Hours per year for CAP

[coudano]

I just listed the stuff I can think of, and reviewing my calendar (where much of it is still listed)
I came up with 638

That's about 200 for meetings, like you said
About another 200 for vfws (similar in time to an encampment, counted prep and post time)
The rest are piecemeal squadron activities, sarexes, trainings, actual missions (including a pres DR)

This does not count time spent 'thinking' or developing plans, or curriculum, or doing administrative work or inputting cadets stuff into cadet promotions on e-services.  I couldn't even start to guesstimate that.
Nor time on captalk or cadetstuff...  oy...

Total hours in 1 year = 8760 (24x365)
CAP = 638 (7.2%)
40 hours x 50 weeks at work (day job)(yeah right) = 2000 hours (22.8%)
Commuting to/from work  >:-z  (1 hour a day) = 250 (2.8%)
Sleep 7 hours x 365 days = 2555 hours (29.1%)
National Guard (Drill + Annual Training + 2009 Various TDY) = 1228 (14%)
Church & Church Activities = 100 (about)  (1%)

That's 76.9% of my life.  I guess I counted some of that sleep time twice...
Where does the other 23.1+% go???  hehh, family, probably tv, trips, working around the house, consulting/side work, projects and hobbies.  Little to zero 'down' or 'unused' time whatsoever, by the time it's all said and done.

I consider that to be a 'reasonable' distribution and prioritization...  at least, for me.

[Eclipse]

Gents - topic.

Also, the last thing I wanted to do was start challenging people on what they did or didn't do, but seriously, 750 hours on one activity?

This is "walked out the door and did a CAP thing away from home", just to get apples/apples, and give people an idea of what the more engaged members are doing, not every minute thinking about 1 activity.  That, as I mentioned, is unquantifiable.

[Rotorhead]

But for an accurate count, you'd have to ask my wife - I think she kept a pretty good count. 

Yeah, you'd have to ask my ex-wife..

Ditto.

[PA Guy]

Between encampment, NCSA, conferences etc. I spent >30 nights away from home in 2009.

[Rotorhead]

Also, the last thing I wanted to do was start challenging people on what they did or didn't do, but seriously, 750 hours on one activity?

No, but inevitably what you did get was I-spent-more-time-on-CAP-than-you posts.

I don't keep track of my hours. No point.

[DG]

I don't keep track of my hours. No point.

The USCG AUX makes it a primary part of the program to keep track of hours and report them once a month.

To show the good work being done.

Yes, it involves mucho data collection and management.  But the hard data is very impressive.

[EMT-83]

... as in, lasted year I spend 26.2 hours documenting my hours?

[MIKE]

I don't keep track of my hours. No point.

The USCG AUX makes it a primary part of the program to keep track of hours and report them once a month.

To show the good work being done.

Yes, it involves mucho data collection and management.  But the hard data is very impressive.

I suppose it also helps that you get a ribbon/mini medal for 750 hours or attachments thereafter. 

[Eclipse]

... as in, lasted year I spend 26.2 hours documenting my hours?

If it takes you longer than a few minutes at a time to update your "log", whatever that means, you're doing it wrong.
Pilots do it every time they fly. Sure catching up 10 years of activity will take a bit of work, but once it's done, it's done.

Numbers mean things - whether its substantiating your tax deductions, adding to a promotion or decoration narrative, or just having a baseline understanding of the reality of a given activity vs. mental credit for what you think you are doing, one of the reasons people are afraid of numbers if because they don't lie.

[RiverAux]

CG Aux members do have to fill out and submit forms for each individual mission (though some general admin tasks can be lumped together for a month), so its slightly more complicated than that.  For most members its no big deal, however, it can sometimes take quite a bit of time doing the paperwork associated with some missions (reporting on navigation aids seems to require a lot of time). 

Personally, though I'm fairly active, it doesn't take me more than an hour a year of form-filling since my missions aren't as paperwork intensive. 

[RiverAux]

Incidentally, I think one of the reasons that CAP Chaplains sometimes get relatively more "credit" than other members is that they keep track of all the time and money they spend on Chaplain activities.  This gives them a lot of ammo to argue about the value of this program.  The rest of CAP should follow their (and CG Aux's) example in tracking such things.  Combines that with various ways of measuring the value of donated volunteer time and we would be able to blow away folks with how much bang the AF is getting for the small amount spent on CAP. 

[Eclipse]

No manager can make a good decision without good information - knowing what a given activity "costs", whether its "hard" costs or "soft" costs is critical the process, and its also basic ORM.

Perhaps the constant flow "unfunded mandates" would slow if the real costs were known and articulated.

[Capt Rivera]

so what does your log look like?

[Eclipse]

Colors indicate some missing information, etc.

I noticed just now that I gave myself 09 credit for 10 stuff in my number in the original post.

I'm also probably going to add a miles and cost column for times when I have that info. I track tax mileage elsewhere, but it should be here, too.  These docs are viewable and editable on my G1, so entry in real time is easy.

Long live the GoogleSphere!

[sdcapmx]

I actually started to keep track at the beginning of this year but was starting to get freaked out about it and quit.  I am very confident that as Wing DO I am way, way over the 1,000 hour mark.  Probably closer to 1,500 to 2,000.

[Pingree1492]

Wow... I whipped up a quick spreadsheet, and I certainly spend more time on CAP that I thought I did!  About 1,650 spent on CAP last year.

That's broken down into ~750 hours spent actually at activities, ~210 hours spent planning for those activities, ~175 hours spent on weekly meetings, ~60 hours spent on Drill Team (I think I'm underestimating here...), and ~450 hours spent on "misc admin"- reading/answering email, tracking cadet status, staying current with knowledge, etc. etc. (about 8 hours a week- sometimes it's a lot more, sometimes a lot less, felt 8 was a good compromise).

[SarDragon]

Does time on CadetStuff and CAP Talk count, too? 

[DrDave]

I strongly recommend everyone consider participating with the President's Volunteer Service Award program.  Here's their website:

http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/

That's where you get credit and awards for all of your volunteer service.

Counting all my volunteer activities (CAP, Boy Scouts, Mentoring medical students, etc) I'm currently at 5,503.70 hours since 2005.

Dr. Dave

[Rotorhead]

I don't keep track of my hours. No point.

The USCG AUX makes it a primary part of the program to keep track of hours and report them once a month.

To show the good work being done.

Yes, it involves mucho data collection and management.  But the hard data is very impressive.

I'm not a member of the USCG AUX.

And if my CO can't tell my work without showing him a log, then I'm not doing it very well.

[Eclipse]

I strongly recommend everyone consider participating with the President's Volunteer Service Award program.  Here's their website:

http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/

That's where you get credit and awards for all of your volunteer service.

Counting all my volunteer activities (CAP, Boy Scouts, Mentoring medical students, etc) I'm currently at 5,503.70 hours since 2005.

Dr. Dave

Why?

My wing got all charged up about the PVSA a couple years ago, to the point of directing all the commanders to create reports of
hours and send them up so they could be consolidated into a big ceremony at the wing conference and presented before God and country...

...

...until it was pointed out it would cost the wing over $5000 just to present a certificate and a pin, and some members would qualify for several pins during the initial round.

I'm not knocking people who went after them, I just don't see the value in an award you self-substantiate and have to buy yourself.