CAP Talk

And here we are Ned....  any updates?

~9907

Quote from: Ned on August 20, 2020, 04:14:11 amA couple of observations:

1.  Even if things don't get better by mid-winter, we will not be discussing completely virtual encampments.  It's just not encampment.  We will find other solutions if necessary.

2.  There is nothing in the 60-20 that requires encampments to be held in brick and mortar buildings.  Encampments could be conducted in the field using tentage.  I once went deep into the planning process for a Type A outside the contonement area of a military installation.  Bases often have "deployment training sites" with areas designated for tents, hardstand latrines, and classrooms.  My issues came down to finding enough GP mediums or larges, and figuring out how to get them put up and taken down.  Including a possible delay in taking them down if they got wet the last day of encampment.  (You can't store wet tentage.). I could not resource them in time, so we had to cancel.

Heck, you could indeed use individual tents ("BYOT") if you were so inclined.  It would be a challenge to meet the curricula, and I would love to come visit.  But the bottom line is that there is no rule that prevents a CAP encampment from being held in the field.  Obviously, even if the cadets spend the night in individual tents, military social distance would still be required in class, meal times, etc. until we leave Phase 3 of the remob plan.

3.  The encampment seminar at the conference was presented by Ms. Joanna Lee of the NHQ corporate team, and not LtCol Christine Lee who recently suffered a severe injury.  (Sing it with me:  "Here a Lee, there a Lee, everywhere a Lee, a Lee . . .")

4.  Once we all have access to an effective vaccine, there is no reason that we could not require a vaccination for all members attending encampment.  Indeed, my guess is that many institutions (Schools, military bases, etc.) will be requiring vaccination certificates.  But let's get an effective vaccine before we begin the "you can't make me get a vaccination before you let me do X" argument.

None of us knows when the virus conditions will change.  Like CAP uniforms, we can be certain that things will significantly change in the future.  Just nobody knows when.

Ned Lee
National Cadet Program Manager

Quote from: PHall on Yesterday at 09:01:48 pmBut if we ever wanted to do a "reset" on how we do encampment, now would be the time.

The last reset was pretty thorough. National standardization, elimination of the Gunnery Sergeant Hartman wannabes, emphasizing the purpose of encampment isn't stress inoculation but an introduction of "CAP cadet life" by emphasizing all the great aspects of the cadet program. It's a pretty solid syllabus.

If there are changes to be made, I'd be interested to hear ideas from guys like Eclipse who has run encampments for longer than most of the cadets who attend have been alive.

Quote from: Phil Hirons, Jr. on Yesterday at 08:19:35 pmThe institutional knowledge drain on the cadet side (and to a lesser extent senior side) will be tough to refill.

As we both know all too well, for some wings that have gone completely off the rails, this opportunity for a fresh start is a real blessing in disguise!

The rest will simply have to follow the mantra of Gunny Hiway: Improvise!  Adapt!  Overcome!

But if we ever wanted to do a "reset" on how we do encampment, now would be the time.

The institutional knowledge drain on the cadet side (and to a lesser extent senior side) will be tough to refill.

I went and visited the encampment today.

It's tucked away in shipping containers in a storage facility.
Flags, guidons, coins, (dated) award streamers, stuff sacks, etc., etc.
All just waiting quietly and in some cases expiring.

There will be no 2020 or 2021 Honor Cadet(s) or Flight(s). Sad to think we'll
probably just throw those awards away - so much for advance planning.

There will be no '21 for at least this activity (in the before times we'd
have a full org chart, and be deep into planning calls with about a 90 days until RST).

Now there's a non-zero chance this particular activity, with a nearly 30 year history,
might have graduated its last cadet 2 years ago.

Nothing to see here, move on...

I think we're done here.

If we are requiring one vaccine, then we should require all vaccines.

We also will need to make sure we have a compliant way of storing medical information.

Probably require annual fitness assessments too, just to make sure we have HEALTHY membership numbers.

Compliance reminders for when the vaccinations are considered no longer effective and you need a replacement shot.

Verification that the flu shots received match up with the strains we are currently seeing in the wild.

I'm sure we won't have any additional cost or time commitments to membership because of this.

We also need to update the 2b reasons to include "failure to keep to vaccination schedule."

Yes, this is the way forward. This will enhance CAP readiness, increase membership participation and make us a more viable partner in all of our missions.

Would we require the flu shot as well? Will we need to prove that when we were younger we got the ones for polio, mumps, measles, etc?

Point being ... once the door is opened .....