NCC Drill Team AND Color Guard from the same Squadron?

[321EOD]

Ok, so I'm a very PROUD DCC - I admit it!

CO-147, Thompson Valley Composite Squadron, will be representing Rocky Mountain Region at the 2011 National Cadet Competition in both Drill Team and Color Guard. Both teams are composed entirely of active members of the Squadron. Our Color Guard took 1st place in 5 events at RCC as well as 3 individual trophies - a great result for their first competition in 5 years.

I'm wondering how rare this might be?

Also, just to avoid some off topic threads.... TVCS is very active in all aspects of the CAP Cadet Program, not just NCC ;-). We have a very effective Great Start recruiting program, and active ES program and were awarded the AEX and Quality Cadet Program awards this year. We send cadets to encampments in 3 States and had 10 cadets attend NCSAs in 2010 with a similar number signed up for 2011

This will be a first for the Squadron (attending NCC) and to be sending 2 teams is obviously exciting (read scary & expensive!) opportunity for a great group of cadets

[Cool Mace]

Congratulations!!! That is something to be proud of, with out a doubt!

I don't know of other regions sending both teams to NCC in the same year (I'm sure it has happened though). I miss NCC. That was one of my proudest moments in CAP.

Good luck to both your teams!

[DBlair]

Just curious... How many active Cadets and Seniors do you have at CO-147?

[321EOD]

Just curious... How many active Cadets and Seniors do you have at CO-147?

CO-147 is a composite squadron - 140 members in E-Services
70+ current cadets with 50+ regularly attending meetings
25+ new cadet recruits started our 8 week Great Start program in late March
60 seniors - 8 of whom work actively in the Cadet Program and perhaps 20+ more active in the senior side

[Eclipse]

How many other teams did you compete against in your wing and region?

[321EOD]

How many other teams did you compete against in your wing and region?

3 other teams at both Wing and Region

[Bluelakes 13]

Congratulations and looking forward to meeting you at NCC!

[321EOD]

Congratulations and looking forward to meeting you at NCC!

Thanks Major - looking forward to it. A once in a lifetime opportunity for many of our cadets I think - see you there. BTW are there any web resources about NCC (other than capmembers.com). This is our first trip to NCC and we don't know what to expect/plan for!

[Smithsonia]

The accomplishments of the Thompson Valley Composite Squadron are becoming legendary. Being an historian I can say that with some authority. Not to mention the great bunch of cadets competing for these prestigious awards- there is tribute due Steve Schneider, Liz Caldwell and all your senior members. It is simply a pleasure to serve with you, around you, and many days in your long shadows too.

[RADIOMAN015]

Looking at your website for cadets, is it true that you drill team had practice every Sunday evening from 2100 to 2400 hrs local    

I'm surprised the parents would even allow this if in fact that schedule is true.  I would imagine you've got a team of older cadets on it rather than younger.   Perhaps the National competition should look at different classes of competition based upon the age of the cadets on the various teams
RM

[DBlair]

Just curious... How many active Cadets and Seniors do you have at CO-147?

CO-147 is a composite squadron - 140 members in E-Services
70+ current cadets with 50+ regularly attending meetings
25+ new cadet recruits started our 8 week Great Start program in late March
60 seniors - 8 of whom work actively in the Cadet Program and perhaps 20+ more active in the senior side

With over 70 Cadets (50+ active) and what seems to be a nice influx of 25+ new Cadets, not to mention a base of 60 SMs, and 8 dedicated to the Cadet Program, I would say your unit is certainly not the norm and seems to have a great level of membership. I applaud your unit for this.

I would like to point out that your unit is in a somewhat unique situation in that with such membership numbers, therein is a large reason of why your unit can field a Drill Team (and a Color Guard) as you have enough active members to make this huge project a possibility-- most units cannot even come close to such membership numbers.

I still hold to my belief that Drill Teams should not be unit based, but rather Group based as it allows for a greater/more competitive pool of seasoned/sharp Cadets rather than most unit-teams I've seen that appear to throw in every Cadet they can find in the unit (including recruiting people just to have enough) just to put together a team. For most units, a Drill Team is not a realistic project.

I applaud your unit for what it has accomplished, but I would like to note that your unit's success is not necessarily proof of success possible by any/all unit-DTs, rather it showcases the rare case of a unit being large enough to attempt such an endeavor and then succeeding with it in a commendable manner.

[321EOD]

Looking at your website for cadets, is it true that you drill team had practice every Sunday evening from 2100 to 2400 hrs local    

I'm surprised the parents would even allow this if in fact that schedule is true.  I would imagine you've got a team of older cadets on it rather than younger.   Perhaps the National competition should look at different classes of competition based upon the age of the cadets on the various teams
RM

Hi Radioman - all our team are over 18 (C/Maj thru C/Col) so practicing 'til midnight is no problem  Ok, just kidding... thanks for pointing out an error with our calendar, it was set to GMT by default if you weren't signed into google - fixed!

[321EOD]

Just curious... How many active Cadets and Seniors do you have at CO-147?

CO-147 is a composite squadron - 140 members in E-Services
70+ current cadets with 50+ regularly attending meetings
25+ new cadet recruits started our 8 week Great Start program in late March
60 seniors - 8 of whom work actively in the Cadet Program and perhaps 20+ more active in the senior side

With over 70 Cadets (50+ active) and what seems to be a nice influx of 25+ new Cadets, not to mention a base of 60 SMs, and 8 dedicated to the Cadet Program, I would say your unit is certainly not the norm and seems to have a great level of membership. I applaud your unit for this.

I would like to point out that your unit is in a somewhat unique situation in that with such membership numbers, therein is a large reason of why your unit can field a Drill Team (and a Color Guard) as you have enough active members to make this huge project a possibility-- most units cannot even come close to such membership numbers.

I still hold to my belief that Drill Teams should not be unit based, but rather Group based as it allows for a greater/more competitive pool of seasoned/sharp Cadets rather than most unit-teams I've seen that appear to throw in every Cadet they can find in the unit (including recruiting people just to have enough) just to put together a team. For most units, a Drill Team is not a realistic project.

I applaud your unit for what it has accomplished, but I would like to note that your unit's success is not necessarily proof of success possible by any/all unit-DTs, rather it showcases the rare case of a unit being large enough to attempt such an endeavor and then succeeding with it in a commendable manner.

Thanks for the response Daniel - yes, we have grown a lot in the last 4 years, when we were only 25 strong. Our squadron has fielded a drill team at the Wing level for those 4 years, only to face Utah at Regions each year. This year we had a dedicated group from our Honor Guard who decided to run a Color Guard too! We have frequently competed against "Group Teams" too and been successful.

As for your last paragraph - we couldn't have done it without the dedication of our cadets