Growing hair to donate

[lordmonar]

Because we can't mange our cadets we can't let one cadet do something for cancer victums.

I have heard you use this argument before "If we let this by.....then all hell will break out"....it is called the slippery slope argument....and yes sometimes it may be of a concern.

But really......Cadet X does it.......and hey maybe all 20 cadets in the squadron does it......at the end of the year....they all go down to the barber and get crew cuts.

Which scenrio do I like?
1) is okay...he carries a litter with him all the time........just like the guy on Acitive Duty I know who got his ears blown off defusing a bomb.
1a) What!  Thw whole squadron goes out and works as a team to do some good for cancer victums?  Don't us the "uniformity and appearance" arugment......we don't have that now.....so it is a non player.
2)  That is why he should get a wiaver and not quit CAP.  I would rather live with a long haired cadet then have him walk.


And I don't think those are the only options.  Those are the only ones that you can see in your limited mindset of what CAP should be.

And again...the point is not what I or you think about it....it is what his commander thinks about it.

[Eclipse]

"Limited Mindset"? No, it's called the reality of dealing with adolescents.

This is a nice idea, not quite well thought out, and incompatible with his current universe.  Nothing more, nothing less.
The amount of time spent discussing it here is more attention then it should get, let alone lighting up the whole chain.
We spend far too much time in CAP addressing 1% issues with 80% resources.

This should begin and end as such:

"Hey, can I...?" 

"Not right now, maybe when you're older or in a different circumstance."

"OK"

[lordmonar]

"hey can I do this?"

"Write up a white paper and we'll send it up"

"Okay"

Same amount of my time has been spent on it.

You simply can't see beyond your limit view of what CAP MUST BE to even think about what the impact of it could be.

That's all I am saying.

And we see this time and again with you.....if it does not fit YOUR MINDSET then it is wrong and should not be done.
YOU may not like it in YOUR squadron .....and I am fine with that.....but let's not shut down the rest of the world because you can't see who it benifits anyone else.

[Eclipse]

You simply can't see beyond your limit view of what CAP MUST BE to even think about what the impact of it could be.

It's called accepting what CAP is and working that program.

Once we get to a level of baseline performance we can discuss what CAP "could be".

[AngelWings]

You simply can't see beyond your limit view of what CAP MUST BE to even think about what the impact of it could be.

It's called accepting what CAP is and working that program.

CAP generally is what you make of it, in the sense you can look at it optomisiticly or you can look at it pestimesticly, just like anything else in life. You shouldn't shoot down ideas based on what the answer might be. If he wants to send it up his local chain of command, than why not? If they approve it and don't take it further, than what is the problem to you? One of the many reasons we have leaders is to make decisions where we may have either a grey area. Unless this cadet has you in his chain of command, than I am sure he has an ok chances of the idea getting approved. As a Army Colonel who spoke at one conference I went to said: 

"I do not mind if my men disregard my orders or regulations given to them, as long as it will not cause a lot of trouble, because in the end, the guys on the field have their eyes on the field and they know what needs to be done. The circumstances at hand can change the matter at hand, making my orders unable to meet the missions needs, which come first."

While we (CAP) are not filling mission needs here nor are we on a battlefield, his CoC is the eyes on the "field". They will make the decision they see best fit. And please, nobody twist this to mean that the Colonel said he encourages regulation breaking and insubordination, the point he was making is that he trusts his leaders on the field to make the most appropiate decision based on the circumstances given to them, even if it mean they are disregarding an order given to them.

[Eclipse]

If he wants to send it up his local chain of command, than why not? If they approve it and don't take it further, than what is the problem to you?

There's no "problem to me". 

This is a discussion forum.  We are discussing the idea.

This place will look like a Circuit City soon if every discussion is ended in the first response with "don't bother asking here".

And the idea that field personnel can disregard orders "as long as it doesn't cause too much trouble" is at best a bad t-shirt, and at worst an excellent
way to get in "trouble", terminated, fired, sued or incarcerated, depending on the organization and context.

[Cap'n]

As others have said, go up your chain of command. I personally think you should go for it. I myself donate my hair frequently to Locks for Love, and my little sister just donated all of hers last Tuesday for the first time.

But, remember the required minimum donation length is ten inches. While it doesn't seem like much at the time, it will take a year at least to grow out that much- it may put activities like CAP on hold, or it you do ROTC or sports, it could definitely create some problems.

[AngelWings]

I am biting my tounge.

As others have said, go up your chain of command. I personally think you should go for it. I myself donate my hair frequently to Locks for Love, and my little sister just donated all of hers last Tuesday for the first time.

But, remember the required minimum donation length is ten inches. While it doesn't seem like much at the time, it will take a year at least to grow out that much- it may put activities like CAP on hold, or it you do ROTC or sports, it could definitely create some problems.

+1

[Stikuru]

There are MANY other organizations that help cancer victims other than Locks for Love. If your goal is to help those who have cancer you can find plenty of ways to do so without violating CAP grooming standards.

I'm sure everyone agrees that the cause is a good one, and since the only argument going on here is whether or not it's acceptable to break regulations for such a cause I have a very simple solution that should please everyone:

Find a different way to support the same cause.

And as for the people saying to bring it up the chain of command, you must understand the purpose of the chain of command in the first place. It's there to solve problems at the lowest echelon possible, and bringing up small issues like this to the highest echelon is counter-productive to having the chain in the first place.

Anyways, the cadet seems to have resolved his problem by donating a smaller amount of hair and staying within grooming standards, so until someone else feels like doing the same thing it's really a non-issue imo.

[Private Investigator]

We had a Deputy who was allowed to grow a beard to play Jesus in a Christmas play.  So the Dept let him grow it out for about 3 months.  He looked terrible in uniform.  He actually got a lot of complaints from other cops and even citizens for his appearance.

Before I retired I always wore a moustache as a policeman and when I let it get really big like Sam Elliott and Kurt Russell in "Tombstone" whenever a supervisor questioned me about it I would say, "I am growing it for 'Western Days'". No one ever ask when 'Western Days' was or where it was at. 

[rustyjeeper]

While all of the knowlegable gentleman all have valid opinions.......NONE OF THEM COUNT!

If you really want to do this.  TALK TO YOUR COMMANDER.  If he supports you, then take it up the chain for some sort of waiver.
Either a hair waiver or a uniform waiver.....which ever.  I would suspect that this is going to have to all the way to the top....but that too is life.

Seriously?  The national CC should be concerned with waiving grooming for a cadet for this? 

This is not a critical situation or even religious.  If a cadet wants to make the poor choice of stunting their CAP career for something like this, so
be it, but no one should be considering waivers for a hair donation charity.

there is that magic button to ask the national commander on e-services now he might be glad to get a "non" abu question for a change

[a2capt]

Before you submit your question you should first give your commander an opportunity to answer. CAP commanders are often able to get you a response faster and with more detail than we will be able to provide here. They may also be able to put you in touch with your unit's expert who can provide an even better answer.

  ..they tried to ward off those questions, too..