I have been out of CAP since January of 2005 and I would like to get any records that CAP has about my membership, awards, decorations, training, etc..
My unit was terrible at keeping records but anything would help. I still have my 101 card (somewhere) and my NESA certificates but not much else. How would I go about getting that information?
Dealing with this same issue myself. I left CAP in May of 05, and just rejoined. NHQ didn't have any records on me aside from my join date and completion of Encampment. My former squadron still had my cadet file. According to my former squadron commander, CAP has a rule in which files cannot be sent directly to members, but only their respective squadron commanders. Not sure where that reg is, but I'll go with it just so I can get my records at my new squadron. I'll just have to ask for my file at that point to make copies of all of my information.
The only place your records will be are at your former squadron. And they *apparently* can't give them to you directly. Good luck, I know I need it too. According to NHQ, because of the bad book-keeping and information sharing between my squadron and myself, I never even made it past C/SrA, since my Wright Brothers Award was never posted. Good luck!
edit: Also, don't forget that squadrons, by CAP regs, are supposed to hang onto files for only 5 years. If they go by the book, there's a good chance your files were recently destroyed. If they don't go by the books, your files may have either been: A. Destroyed a while ago or B. Filed way in the back of an obscure filing cabinet.
Quote from: CAPR 39-2SEC. B. 1-8. Inactive Records. Members who transfer, resign, retire, or fail to renew may request their membership records from the unit. The unit should keep a copy of the former member's personnel record in the inactive file. Members whose membership is not renewed or terminated may request a copy of their membership records from the unit; however, the unit will retain the official records. Records not requested by former members will be removed from the unit's active file and arranged alphabetically in an inactive file. The unit is required to maintain records of former members for 5 years unless otherwise directed by Membership Services (NHQ CAP/LMM). If not requested after the 5th year, records will be destroyed.
According to CAP regulations, individual membership records are to be maintained for five years. So, if your old unit was bad at following the regulations as they applied to record keeping, then perhaps that haven't been destroyed yet (assuming your records were maintained in the first place). A unit that follows the regulations precisely would have destroyed your record last month.
If you are a current member, then log into e-Services and click Member Search. Locate your name and you will be able to see all the records that Natl HQ has for you (which doesn't really represent everything that you did in CAP, since they don't electronically track everything.)
Otherwise, you can contact membership services to see if they can offer any info. Good luck.
(I'm a personnel officer specifically because I was tired of being hosed when it came to paperwork and approvals. I wanted to fix the problem. Now, everything at my squadron is great, but most of the stuff that goes up the chain takes multiple request and takes a long time. I understand the paperwork frustration.)
I came back after 13 years of trying to decide to come back and National had my O-flights, IACE, Eaker, Earhart, Mitchell, and encampment.
I had to find the documentation for my Comm Comm, NCC, etc. Other than that, my former unit had long been absorbed and my Cadet file was long lost.
They gave me my old CAPID and original join date, but that is about all national tracked for me.
Good luck with your search. Found most of my documentation by pinging old Squadron folks on facebook.
^ I have boxes of old member records that date back almost 50 years sitting in my Squadron. I was tempted to pitch them.... I have no idea what to do with them. I know we only have to keep them for so long, but they seem like part of the Squadrons history.
If your old unit still has the records, get copies from them. If they do not, you are probably out of luck except for the few things that National may have.
As a side note to everyone, KEEP YOUR OWN COPIES OF EVERYTHING.
Quote from: Spike on March 01, 2010, 06:50:17 PM
^ I have boxes of old member records that date back almost 50 years sitting in my Squadron. I was tempted to pitch them.... I have no idea what to do with them. I know we only have to keep them for so long, but they seem like part of the Squadrons history.
They should be filtered for anything of historical significance and then pitched. Keeping member records for more than 5 years should have popped up as a finding in regards to records retention on your unit's last SUI.
In this case I would say the OP'er is SOL. If his unit was lax in record keeping when he was a member, they are probably gone, and in that there has been a push in his wing to comply with SUI regs regarding retention they went *poof* last month anyway.
An email to the current unit or group CC is going to answer the question faster than anyone on CT can.
^ I should have said "recently found records". They were behind boxes of MRE's from about 20 years ago. Those were behind the display boards that are used for recruiting that have not been used for 10 years.
I am doing some house cleaning!
Quote from: Spike on March 01, 2010, 09:04:33 PM
^ I should have said "recently found records". They were behind boxes of MRE's from about 20 years ago. Those were behind the display boards that are used for recruiting that have not been used for 10 years.
I am doing some house cleaning!
Have any adventerous cadets tried the MREs yet?
^ No, but there was a box of "shelf stable bread", that was not so shelf stable when we opened the package. :D
I just found some 10 yr old survival "cakes" while cleaning out some stuff. They closely resemble soylent green...
20 years ago MRE's were pretty scary brand new, let alone having sat on the shelf all this time.
Hmmm...eat my coworkers or 20 year old MREs? How many zombies are there, again?
I think the my coworkers would be in deep trouble >:D
I have taken possesion of the records from an entire unit that was disbanded around 2001. I am scanning the most significant documents to put on digital media.
I have to say that the lack of following the regs being shoddy record keeping actually turned out to be awesome record keeping when I returned at the end of 08 to find my full file minus copies of my encampment certificates and several papers that were never filed that I've recently fixed. This was after a ten year absence. Luckily NHQ still had records of my first encampment and my Mitchell. I do have that certificate sitting here next to me.
Sometimes you never know what'll still be around.
Back in '99 I deployed to Morroco for African Eagle 99....we had a palate load of expired MREs (no one told us they were expired)....long story...short....of the 150 people deployed about half got food poisoning (ME!) and we lost 3 days of flying over it!
Now I always look at the date before I bust one of those open.
Quote from: lordmonar on March 03, 2010, 10:55:54 PM
Back in '99 I deployed to Morroco for African Eagle 99....we had a palate load of expired MREs (no one told us they were expired)....long story...short....of the 150 people deployed about half got food poisoning (ME!) and we lost 3 days of flying over it!
Now I always look at the date before I bust one of those open.
Freudian slip???? >:D
I make two copies of everything: original for the file, one copy for wing or national, and one copy for the member to take home!
Quote from: Rowan on March 07, 2010, 03:32:53 PM
I make two copies of everything: original for the file, one copy for wing or national, and one copy for the member to take home!
Original should stay with the member, copies to everyone else.