Creed for Ground Teams

[RADIOMAN015]

CAP ground team utilization will vary greatly from wing to wing, depending upon local, county, & state policy/laws on the use of teenagers.

I've observed that cadets are very motivated in this training program (which includes classroom as well as demonstration in field of concepts learned), of course the length of knives, how may knives, etc, does get down to what the senior member in charge is comfortable with the cadets carrying.   

I know in our wing, I would consider CAP ground team training as primarily a "cadet retention tool" with very little chance of actual deployment.    However, lets face it in training we (or cadets) get may not be of immediate use BUT even 5, 10+ years later we may find ourselves in a situation where that past training may very well save us.
RM

     

[Stonewall]

I know in our wing, I would consider CAP ground team training as primarily a "cadet retention tool" with very little chance of actual deployment.    However, lets face it in training we (or cadets) get may not be of immediate use BUT even 5, 10+ years later we may find ourselves in a situation where that past training may very well save us.

Wow, RM, probably the first thing I've ever agreed with you on.

As a cadet I trained and trained in ES as much as possible to include advanced medical training and field work not on CAP time.  We were just waiting for the "big one"; the big REDCAP to make us heroes.  Fortunately in my 4+ years as a cadet we did participate in some real deal missions to include downed/missing aircraft, missing people and lots of boats.

Although A LOT of people disagree with me, I have always considered ground team operations to be one of the best leadership laboratory venues for cadets.  Whether in the field for a weekend bivouac or acting as an assistant team leader, cadets can learn, thrive and gain a lot of experience from being in the field away from dozens of adults telling them what to do every step of the way.  It gives them a chance to do things on their own and actually be in charge of their subordinates for real for a change.

[MikeD]

How about:

As a CAP Ground Team member while acting as safely as possible, always act in a professional manner, and NEVER do anything to cause embarrassment to CAP while on an assigned mission.

Did I miss anything?  Also, not to threadjack but if anyone has tips to get cadets into ES, please share!  the ones I've run into are generally not interested, particularly after the ICS requirements hit.

[Stonewall]

Also, not to threadjack but if anyone has tips to get cadets into ES, please share!  the ones I've run into are generally not interested, particularly after the ICS requirements hit.

Any and all CBTs like ICS and then having to spend a weekend in a classroom deters a lot of people from getting involved in ES.  Unfortunately they have made it a necessary evil.

First, click here and have them available as a step-by-step guide to becoming a ground team member.  I did that in 2007 so check it to make sure it's still accurate.

May I also suggest reading my "looks count" thread I started in 2007 as well.  I think looks do count, especially when you involve cadets in the mix.  Beware that I write a lot and I think my opinion is the only one that matters so if you know what's good for you don't read this post. 

Here is a really good discussion about planning training and I have some attachments available in some of my posts.  I'd suggest reading through this thread...for real.

Finally, this thread deals with exactly your question.

[Eclipse]

In the Boy Scouts of America, the Totin' Chip is a card that shows the Boy Scout has demonstrated proficiency in handling and using knives safely.

...and when you do something unsafe like Mumblety-peg, target axes, etc., a corner of the card is torn off for each infraction - 4th tear? 
Card is yanked, you lose your "sharps" privileges and go back to square 1.

[HGjunkie]

In the Boy Scouts of America, the Totin' Chip is a card that shows the Boy Scout has demonstrated proficiency in handling and using knives safely.

...target axes...

Unless it's an activity at summer camp... 
I had so much fun doing that.

4th tear? 
Card is yanked, you lose your "sharps" privileges and go back to square 1.

I could have sworn I heard somewhere that they burned the totin' chip edges and cut the fireman 'chit.

[caphornbuckle]

In the Boy Scouts of America, the Totin' Chip is a card that shows the Boy Scout has demonstrated proficiency in handling and using knives safely.

...target axes...

Unless it's an activity at summer camp... 
I had so much fun doing that.

4th tear? 
Card is yanked, you lose your "sharps" privileges and go back to square 1.

I could have sworn I heard somewhere that they burned the totin' chip edges and cut the fireman 'chit.

Actually, there is no "official" reference to taking of corners of either but it is a tradition that has been going on for years.  I had an Assistant Scoutmaster that thought ripping off corners with his teeth when I was a scout [Eagle 1994].

[JC004]

...
Did I miss anything?  Also, not to threadjack but if anyone has tips to get cadets into ES, please share!  the ones I've run into are generally not interested, particularly after the ICS requirements hit.

Fantastic activities that they won't want to miss.  Activities with a solid mix of fun, interesting ES, leadership, and the like.  Involve them in the planning and execution.  Let them run it.  They will pull the others in.  Add exciting elements.  Try to reduce the class stuff.  Run competitions - between individual cadets and between your unit and others.   

Of course, it is hard to motivate ES or potential ES personnel to train if you don't actually DO real missions.  That's a problem that has to be fixed by people likely above your pay grade.

[Stonewall]

Of course, it is hard to motivate ES or potential ES personnel to train if you don't actually DO real missions.

Whether you're called for missions or not (some don't call cadets, some just don't have missions) act as if there is a real potential to be called up.  Practice for the real deal.  This will help validate the training and the truth is, you just never know.  You may actually get a call one day because a new Wing King is in command or it's a state wide disaster and you have no choice but to help.

[Eclipse]

The death spiral of "We don't ever get called for real, so what's the point of training?" is what causes a lot of missed opportunity.  ES "stuff" doesn't happen on a schedule, and when it finally comes around to your little corner, you are either ready or you're not.

I'd be willing to bet that many of the military and LE people on this board spent years training and never fired a shot in anger or were deployed to a real conflict, yet no one would suggest their preparation was "wasted".  Further, done properly, ES, especially ground ops is F-U-N!

Relationships and cooperative support agreements should be in place well before the waters are rising, but when ankles are wet, local agencies will tend to reach for any help they can get, and the lack of an agreement can be fixed with a phone call and an email, but if no one in the unit is ready, no one can play.

I recently had an issue where there was an active ELT on the ramp where one of my units meets.  Since they cannot get out of the spiral, no one was prepared to play.  This was a mid-summer-evening, low-impact mission, and every cadet who had fam/prep for UDF could have gotten a Find ribbon and an actual sortie, but not a single member was ready, because despite good intentions, the training was never incorporated into their schedule, so it never got done.

Rinse, repeat. 

[JC004]

Yes.  It works both ways.  When volunteers dedicate a lot of time and money - that is gas, hundreds of dollars on required gear (thousands once you start doing electronics and all), etc., they can easily get demotivated with only doing a distress mission maybe every few years (for many). 

The analogy is law enforcement or the military is hard because often they are doing SOMETHING that is part of their mission operationally.  Police go out doing the things that police do which does not always involve shooting a gun.  Shooting a gun is a very small part of being a police officer.  When they're out answering calls, they're doing their job.  I'm not talking about a specific task like shooting a gun (maybe rendering first aid or something in CAP's case) - I'm talking about doing actual operations outside of training as a whole.  This is especially true for ground crews who probably get a lot less mission-wise than pilots.  GTMs get a lot less than UDFT.

People are told in the recruiting materials that we do 95% of all inland SAR assigned by AFRCC - all that.  That sounds like a lot of action.  They often find out later that there's a lot less action.  That's a retention problem.  It's GOOD that people aren't dying in the woods en masse.  It's just a problem for retaining those personnel or asking them to get additional qualifications.

When we had a great ops tempo in 2006 with a lot of actuals, interest went up sky high in the units in which I worked on their ES programs.  People wanted to get qualified in higher specialties, get new equipment, train more.  The opposite is also true.

A number of CAP members around here started joining other SAR teams or other ES-type groups - some in addition to CAP - some instead.  As the number of people doing this increased and more people started asking me to look at doing that myself, I looked into how active these groups were.  I didn't want to just train and spend a lot of money.  I found out the draw for all of those CAP people was that there were A LOT of searches and all with those groups - an ops tempo far above PAWG's.  I saw the appeal like they did.

I am not saying that we should wait to train until we have a lot of missions.  That would be plain stupid.  At work, I train volunteers for upcoming projects and all sometimes WELL ahead of the time that they will begin.  We certainly have to do that in order to have proficiency, preparedness, and all in CAP.  When I was an ES officer, I think that I did a good job of getting people trained and ready.  100% of active members were ES qualified.  But after they've been waiting for years and years, it sucks.  A lot of people question why they are committing their resources and may join another group, cut back on getting new qualifications, not renew some specialties, that sort of thing.

[arajca]

One of the major problems we have is that for many (all the way up the food chain), ES = SAR. Period. Exclamation Point. End-of-discussion.

I think the AF is trying to change that by limiting how many sorties on a Eval are SAR related. Most of the support stuff is incident-type independent.

There are other areas where CAP can actually be a real force multiplier in ES, particularly away from major urban areas. Think about how many other ES agencies would love to have a support structure they could call on for major incidents that would free up their trained front line personnel to work the front lines. You get into some of the rural areas and a third or more of their personnel are staffing the incident because they do not have anyone else to call upon. BTDT.

[N Harmon]

There are other areas where CAP can actually be a real force multiplier in ES, particularly away from major urban areas. Think about how many other ES agencies would love to have a support structure they could call on for major incidents that would free up their trained front line personnel to work the front lines. You get into some of the rural areas and a third or more of their personnel are staffing the incident because they do not have anyone else to call upon. BTDT.

Can you be a bit more specific? Are we talking about having CAP members fill in as PIOs, radio operators, etc?

[arajca]

Among other duties. Logistics and Fin/Admin staffs. Scribes. Runners. Drivers. Staging Area managers and staff (flight line skills would definitely come in handy here). General purpose type support.

[JC004]

Major cultural shifts would need to occur.  CAP does not play nicely inter-agency in many places (in some places they do).  Simple case in point: the term "CAP IC" (as opposed to the mission's IC) that seems to be used in many places.  ICs say this and it breaks ICS 100.

The other issue is the marketing (yet again!).  The promotional stuff, as I said, pumps up the SAR like it's happening constantly for everyone.  The general public doesn't know what 95% of AFRCC's SAR is. 

[ZigZag911]

Major cultural shifts would need to occur.  CAP does not play nicely inter-agency in many places (in some places they do).  Simple case in point: the term "CAP IC" (as opposed to the mission's IC) that seems to be used in many places.  ICs say this and it breaks ICS 100.
.

Simple fix: when CAP is not lead agency (which we rarely if ever are when other agencies are involved) CAP IC  should be called something like "CAP Element Commander".

[JC004]

Why?  The AL position exists for that.

[Patterson]

^ hahahhahha.....because we don't already have enough crazy names and descriptive titles to remember in CAP.

Lets make a few more up!!

Parents of Cadets are now..... "MommyDaddyDuesPayers

Senior Members who only show up for activities where food is free..... "Donut thieves"

Members who complain about not wanting any part of CAP where actual work is required....... "Hassle Free Nogoods"

Self Proclaimed CAP know-it-alls....... "Regulation 0 Regulators"

Members part of a Pilot Club, never seen except in an Airplane...... "Captain Cools"

[ZigZag911]

Why?  The AL position exists for that.

AL sits in state/local EOC or ICP as CAP representative.

I'm referring to the person actually directing (commanding) the CAP folks in the field, the "officer in tactical command".

[CommGeek]

Well there has to be a CAP incident Commander, who is overall responsable for the CAP portion of the incident/event.

The CAP IC may designate an Operations Section Chief to  oversea all operations.

Have you taken ICS?  this is all outlined in ICS-100, and 200.

Every agency Usually has an IC.   Even though there is an overall Incident Commander for the mission...