Minor in possession of alcohol

[AngelWings]

Theres no reason to tell them if hes about to leave anyway.

Look at it this way, it is better to say it to deaf ears than to not say it to ears that may be listening.

[thatonekid]

what if they feel obligated to take diciplinary action and they fill out the paper work and then you leave...thats kinda a deushy move...

[Eclipse]

Theres no reason to tell them if hes about to leave anyway.

His issues aside, have you reviewed the core values lately?

what if they feel obligated to take diciplinary action and they fill out the paper work and then you leave...thats kinda a deushy move...

Nice language.   If he cares so little for CAP, then what they do, or don't do is irreverent, but at least he'll know he did the right thing.

[123Marine]

It is my decision to leave. I am loosing interest in the program. I am not leaving to become a drug addict/alcoholic. Most of you are saying non cap members are terrible people with no values

[Eclipse]

No one said anything close.

You are the one saying that membership has handcuffed you from a normal young life, yet provided no example of the wonderful
things you could be experiencing without the burden of CAP.

[Extremepredjudice]

It is my decision to leave. I am loosing losing interest in the program. I am not leaving to become a drug addict/alcoholic. Most of you are saying non cap members are terrible people with no values

FTFY

Not so. CAP teachers and ingrains values into you. You can learn values from any other place, CAP is just one of those places.

[AngelWings]

It is my decision to leave. I am loosing interest in the program. I am not leaving to become a drug addict/alcoholic. Most of you are saying non cap members are terrible people with no values

No one said they were terrible people with no values, they just TYPICALLY don't have the values engrained in them like a paramilitary organization can engrain.

what if they feel obligated to take diciplinary action and they fill out the paper work and then you leave...thats kinda a deushy move...

Then you leave doing something manlier and you leave with dignity knowing you did the right thing. Throwing yourself on the chopping block earns more respect than hiding what you've done wrong.

[thatonekid]

mabey he's just a nice person and because it wont really affect his seinors and if he dosent tell them they wont have to waste their time filling out papework that will become useless shortly. just because someone becomes disilusioned with the program dosent mean they have to be a jerk about it. And I dont need to review them, yes integrity, but some times its not worth being a jerk.

[AngelWings]

mabey he's just a nice person and because it wont really affect his seinors and if he dosent tell them they wont have to waste their time filling out papework that will become useless shortly. just because someone becomes disilusioned with the program dosent mean they have to be a jerk about it. And I dont need to review them, yes integrity, but some times its not worth being a jerk.

Do you think they would care that much? He'd earn their respect for telling them and probably would have the seniors protecting him and applauding him, and using his experience has a lesson for all about intestinal fortitude, why drinking at a young age in public is bad, and how to show intergrity.

[JeffDG]

There is no way for anyone under 21 to "use alcohol responsibly", this isn't France.

Or for that matter...anywhere else in the world...I'm not aware of anywhere else that has a drinking age of 21.  Most are 18-19.

[Extremepredjudice]

mabey Maybe he's just a nice person and because it wont won't really affect his seinors and if he dosent doesn't tell them they wont have to waste their time filling out papework that will become useless shortly. just Just because someone becomes disilusioned disillusioned with the program dosent doesn't mean they have to be a jerk about it. And I dont don't need to review them, yes integrity, but some times its not worth being a jerk.

FTFY -.-

Integrity is all the time. Not just when you feel like it. It is doing the RIGHT thing.

[abdsp51]

If he said something it would go a long way not saying something well nothing can happen and should something happen well then credibility is lost.  The OP wants to leave and that is entirely on him,  IMHO they should leave now and not wait until the end of summer or for membership to lapse just to attend an activity in a program that they have become disenchanted with. 

[EMT-83]

I'll disagree. Attending a well-run CAP activity at the national level just might be the motivation needed to stay in the program.

[abdsp51]

I'll disagree. Attending a well-run CAP activity at the national level just might be the motivation needed to stay in the program.

I agree that it could be a motivator to change his/her mind which is why it's an opinion.  I think that since he/she said they were leaving then that slot could be used for another cadet is all.

[NIN]

Does this thread set some kind of record for going off the rails that quickly?  Wow. I looked in on this thread earlier today and it was fine. Now its over 111 posts and its in the weeds.  Geez

[SarDragon]

No, there is no pattern developing. I just want to get away from the 12 year olds who think they are in the military with pipe dreams to fly fighter jets.

Gee, I wonder if Eric Boe had "pipe dreams" when he was 12. He's in CAP. Look him up. I think you'll find that he was pretty successful. [lmgtfy]Eric Boe[/lmgtfy]

I didn't join CAP until I was almost 15, and I had aspirations to be a fighter pilot. Sadly, physical limitations got in the way of that, but I still managed to learn a lot from CAP. Now, as a senior member, I have the opportunity to give back to the program.

[bflynn]

Eclipse - my misunderstanding.

Nobody has explicitly said that people outside CAP are have worse morals, but the idea is clearly implied by the zero tolerance policy inside CAP and the stubborn pride in that policy. There are those who don't want to hear that and those who will invite me to leave for suggesting the thought, but it is the truth.

Perhaps a little flexibility is called for.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Eclipse - my misunderstanding.

Nobody has explicitly said that people outside CAP are have worse morals, but the idea is clearly implied by the zero tolerance policy inside CAP and the stubborn pride in that policy. There are those who don't want to hear that and those who will invite me to leave for suggesting the thought, but it is the truth.

Perhaps a little flexibility is called for.

Schools also have zero-tolerance policies. So does law enforcement.

When I was a cadet, at the age of 18 (and 2 months!), I was put in the back of a police car while my friend was put in the back of another. That night I had a Police officer try to go all "drill instructor" on me to scare me. I wasn't scared, because I didn't do what I was accused of. BUT I did do something stupid and there were consequences.

That faithful night in May of 2008 I lost possession of my newly (that same day) acquired M4 full metal body airsoft gun, as well as a CO2 operated airsoft pistol. I was not arrested, and I did not receive a ticket. I did however suffer the loss of my toys, and the fear that the train company may press charges if they choose. While there wasn't much of a "case" there, it left me afraid, which I think was the goal of the officer, and it worked.

I didn't tell my parents (at first). But I did tell my CAP chain of command. I let them know what I did, why it was stupid, and that I may potentially end up in court over it. I didn't get any CAP punishment, besides being told how dumb I was and some laughter at the loss of my toys. But I let them know, and I bet my commander appreciated knowing about it, even if nothing came of it later. So did my parents when I finally built up the courage to tell them.

Lesson learned.

Underage drinking, now that is a more serious issue, and the fact that this cadet was out in public shows not just a disregard for the law,  but also a lack of common sense. Unlike what some have posted here a MAJORITY of high school students at least try alcohol. A large number of them drink regularly. Yes it is part of the teen culture. But it is also avoidable. If this cadet really did not get a citation for underage drinking, the the officer felt bad for him and left him with just the fear of the consequences - as I was. Maybe the officer thought this person learned his lesson. But I guess he didn't, and I guess in retrospect the officer WOULD have issued a ticket.

Don't let the studies posted guide your life, as in most of the world the drinking age is lower, and so are their issues with alcohol. If you say "No, you can't", teens will go and do it. If they can? It looses the appeal. I'd be willing to bet the reason the studies show a higher level of alcoholism in the 18-20 group is because when they DO get their hands on alcohol, they get smashed. Simply by definition of a teen/college party, everyone there is an alcoholic. People drink WAY too much, because they don't know if/when they will get to drink again. It's a terrible thought process, but it is what it is. I may disagree with the US laws, but they are the laws. If I am ever in a position within CAP or not, and find out that a cadet or a person under the age is drinking, I will certainly report it. Maybe not to law enforcement, but definitely to parents and most certainly to the CAP chain of command. Life is about following the rules. You don't follow them, you get slapped with consequences. Simple as that.

[SarDragon]

Excellent perspective! I was in that very same 18-20 group you spoke of.

[The CyBorg is destroyed]

I have a personal dog in this fight.  I come from an alcoholic extended family and a lot of the people I grew up with had serious substance abuse issues, from huffing gasoline to smoking so much weed you couldn't carry on a conversation with them, to drinking themselves stupid.  Some of them are in prison, and some of them are dead.

There wasn't a lot of safety for young people when I was growing up.  There was the Scouts, and I've already related my experiences with that.  There was a Boys' Club (long before it became Boys' and Girls' Clubs), but you were just as likely to see someone dealing in the alley behind as you were to just go and play pool, table tennis or whatever.  You also had to be careful what you said because you could get the snot beat out of you by someone bigger and older than you.

I really, honestly, truly wish I would have known about CAP when I was a kid.  I wanted to go to the Air Force Academy and be a fighter pilot.  Maybe if I'd known about CAP, I could have done that.

I live not far from the Canadian border.  The highest drinking age there that I know of (depending on province) is 19.  It seems to work well for them.  Of course, much of their culture is derived from Great Britain (and France, in Quebec).  However, the law here is that to drink alcohol legally you must be 21, and whether or not the law is stupid or good isn't the issue.

A big reason why I became part of CAP is to help young people have a bit of the safety I didn't have.  A big chunk of that, for me, is the zero-tolerance policy on alcohol/drugs.