Observer Wings

[JTodd]

What are the requirements to wear the Observer Wings?

[jimmydeanno]

Be a qualified mission observer.

[MIKE]

CAPR 35-6 AERONAUTICAL RATINGS, EMERGENCY SERVICES PATCH AND BADGES, AND GROUND TEAM BADGES

[IceNine]

35-6 then 60 series regs

[Major Carrales]

CAPR 35-6 AERONAUTICAL RATINGS, EMERGENCY SERVICES PATCH AND BADGES, AND GROUND TEAM BADGES

Thank you for posting the links and references for your fellow CAP Officer.  We must never forget that ultimately we are here to help.

[Mustang]

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day....

[Major Carrales]

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day....

What if the issue the man has is an issue of this day, (likely the origin of the word "today")?  Would you let a man starve while you teach him to fish?

Help a brother CAP Officer with a hand up...not a kick in the mouth. 

[mikeylikey]

What if the issue the man has is an issue of this day, (likely the origin of the word "today")?

ORIGINS OF THE WORD "TODAY"
Latin word......"HODIE" , early French took the Latin word and pronounced it with a "thu" sound.......middle English picked it up and slurred the French pronunciation into a sound similar to how we pronounce it today.  Interesting to note is that the original Latin meaning meant "right now", while our meaning is the time between midnight and 11:59PM. 

Am I nerd?  I guess so!

[Major Carrales]

ORIGINS OF THE WORD "TODAY"
Latin word......"HODIE" , early French took the Latin word and pronounced it with a "thu" sound.......middle English picked it up and slurred the French pronunciation into a sound similar to how we pronounce it today.  Interesting to note is that the original Latin meaning meant "right now", while our meaning is the time between midnight and 11:59PM. 

Yes, and this coincides with the Norman Conquest of 1066.

This is an historical example of how a dominant language, or conquering one, morphs. 

English is a Germanic language with vocabulary highly influenced by the Norman French.

I would likely have believed that the term was a morphing of "t'day."

[ddelaney103]

Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day....

What if the issue the man has is an issue of this day, (likely the origin of the word "today")?  Would you let a man starve while you teach him to fish?

Help a brother CAP Officer with a hand up...not a kick in the mouth. 

Sorry, I don't think the extra time to look something up is going to kill him.  We're talking about getting info on a aviation award, which is not exactly FLASH traffic.

[Major Carrales]

Sorry, I don't think the extra time to look something up is going to kill him.  We're talking about getting info on a aviation award, which is not exactly FLASH traffic.

So, you're not going to help a brother with information...so much for civility.   Not everyone is as internet savvy as you, or me. 

[Pylon]

So, you're not going to help a brother with information...so much for civility.   Not everyone is as internet savvy as you, or me. 

Actually, pointing somebody in the right direction and helping them learn to look it up on their own is, in fact, "helping a brother with information."  And I think it's entirely civil.  It's even our standard modus operandi for cadet programs.

For example:  Cadet Jones walks into Major Smith's office.
J:  Sir, am I eligible to wear this device?
S: Well, Cadet Jones, that's a good question.  How do you find out?
J:  Uh... I don't know, sir... that's kinda why I asked...
S: Where do we look up these types of rules?
J:  Uhm... in the regulations?
S: Great!  And do you know where you can find our regulations, right?
J:  Yeah, but there's so many regs to look through!  I'll never find it!
S: Ah, but they have this handy CAPR 0-9, which shows you a list of all the regulations and what they contain.  You can then look up the appropriate regulation to find your answer.
J:  Uh, okay... 
S: Let's walk over to the regulations binder and find it together...

Ultimately, Cadet Jones not only gets the answer to his question, but when he has a future question, he doesn't just come and bug Maj Smith again.  He now knows how to look up his future answers and even learns a bit more about Civil Air Patrol administrative functions.

I took him maybe an extra minute or two, compared to Maj Smith just handing him the appropriate reg with the page turned to the appropriate paragraph.

It applies to the internet as well.  One can gently direct a member to the pubs page and even give them a general direction to head in.  All-in-all, maybe it takes the member a few more minutes than before and the exchange was nothing less than civil.  As Dan said, this type of request is not urgency and of an immediate nature. 

Instead, you've given the requestor more than they asked.  They got their answer, but you also taught them something in the process.  What a gift!

[Major Carrales]

That's all well and good, but people come here to get information.  You will note that I complemented MIKE on posting a link to the regs.

[mikeylikey]

When did the observer wings first appear?  Was it during WWII?

[Pylon]

That's all well and good, but people come here to get information. 

So guideance on not only the information they seek, but how to find such information again in the future is not information?   

I'm not advocating telling a poster "That's a stupid question!  Go away."  We're merely advocating something more along the lines of:

"Observer wings are considered CAP aeronautical ratings.  As such, you can find information about them (including how to earn them) in the regulation dealing with CAP aeronautical ratings.  All CAP publications online can be found at www.cap.gov/pubs - a handy shortcut link.  Just scroll down to the appropriate publication, open it as a PDF, and voila!  It will list the requirements to earn the observer rating, and thus wear the observer wings.  Enjoy!"

Was that not information?  Did the poster not get what they needed?  Was it not civil? 

[Hawk200]

When did the observer wings first appear?  Was it during WWII?

I know the wings were referenced in the 1944 issue of the Civil Air Patrol Handbook. Although there is no photo or drawing, the reference indicates it's the orignal "half-wing", being only 1 3/4 inch wide.

The August 1949 Civil Air Patrol Manual shows an illustration of the drooped double wing that is very similar to what we have today.

[SarDragon]

My reference shows the half-wing insignia, with a straight wing, as having been authorized from 2/42 - 12/48. The next style, drooped wing, observer wings were introduced in 12/48, and repalced with the current upswept wing style in 1/77.

[BillB]

The 1/2 wing with the emamel CAP insignia was replaced in 1948 with the droop wing with the O. The half wing silver without the emamel emblem became the Stewardess wing for females completing the Stewardess special activity.

[Hawk200]

My reference shows the half-wing insignia, with a straight wing, as having been authorized from 2/42 - 12/48. The next style, drooped wing, observer wings were introduced in 12/48, and repalced with the current upswept wing style in 1/77.

I've got one of those books too, I just don't know where it is currently stored. I wasn't sure of the exact dates, so I just looked them up in the 1944 Civil Air Patrol Handbook, and in the 1949 Civil Air Patrol Manual. The collectors catalog is a far more precise reference though.