how to start a new squadron?

[Garibaldi]

It sounds to me like you may have a good chance.  Certainly ARWG isn't top-heavy with units.

The only thing I really know about Texarkana is that there is beer there for the thirsty folks in Atlanta...

Yeah, there might be a good chance, especially that far south. Up here in my neck of Arkansas, if we tried to set up another unit, my current one could lose around 30% of its members to the new one based on location alone. Not everyone likes making a 35 mile one-way trip weekly for a 2 hour meeting, and some drive upwards of 45 miles one way.

And about the beer, it's Texarkana, Texas. Texarkana, Arkansas does not have a Coors distributor. And there is always the possibility of a new civil war starting in Texarkana based on what side of the state line you live on.

[Garibaldi]

I meant that Captain should really be the top-end for Unit CC's, with First Lieutenant being the sweet spot.
The level of training and presumed experience for most 1st Lts and Capts is about right to be a unit CC, and of course in the real world you would
rarely have Field Grade officers (or even generals) reporting to Captains.

The promotions would be based on an open billet or manning table and you simply would not get promoted if there wasn't an appropriate job opening.

The practical reality is that you're looking as the bare-minimum expectations, with the hope someone with more experience would step up.
You have to draw the line somewhere.

A "Company" is usually 26-50 people, which is where the average unit falls, and which is probably where it should fall.  Units larger then that are anomalies of the shrinkage of the program.  When our wing had literally 2-3 times as many units, they were much smaller by design.

In your case, based on my personal knowledge of your experience, I'd say you'd probably do pretty well as a commander, or certainly a CD as preparation.  Without the time you took away, you'd likely be even better prepared.

But, in the real world, you wouldn't find 1st Lts as Squadron Commanders.  That's really a Lt Col position in Big Blue.  1st Lts are usually OICs of a work center and Captains are flight commanders.  Squadron deputies end up being Majors and Commanders are usually picked from the Lt Col pool or someone who is about to pin on Lt Col.

As I mentioned in a previous post, a former commander we had was a 2LT for a while and resisted getting promoted to LTC, which he would have gotten due to his Navy grade of Commander when he retired. He wanted to go through the program the right way. When he was installed as CC, he finally relented to popular pressure and allowed us to "pin on" his silver oak leaves. Realistically, he would have done fine as a 2LT squadron commander; he surely had the experience and the staff to lean on, but it was felt by others that he should  be a LTC due to the reasons you outlined above.

[Garibaldi]

In some of your earlier posts when you first moved to AR, at least I sensed some contention with the unit you found/joined. By branching out on your own, you may cause friction with your current unit, too.

The boys are bored in Foreman and there's CAP in Texarkana, and we'll bring it back no matter what it takes!

God, please STOP with the Smokey and the Bandit references! We have a bad enough reputation from that durn movie.

[manfredvonrichthofen]

A2, I'm not sure what you mean, I have found that sometimes what I say comes across differently than I intend it to, but I like the unit I'm with, it's just really far away, and really hard for me to make, as well as some that I have talked to. When I started trying to recruit here in foreman I got a lot of positive feedback, except for the distance. I told them that the distance for the meeting was a bit far, but it could be farther if they get involved with ES, but they didn't mind that. My current unit, while small, is full of great people. Plenty of motivation, just not for ground ops. If I Were to start a unit here, I don't think they would lose any of there membership, the line would likely be drawn somewhere around new Boston Texas, and there are no members in new Boston. So I doubt I would cause much friction, other than not being a part of their unit, however I would love to meet with them as often as once a month to teach GSAR.

[Private Investigator]

In some of your earlier posts when you first moved to AR, at least I sensed some contention with the unit you found/joined. By branching out on your own, you may cause friction with your current unit, too.

The boys are bored in Foreman and there's CAP in Texarkana, and we'll bring it back no matter what it takes!

ROFLMAO

Youngsters will not know that 

[Private Investigator]

So you can branch a squadron to another location?

We did that once, ran a Flight to see if interest existed. Great for 90 days and then the people just went away.  Besides you making that commute, anyone else in your current Squadron make that commute. You may really just stay where you at and tough it out. No interest is no interest no matter how you spin it.

[Private Investigator]

Realistically, he would have done fine as a 2LT squadron commander;

All CAP Squadron Commanders are promoted to 1st Lt. I was a 2nd Lt when I first became a SQCC and a week or two later I got a 1st Lt ID card in the mail.

[Eclipse]

Realistically, he would have done fine as a 2LT squadron commander;

All CAP Squadron Commanders are promoted to 1st Lt.

It's not automatic - someone submitted that for you.  You can be a SMWOG, or a member wearing the NCO stripes from another service and still be a Unit CC.

[SARDOC]

All CAP Squadron Commanders are promoted to 1st Lt. I was a 2nd Lt when I first became a SQCC and a week or two later I got a 1st Lt ID card in the mail.

That is up to the Wing Commander and is not automatic.


EDIT: Posted at the same time as above post.

[RickRutledge]

As a long-time member, with time reviving a struggling unit, who is currently developing a new unit (11 months into the process), I wanted to show you a few things to consider.

I'll use my new unit as a case study.

Jenks-Riverside Composite Flight

PROS:
- Demographic area: We're in a middle-class to upper middle-class community which is a suburb of Tulsa, the perfect target for what we do. (My experience has been that the upper class buys their charity and the lower class is usually the benefactor in some way, there are always exceptions, but this is generally true)
- 10th Busiest Airport in terms of take offs and landings: We have more GA airplanes based here than any other ONE airport in the wing and more than most GA airports nationwide.
- We Meet at a LARGE regional flying technical college: Plenty of warm bodies looking for cheap hours
- The other Tulsa area units are on opposite sides of town: The closest unit to us is a solid 20+ minute drive in a city with 1m metro wide, two units are on the far north side and the other is in an eastern suburb
- Tons of Support: The aviation community at this airport has welcomed us with open arms. We've secured discounts with all the FBOs (they're hoping we do some flying activities out here) and we're being offered plenty of AE opportunities. Our US Senator and Congressional Squadron member has his hangar and three airplanes on the field.
- AFJROTC in our backyard: One of the state's largest AFJROTC units is at the high school less than 2 miles from the airport
- We're a satellite unit: The Big cadet squadron in town is our parent unit. They handle everything for us administratively so we can concentrate on growth.

CONS:
- Nucleus: We have struggled to build a sizable foundation of cadets. We've had plenty of tire-kickers, a couple who have stuck around and 3 great, top-performing cadets from the big area unit to get us started. But it's not been enough.
- Perception: The college kids either A) Don't have enough time to dedicate to the program with their full load of college courses for what they think is required of them or B) Most of their experience with CAP has been not so good, we're fighting that perception but it's an uphill climb.
- AFJROTC NCO: He's road blocked us from the gate. He doesn't like CAP but won't tell us why. He has virtually eliminated our access to his cadets. I have been in contact with the JROTC HQ at Maxwell and they are working to help marry the two programs, but that takes time.
- Sister Squadron Activities: Our sister squadron sports 40+ cadet members and with that comes a couple of exclusive annual activities that you must be a member of that unit to participate in. Unfortunately, this may be stealing 2 of the 3 cadet staff that I currently have, leaving me with a VERRRY green Senior NCO and a soon to be senior member who is currently a cadet. We're working on training the NCO, but again, it's a challenge.
- Sister Squadron Handles Everything Administratively: This in some cases is a pro, but in others its a BIG con. They have a fullll roster of members with constant need for approvals and they have enough to deal with trying to plan everything they have going on throughout the year. This creates a lag in getting things done. Plus, I have to share finances with them until we get a charter.
- No Vehicle: No charter = No vehicle = Hard to get active cadets to outside activities = even harder to keep them interested.
- Local Media Doesn't Seem Interested: We've struggled to get noticed. Most of the senior level activities gets plenty of love from the local media, but they seem to be less than curious about a new unit who hasn't done much yet. Kind of backward from what I hear in most places.

SIDENOTES:
Again, we've been able to get tons of support from the local aviation community but that doesn't always equal new bodies. We have a thorough recruiting and retention plan in place and we have been consistently tossing ideas around on NEW ways to recruit bodies.  We've been credited with 2 finds in the last couple of months, both non-distress and on the airport property, but it's been a great opportunity for the newbies to stand back and observe the kinds of things we do operationally and a great thing for them to see and know it's something they can do too. We have a pretty fool proof calendar and plan, but it's hard when you only have a couple of people coming around. We were given a defined territory in which each unit was allowed to recruit, with the understanding that cherry picking existing members was not allowed under any circumstances. If they chose to come to the unit on their own, so be it. And the funny thing is that we have enough members from the other units living within our territory to make our unit successful, but as was mentioned in a previous post, if we took ALL of them the other units would lose significant people. Its just plain, tough.

I would caution you with this -- GO GET BODIES. Meet and talk about short term goals and long term goals. Explain the expectations of CAP. Start to meet regularly. Once you have a couple of people who show up for several meetings in a row, you have a case to go become something. My suggestion would be to conduct yourselves as a sub-unit FIRST. In my wing that's a requirement for at least one calendar year before getting a charter. The sister squadron can handle your affairs from a regulatory and approval perspective so you can concentrate on spinning up the folks you've gotten interested in CAP. It's great to have a room full of 20 brand new recruits, but if you don't have something for them to do, QUICKLY, that number will shrink 10x as fast.

For anyone else who is reading this who may have some experience in starting a new unit, I'm always looking for ideas and best practices; PM me, I could use the help.