Leave of Absence for Cadets

[jimmydeanno]

Of course I would grant a cadet a "leave of absence" should they choose to participate in a sport.  What does it matter.  If they are gone for a month or two, they aren't going to be completing whatever the promotion requirements are, etc.  The worst that happens is that they don't accomplish any CAP stuff for a month or two.  You aren't promoting them or anything during the period.

You could even look at it from our Cadet Physical Fitness Program perspective.  "The goal of this program is to promote a lifelong habit of fitness and exercise."  I would argue that a cadet playing school sports is indeed living up to that programs goals. 

Heck, that one or two months of the cadet working on an organized team, might actually bring back a more team oriented cadet who has some outside leadership influence.  It might possibly be a positive thing for your unit.

YMMV.

[DNall]

^ I was just going to say... football season. No problems with that kind of thing.

[notaNCO forever]

 I don't see any reason to not give a cadet a LOA. If you don't they'll just quit if what they want is more important then CAP to them.

[DNall]

Why would CAP ever want to block a kid from participating in sports or similar activities. CAP should not be all consuming, particularly for kids. I do believe in the mandatory progression standards, but that's really more in terms of two things: 1) not hanging out at CMSgt for years; and, 2) not doing ES or whatever else to the exclusion of the cadet program.

The point of the cadet program is to progress thru it & the different levels of learning that occur at each stage. It's a process of maturing & learning. You don't put that process on hold to do secondary fun stuff (like ES or NCSAs), not any more than putting a brick on a kids head will stop them from growing up on you. They need to maintain focus & drive on. If they're failing to do that, then we have tools within the rules structure to kick them in the butt & get them moving up or threatened with out.

[Flying Pig]

How many times have I heard about the "well rounded" cadet.   Oh, unless that well roundedness comes from something other than CAP.

Sorry guys.  If a cadet comes to my unit, and in also involved in outside activities other than CAP, they have my support.  They may never be the Cadet Comm, or A Spaatz cadet, but they will be able to enjoy and progress in the program as they are able. 

Sports is a valuable piece of life in High School.  I say go for it.

[DC]

There is no reason a cadet should be denied CAP membership because they want to participate in school sports, that should be encouraged. There needs to be a balance, cadets in my squadron have needed to miss meetings for sports, but have come to activities, or have been given permission to come to meetings later in the evening. Some of these cadets have been quite successful, two of them have gone on to earn their Earharts. It can be done if the cadet is motivated, and the squadron is willing to work with them.

We should never push away a good cadet because they want to do more extra curricular activities beyond CAP. There needs to be a balance, I would be opposed to a cadet that only wanted to come to meetings six months out of the year, but it would depend on the cadet.

If a good cadet approached me an asked for a leave of absence for a few months, and had good justification for it (sports, family issues, etc) I would not have an issue with it.