Cadet Programs COVID-19 Update, April 2021

[jeders]

For those who haven't seen it, here is a video from the National Cadet Programs Team that goes over some of the changes and reiterations of the COVID-19 policy for multi-day and overnight activities. https://vimeo.com/539678165/109e6fe495

TLDW:
NCSA directors choose if they want to maintain encampment requirement or not for this year. Some activities still have openings.

National activities have to make go/no-go decision 50 days out, announce 45 days out. Local activities (i.e. encampment) make go/no-go decision 20 days out, announce 15 days out.

Multi-day non-overnight activities can happen in Phase 2.

Overnight activities still need to be in Phase 3 or have an approved phase 3 plan prior to start date; if wing is not in Phase 3, can request exemption if the activity site meets Phase 3 requirements. Currently 38 planned encampments for summer 2021.

Vaccinations may not be required to attend unless required by host facility.

Participants from out of wing can only attend if home wing is in the same or higher phase, though there are exemptions for vaccinating/quarantining.

[Jester]

Finally, progress.

Any idea how this will work in eServices? I think that it won't even let you submit an application unless you have encampment credit, correct?

[TheSkyHornet]

Any idea how this will work in eServices? I think that it won't even let you submit an application unless you have encampment credit, correct?

I don't believe the system locks you out if you don't have the Encampment credit. I think it just appears as a "No" on the application.

[Eclipse]

if wing is not in Phase 3, can request exemption if the activity site meets Phase 3 requirements.

This is a huge mistake and where the problems will lie.

This should not be a local decision unless the only people allowed are also local to that specific county, etc., which we all know is not possible for any activity of scale.

My state, as many others, has had wild swings of infections - right now the major population centers
are starting to cool off, but mid-state it's still bad, and "cooling off" doesn't mean "OK" by any means,
especially with kids heading home from college and everyone having "get-out-itis".

It only takes one person to infect the whole place, and even those vaccinated can be infected and
become carriers, it just means you're less likely to need hospitalization.

Also, I don't understand why if there's a 50-day Phase III lead, there's still a 20-day go / no-go.
If you're not PIII -50 from Day one, you're done.  What's going to happen in another 30 days that changes that unless you move the date, in which case it's -50 from the new date.

What will be real interesting is to see is what happens when a wing falls back from a phase inside those 50 days.
There's no way that's not going to happen somewhere.  We know what should happen, what will happen may be different.

As to 38 encampments, well, that number is already outdated as at least two of them have busted their -50 date, and more will start falling off this week and next, with May being the bloodiest month in terms of cancelling or moving activities.

Anyone who has been involved in a large scale activity knows moving them is non-trivial, and they can't all be the same month in August.

It'll another Summer of wasted time, money and death by a thousand cuts.

[Jester]

Maybe yes, maybe no; but I'm going to just follow the idea that if an organization as terrified of liability as CAP has put it out, it's good to go.  I'll follow that policy and trust but verify that others are to the best of my ability.  And in the end, I'm going to do my best to get cadets back to doing CAP stuff.

We're bleeding to death here and we have to get up to pace with all the competition that has figured out how to function in this situation while we think we can keep Zooming our way through.

The 2nd and 3rd order effects of this are going to take years to work out and the longer we dilly-dally, the more severe the damage (and recovery efforts required) are going to be.