Becoming a member

[EmerMan]

Greetings everyone. I have wanted to join the C.A.P. as a senior member for some time and now can work it in my schedule. There are two squadrons near where I work (making it easy to attend the weekly meetings) and I have emailed them, but no response and its been over a week. I've become a little disheartened and wondering if I should try and contact another squadron that is farther away and hope they are more responsive?

[BraveRifles19D]

Just stop by the squadrons during their meeting night. I would check out both to see which one fit you better.

[EmerMan]

Thank you. I was thinking about doing that, but didn't know if I could just drop in without contacting them first.

[BraveRifles19D]

If they turn away a new member for not calling, you don't want to be there anyway

[Eclipse]

Thank you. I was thinking about doing that, but didn't know if I could just drop in without contacting them first.

You can, but it's a much better idea to talk to someone there first, if for no other reason then
you may arrive to an empty room.

This time of year, smaller squadrons sometimes cancel meetings because cadets are away at encampments
and national activities, or meet in alternative locations to take advantage of the weather and evening light.

The contact information on NHQ's locator is notoriously inaccurate (largely out of their control), and even local websites
are iffy.  If no one at the unit is responding, contact the Wing's Admin at their headquarters and get up to date
contact info for the unit.

[EmerMan]

Thank you. This is really helpful. If I don't hear back tomorrow, I'll contact the wing.

[etodd]

If you're on Facebook, search for the two Squadrons there. You can often (not always) tell a lot about a squadron by what they post. And if they are current, they will post about upcoming meetings.

[EmerMan]

Great idea! I was able to check one of them out (even without a Facebook account) and I see the last post was in early May.  The other was just a few days ago.

[NIN]

You can also PM me. I seem to have a little involvement in recruiting and such, and a fair amount of success if there's a need to rattle some cages or shake some trees...

[OldGuy]

If you're on Facebook, search for the two Squadrons there. You can often (not always) tell a lot about a squadron by what they post. And if they are current, they will post about upcoming meetings.

Depends on the unit, the PAO and the Wing. Some units CCs just hate social media, some PAOs are not taught how to use same and some Wing PAs micromanage to the point the resource is sterilized. I would not judge a unit soley on their SM presence or usage.

[Paul Creed III]

Thank you. I was thinking about doing that, but didn't know if I could just drop in without contacting them first.

You can, but it's a much better idea to talk to someone there first, if for no other reason then
you may arrive to an empty room.

This time of year, smaller squadrons sometimes cancel meetings because cadets are away at encampments
and national activities, or meet in alternative locations to take advantage of the weather and evening light.

The contact information on NHQ's locator is notoriously inaccurate (largely out of their control), and even local websites
are iffy.  If no one at the unit is responding, contact the Wing's Admin at their headquarters and get up to date
contact info for the unit.

Plus, units that meet on DoD installations have various requirements for folks to enter the installation. A newbie arriving without the required local pre-coordination may be turned away at the gate.

[EmerMan]

The two squadrons I tried to contact are not located on bases. Interestingly, I was interested in becoming a member 20 years ago, I contacted one of these units by phone (not a lot of internet presence back then) and visited during one of their meetings. Now the reception is non-existent (at least for me). I'm determined, so I'll keep trying.

[EmerMan]

You can also PM me. I seem to have a little involvement in recruiting and such, and a fair amount of success if there's a need to rattle some cages or shake some trees...

Thank you, NIN. I really appreciate the offer to help and I'll send you a PM.