participate in. Cadets work as radio operators, ground team members, base personnel, and a wide variety of tasks in both actual missions and training, or SAREX's (Search and Rescue Exercises)

I am sure you will like it. Most cadets that have helped save lives, recovered the bodies of pilots family members, and even helped close out a mission in any way to give "closure" find that it beats the heck out of tying sticks together in Boy Scouts or smoking dope and playing with their Play Stations....

Best regards

Major Lord
CD-S, EMT, GTL, etc.
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

RogueLeader

To get into ES, you'll have to access E-Services, which is www.capnhq.gov .  You will have to register.  Once you get registered, you will have to take a couple of tests.  They are not particularly hard, but they do require some reading .  The test is CAPT 116.  You will find them under Online Exams of the right side of your screen from the main page of E-Services.  Talking to your commanders is an excellent way to go.  Also, in order to get involved in ES, you need to prove that you are mature enough, as well as having the grades in school to do it- school comes first.

From the way it seems, you seem to be mature enough BUT that is the Commanders and/or the ES Officers discretion.  No using an unknown person giving you the go-ahead ;) 

Best of luck.

As a personal note, I'd tell a young person what I believe, and why I believe it.  I would never tell anyone that they have to believe it themselves.  Just know that you are always being cared for.  Being a teenager can be pretty rough, don't think that it is any easier being a parent.  keep up he good attitude, it will carry you far.
WYWG DP

GRW 3340

SJFedor

Quote from: Major Lord on February 28, 2008, 02:42:12 AM
Go have fun! Take O-rides, go to activities, promote every 60 days, and run ES missions ( My son ditched his 8th grade graduation to go run a real mission with me-good times!)

You're a true CAP member when you can say "Eh, graduation is overrated, let's go chase ELTs!"

Steven Fedor, NREMT-P
Master Ambulance Driver
Former Capt, MP, MCPE, MO, MS, GTL, and various other 3-and-4 letter combinations
NESA MAS Instructor, 2008-2010 (#479)

♠SARKID♠

Quote from: SJFedor on February 28, 2008, 08:02:22 AM
Quote from: Major Lord on February 28, 2008, 02:42:12 AM
Go have fun! Take O-rides, go to activities, promote every 60 days, and run ES missions ( My son ditched his 8th grade graduation to go run a real mission with me-good times!)

You're a true CAP member when you can say "Eh, graduation is overrated, let's go chase ELTs!"

I did it with Christmas this year  :D

floridacyclist

We had a whole bunch of Hawk Mountain staffers skip Christmas and come down to Florida to help start a school here. Funny thing is, they were expecting sunshine and beaches in Miami....what they got was 40-deg and rain all week. Even the kids from PA were griping about the cold and miserable weather.
Gene Floyd, Capt CAP
Wearer of many hats, master of none (but senior-rated in two)
www.tallahasseecap.org
www.rideforfatherhood.org

JohnKachenmeister

Quote from: floridacyclist on February 28, 2008, 01:35:34 PM
We had a whole bunch of Hawk Mountain staffers skip Christmas and come down to Florida to help start a school here. Funny thing is, they were expecting sunshine and beaches in Miami....what they got was 40-deg and rain all week. Even the kids from PA were griping about the cold and miserable weather.

Gene:

Cadets CAN fly on missions.  They just have to be 18 years old.  One of our 19-year old C/2Lt's starts Scanner training in March.

Another former CAP officer

floridacyclist

Quote from: JohnKachenmeister on February 28, 2008, 01:41:34 PM
Quote from: floridacyclist on February 28, 2008, 01:35:34 PM
We had a whole bunch of Hawk Mountain staffers skip Christmas and come down to Florida to help start a school here. Funny thing is, they were expecting sunshine and beaches in Miami....what they got was 40-deg and rain all week. Even the kids from PA were griping about the cold and miserable weather.
Gene:

Cadets CAN fly on missions.  They just have to be 18 years old.  One of our 19-year old C/2Lt's starts Scanner training in March.

You just totally lost me.

Not sure how we got here, but my 18yo son has his SQTR for Scanner and GTL already partially filled out. Am sure he'll knock those out fairly quickly once he finishes Jump School. Looking forward to seing someone actually train as an LSC as I could have used a good one a couple of times; he already has CUL and ICS 300 and 400 and that is really close to his MOS (92G), so that won't take long either.
Gene Floyd, Capt CAP
Wearer of many hats, master of none (but senior-rated in two)
www.tallahasseecap.org
www.rideforfatherhood.org

jeders

Quote from: floridacyclist on February 28, 2008, 01:49:02 PM
Quote from: JohnKachenmeister on February 28, 2008, 01:41:34 PM
Quote from: floridacyclist on February 28, 2008, 01:35:34 PM
We had a whole bunch of Hawk Mountain staffers skip Christmas and come down to Florida to help start a school here. Funny thing is, they were expecting sunshine and beaches in Miami....what they got was 40-deg and rain all week. Even the kids from PA were griping about the cold and miserable weather.
Gene:

Cadets CAN fly on missions.  They just have to be 18 years old.  One of our 19-year old C/2Lt's starts Scanner training in March.

You just totally lost me.

Not sure how we got here, but my 18yo son has his SQTR for Scanner and GTL already partially filled out. Am sure he'll knock those out fairly quickly once he finishes Jump School. Looking forward to seing someone actually train as an LSC as I could have used a good one a couple of times; he already has CUL and ICS 300 and 400 and that is really close to his MOS (92G), so that won't take long either.

Kach, I think you meant to make that response to Major Lord's earlier post about cadets not flying on missions.
If you are confident in you abilities and experience, whether someone else is impressed is irrelevant. - Eclipse

JohnKachenmeister

Another former CAP officer

RiseAbove

It reflects very well on CAP and this community when so many people take the time to write such well though-out and informative answers.

I still have to fill out a membership application, but as soon as I do and receive my CAPID from NHQ, I'm definetly going to start looking into ES thanks to all your help. 

Again, Thank you very much
C/Tucker
Goddard Cadet Squadron
NER-MA-007

Hawk200

Quote from: Major Lord on February 28, 2008, 02:42:12 AM
( My son ditched his 8th grade graduation to go run a real mission with me-good times!)

That's just cool. Too bad there aren't as many other parents out there doing the same thing with their kids.

Major Lord

FYI, That boy of mine is now a Loadmaster on a C-5, a former Spaatz cadet, and a CAP squadron commander. I am confident that RiseAbove can accomplish great things with CAP too.

Major Lord
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Hawk200

Quote from: Major Lord on February 28, 2008, 08:56:35 PM
FYI, That boy of mine is now a Loadmaster on a C-5, a former Spaatz cadet, and a CAP squadron commander. I am confident that RiseAbove can accomplish great things with CAP too.

Major Lord

Lucky kid to make loadmaster, with good parental examples. Had the latter, no luck on the former. Every time I tried for loadmaster, it got squashed. The Air Force didn't cooperate, but the Army finally gave me some wings. Then again, a C-5 can't hover  ;D.

Hope your boy continues to do well. You apparently prepared him well for whatever life presents.

SJFedor

Quote from: Hawk200 on February 29, 2008, 08:15:52 PM
Quote from: Major Lord on February 28, 2008, 08:56:35 PM
FYI, That boy of mine is now a Loadmaster on a C-5, a former Spaatz cadet, and a CAP squadron commander. I am confident that RiseAbove can accomplish great things with CAP too.

Major Lord

Lucky kid to make loadmaster, with good parental examples. Had the latter, no luck on the former. Every time I tried for loadmaster, it got squashed. The Air Force didn't cooperate, but the Army finally gave me some wings. Then again, a C-5 can't hover  ;D.

Hope your boy continues to do well. You apparently prepared him well for whatever life presents.

I'm sure I could get it to hover. Just not for very long.....

Steven Fedor, NREMT-P
Master Ambulance Driver
Former Capt, MP, MCPE, MO, MS, GTL, and various other 3-and-4 letter combinations
NESA MAS Instructor, 2008-2010 (#479)

Hawk200

Quote from: SJFedor on March 01, 2008, 06:12:03 AM
I'm sure I could get it to hover. Just not for very long.....

Helicopter can do it as long as we have fuel. And crosswinds are never an issue for us. 8)

JohnKachenmeister

Quote from: Hawk200 on March 01, 2008, 06:32:37 AM
Quote from: SJFedor on March 01, 2008, 06:12:03 AM
I'm sure I could get it to hover. Just not for very long.....

Helicopter can do it as long as we have fuel. And crosswinds are never an issue for us. 8)

But helicopters don't actually fly.  They are so ugly that the earth rejects them.
Another former CAP officer

MIKE

Mike Johnston

flyguy06

Quote from: dwb on February 25, 2008, 08:38:17 PM
Maybe she could talk to the adult leaders at your local CAP unit...?

Although service is obviously important in CAP (it's one of our core values), it doesn't necessarily follow that cadets will join a military service.  The CAP cadet program isn't really like the Air Force at all.  Sure, we wear the same uniforms and there are some common moral themes, but it's definitely not an indoctrination of any kind.

Also, speaking of morals, mentioning the character development requirements, and having your mom talk to the adult(s) that lead the character development sessions in the unit, may help reassure her.

As a last ditch effort, you can always just tell her you'll pick up the $31 membership fee and to give it a year to see what she thinks.

I beg to differ. I think it depends on the CAP Sqaudron you are in. My squadron is very militery

Major Carrales

I find that CAP works best when everyone who is their wants to be their and is motivated to go by their passionate love for what CAP does.

Cadets who are forced to attend or seniors who are unhappy with certain things and who attend meeting because a Squadron Commander has begged them; often times have a difficult time of it.

It is our duty to make CAP meetings enjoyable.  I try to insure there is meaningful training and other items of interest going on.  It is not always easy, but our retention numbers will improve when we do such.
"We have been given the power to change CAP, let's keep the momentum going!"

Major Joe Ely "Sparky" Carrales, CAP
Commander
Coastal Bend Cadet Squadron
SWR-TX-454