First time TAC - advice?

[JoeTomasone]

In a few short days, I'll be heading to my first TAC assignment at an Ecampment.   This will be my first Encampment  since my "Class A" as a cadet in 1983 and my first TAC assignment ever.

I'd be grateful for any advice that anyone may have to offer.   I did find this excellent thread (http://captalk.net/index.php?topic=252.0) which pointed out a lot of things that a TAC might want to have handy that were learned by experience; what else has your experience as a TAC officer taught you that you can impart?

Thanks...    - Joe

[Stonewall]

Cadets are cadets, and they have hormones.  I'm not saying you'll be chasing cadets around full-time, especially if command and control is in tact, but the moment you get tired, take a nap or call it a night at 21:00, your flight will running night ops to steal guidons, flirt with members of the opposite sex, or playing practical jokes.

But like I said, if there is good command and control, this shouldn't be an issue.  The moment you let down your guard, they'll take advantage of it.  I'd be disappointed if they didn't.

[JoeTomasone]

Hmm, that may be where my wireless webcams, night vision, lasers, and X-10 alarm system comes in.

Looks like I need another gear bag. 

[IceNine]

2 ears, 2 eyes, one mouth...

Take in everything that you can.  You are in the rare position in CAP of having <almost> no responsibility, take advantage of that as much as possible.  And be evaluating what you'd like to do in the future.

[JoeTomasone]

You are in the rare position in CAP of having <almost> no responsibility, take advantage of that as much as possible.  And be evaluating what you'd like to do in the future.

Well, almost.  I'm ADY as a TAC from my Comms Officer position. 

But I get the point.   

[Pylon]

Take a moment at the end of each day, once the "basic cadets" have gone to bed to sit down with your cadet flight staff and see how their day went.  Let them decompress on you a little bit, share their frustrations, get excited about their successes, etc.  

Point out any successes you noticed and congratulate them -- some uplifting and encouraging will help them overcome the inevitable hurdles.

Remember you're not in charge of them, but you can still impart valuable advice.  Though I'd recommend to try to not always be offering advice every minute of the day.  

[RickFranz]

Just remind yourself that this too will pass. 

Really take some time to have some fun with the job.  At least try and get to know your flight commander and flight Sgt.

[JoeTomasone]

At least try and get to know your flight commander and flight Sgt.

That's almost a given -- depending on which flight I am assigned to.  I know either the Commander or Sergeant of 6 of the 9 flights.   

[IceNine]

^ If I were you I would specifically request assignment to a flight that you don't know the staff.

"Too familiar syndrome" (TFS) will set in almost certainly, and that leads to problems all of its own.

[arajca]

One of the hardest things to do is step back. Let the cadets figure out the challanges - unless they ask for help and ae REALLY stuck. I've seen some TAC's hovering over the cadets "advising" them on how to meet a challange.

[JoeTomasone]

^ If I were you I would specifically request assignment to a flight that you don't know the staff.

"Too familiar syndrome" (TFS) will set in almost certainly, and that leads to problems all of its own.

Well, to clarify; I am assigned to Group HQ - so my Cadet interaction is normally quite limited.   However, there are Cadets that I know from previous activities -- I'd say we know enough about each other in most cases to know reasonably what to expect from each other.

[ol'fido]

Remember TAC means Teach...Advise...Counsel. Don't sit back and be a totem pole but don't jump in to every situation with a "This is the way you should be doing it..... attitude. Sometimes it's better to let the flight staff screw the pooch a couple of times so that they learn 1. How not to do something and 2. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you really don't know the answer. If you do help out, use leading questions to get them to try and figure it out before you have to just tell them. And if you don't know, tell them that too.

Don't jump the chain of command. If you see something that is wrong and doesn't involve health, safety, CPPT, etc., wait until the staff meeting and let the Chief TAC or Commandant know about it. Also, the only time you should step in immediately is if it is a health, safety, or CPPT issue.

[Timbo]

Don't jump the chain of command. If you see something that is wrong and doesn't involve health, safety, CPPT, etc., wait until the staff meeting and let the Chief TAC or Commandant know about it.

What "something wrong" issues warrant getting involved and which ones do not??  What chain of command are you saying not to jump??  The Cadet or Senior Member Chain of Command?!?!

[ol'fido]

When I say something "wrong" I mean something that in your experience is being done incorrectly. For instance, you see a flight sergeant dress down a basic cadet because they don't do the "fall out dance" or don't do it the way the flight sergeant wants it done. Now according to the drill manual there is no such animal as a "fall out dance". Note that down and bring it up at the staff meeting to the CoC or Chief TAC. They may tell you they will correct it or that they know about it and they let the cadet staff come up with a "dance" to build esprit de corps. I can't really give you specific instances because every TAC runs into different situations. And when I say don't jump the chain of command, I am referring to the cadet chain. Just use good judgement and don't leap before you look.

[SaBeR33]

One of the hardest things to do is step back. Let the cadets figure out the challanges - unless they ask for help and ae REALLY stuck. I've seen some TAC's hovering over the cadets "advising" them on how to meet a challange.

+1.

Too many seniors (especially former cadets and servicemembers--I was both) try to take over their respective flights which causes some serious animosity by the cadet staff toward their seniors and the idea of becoming seniors themselves someday. Stand back, observe, offer advice when requested, and provide feedback in private. This is what I lived by during the three times I've served as a TAC-O and it worked quite well. Oh, and try to work it out with the cadets' command staff to allow your staff some time to simply go back to the barracks and do nothing but relax while their cadets are attending briefings. This can be done during times when the entire staff doesn't have to be there, but make sure they know this downtime is a privilege and not a right. Tired and cranky cadet staffs can become very problematic, so they need their downtime too to keep them going.

[Hawk200]

I think that the best time I had as a TAC was my first encampment. The cadet flight officer (yes, it's been that long) in charge of the element was a pretty straightforward guy, and for the most part I let him handle his team. I intended to only step in if there was a safety or unfairness issue, but I don't recall ever having to do so.

At times he would ask my opinion on what he should do, most of the time I would ask him what he had in mind. Of the three times he asked, I only told him once that he should try something different. Other than that, I let him lead.

For the most part, I was just his van driver. Even that was organized. He knew that I didn't want any body moving out of that van until it was in "Park", and I would let him know when it was. We didn't take top honors or anything, but I think the group was pretty efficient. I wouldn't have any issues with all of them on a ground team, or even running a mission (when they got the experience, of course).  I enjoyed it, it felt like a working vacation to me.