Acceptable Encampment Identifiers

[Jolt]

The purpose of this topic is to find some way of visually differentiating staff cadets and basic cadets at encampments.  Obviously everyone here has an aversion to baseball hats with grade insignia, shoulder cords look ridiculous on BDUs, and colored cloth behind grade insignia doesn't look right either.

What else is there?  I'm looking for a relatively inexpensive way of differentiating between staff cadets and basic cadets at encampment this year.  Last year, we didn't use any indicators, but that encampment consisted of three flights and eight senior members, so we all knew each other very well right from the start.  I don't think the same system would work for a much larger encampment.

Any suggestions?

[RickFranz]

Joe

I have been to several encampments where each flight had a different color ball cap and the staff, Cadets and Seniors wore black ball caps.  All the caps had the regular CAP seal on them, so you had something to take back home.

Rick Franz

[jeders]

When I did my basic encampment when didn't have any silly looking visual identifiers, and this was an encampment with 10 or 11 full flights.

The basics knew who their staff was and the flight staff knew their basics. All the staff knew the other staff. Simple, cheap, effective.

[CAP Producer]

When I did my basic encampment when didn't have any silly looking visual identifiers, and this was an encampment with 10 or 11 full flights.

The basics knew who their staff was and the flight staff knew their basics. All the staff knew the other staff. Simple, cheap, effective.

I could not agree more.

[Jolt]

I'm familiar with the system because we used it at the last encampment I went to, however I question how well it will work on a large scale.

Next year's encampment will likely include several senior members who cannot commit to the entire week, so I think it would be good for everyone to have a quick visual system without having to learn the names of every cadet staff member and the flights of every basic cadet.  We are talking about young cadet staffers, so it wouldn't be much of a surprise if a flight commander wasn't outwardly showing that he was in charge of a flight at all times.

I  created this topic because I wanted to see if there were any other methods I haven't seen before that I could suggest up the chain of command.

[DC]

I have seen T-Shirt color restricted with BDUs, staff wear black and basics wear tan.

When I was a basic the staff wore color coded baseball caps differentiating the various levels of staff, flight level, SQ level, exec, support, etc.

You can also go with something simple, like hats with "STAFF" on the front, I have seen that done too.

[Slim]

We always use colored baseball caps for the staff.  Each squadron is a different color, with the squadron or flight designation screened in white.  For example, squadron one is blue, squadron 2 is red, squadron three is dark green.  Cadet command staff wears black.  Basics/first timers/flight members wear standard BDU hats, no squadron specific hats allowed.

We get them for under $5 each, including the printing.  They don't need to be really fancy hats, as they're usually quite trashed by the end of the week, and the thing to do here is get all of the other staff members (senior and cadet) to sign your hat at the end of the week.

Our senior staff, including TAC officers all wear a black hat with an embroidered GLR logo.  We get those for $10 each, including the embroidery, and these things last forever if taken care of.

We usually average flight size of 17 cadets (15 basics), and 9 flights organized into three squadrons.  As long as you know which color=which squadron, you're good to go.

[SarDragon]

I spent three and a half days at Slim's encampment this year, and as an out of state stranger, I had no problems distinguishing staff members from the rest of the pack. I even got one of my very own hats to wear and bring home. 

[RickFranz]

"The purpose of this topic is to find some way of visually differentiating staff cadets and basic cadets at encampments."

Just a reminder, this very thing is done at all the basic training for the Air Force and Army.  The Smokey bear hat is the visual differentiating device for basics and staff.

[BillB]

Years ago it was very easy to tell staff from badics. Basics did NOT wear grade insignia, where staff did. Of course that's prohibited by 52-16 now. But it made things simplier. The basic reason for basics to remove grade insignia was to make all basics equal. As it is no you can have a Flight Sgt whose earned grade is C/TSgt with C/CMsgt's in the flight. The no grade insignia equalized the difference. I've seen where a higher grade cadet in a Flight that was not on staff, try to over ride the cadet staff of a lesser grade.

[notaNCO forever]

 My state has a different color hat for each flight and black hats for all the staff except flight sergeants who wear the same color hats as their flight. It works decent except for the flight sergeants.

[MIKE]

Besides the Organizational Baseball Caps, CAPM 39-1 Table 1-3. covers it.

MAWG has worn scarves/ascots at all the encampments I attended.

[hatentx]

As I sit here at lunch reading the forum I noticed one the the NCO Academy cadre walk by.  They actually wear the DUI on a small leather strip that attaches to the uniform.  Possible this with the Cap crest.  Google 3rd Corps NCO   Academy and there should be a picture of what I am talking about.

Or I am remimbering now I have had instructors wear a specialty patch which was cliped onto the uniform similiar a flightline badge.  Maybe this being an option as well.  Hats I think are way to easy on this idea though.

[dwb]

NYWG has colored baseball caps, with the person's staff area in white lettering (except med, theirs is red lettering).

Blue: senior and cadet command staff
Maroon: commandant, training, stan/eval
Red: squadron and flight commanders
Grey: support staff (public affairs, admin, logistics, etc.)
Black: chaplain / moral leadership
Yellow: TAC officers
Green: flight sergants, first sergeant, and NCOs on the support staff
White: medical staff

It's worked for us for a lot of years, although I understand not everyone approves.

[davidsinn]

I'm reminded of an AFblues comic:

[Larry Mangum]

Washington uses hats to distinguish staff from basics, usually black for the cadet staff, and a different color for senior staff. Cadet basics and flight Sargent's, wear a felt flash pinned under their cap cutouts that match the flight colors. Alpha flight might wear blue, and Bravo green.  Cadet staff at the squadron level wear the colors of both of their flights.

[MIKE]

Cadet basics and flight Sargent's, wear a felt flash pinned under their cap cutouts that match the flight colors. Alpha flight might wear blue, and Bravo green.  Cadet staff at the squadron level wear the colors of both of their flights.

This would be an unacceptable modification as it has no basis in CAPM 39-1 Table 1-3.

[ol'fido]

Illinois has used green shoulder cords for all cadet staff at times in the past. Lately it has been brown t-shirts for basics, yellow for ATS, red for comm school, and black for staff. Another suggestion might be black pistol belts for staff.

[MIKE]

Non standard t-shirt colors are another no go.  See above.

[Eclipse]

Illinois has used green shoulder cords for all cadet staff at times in the past. Lately it has been brown t-shirts for basics, yellow for ATS, red for comm school, and black for staff. Another suggestion might be black pistol belts for staff.

To be clear, that is only done at one of its two encampments, and while you will potentially find authorization for multi-color baseball hats in 39-1, there is no allowance for a rainbow of t-shirts.  Spring did use red ball caps only for TAC officers for a very specific reason, and that's as far as it will ever go as long as I have any say about it.

In my opinion their is no need for identifiers between cadet staff and basics.