need advice on a situation

[Chatterbox]

Good morning! I hope to get some advice/comments from you about the situation at my son's squadron. I am a Senior member there as well (sponsor), though looks like my services are not quite needed. But that's a different story.
In any case, my son is currently C/CMSgt, half way to his Lt. rank. He has been a member for 2 years, never missed a meeting (with one exception when we went to visit family). He attended 3 encampments (basic, intermidiate and ATS), was working very hard on his advancements. He was a flight commander for some time, participated in other activities. He wants to enlist right after school and that was the main reason for joining CAP. Couple weeks ago current First Sergeant was promoted to 2Lt and my son was really excited because it was leading to his promotion to FIRST Sergeant. Well, he was not. Kinda. he was told that he can't be First Sergeant alone and another person was promoted as well (that preson has lower rank - SMSgt and less time in the unit). My son is now Assistant First Sergeant.
Now, I understand things happen and you can't get want you want all the time. But! He worked really hard and tried so much. He was crushed last night. His spirits were crushed. He was very bitter and dissapointed. He said he was not even explained why such a decision was made. His strategy from now on - get his rank (it will give him a boost once he enlists), attend meetings, sign up for summer activities (he is looking forward to a few next summer) and keep the lowest profile. He said it's not a fair game there and he does not want to fight it any more, no point.
To my view, there was a change in the unit after a new senior member took over a day-to-day cadet activities. I know there is favoritism.
I would like to know what you all think about it. It was heartbreaking to see his wings clipped, quite literally. Any advice?

[jeders]

Well first, I would say that he shouldn't see it as having his wings clipped, but as giving a cadet who will have more time to serve as first shirt a chance. First sergeant isn't a position that should be turned over every few months; like cadet commander, there needs to be continuity.

Not being in the heads of the seniors involved I can't say why they would have made that choice, but I likely would have made the same choice and that goes back to the continuity thing. Probably they felt that your son would only be able to be first shirt for a month or two before promoting to C2d Lt, you said he's a chief and halfway there. Or worse, he may delay his promotion to C/2d Lt in order to stay first shirt just a little longer. Selecting a cadet who was already on there way out of the NCO ranks to be first shirt would be bad for the unit.

Also, if he's already been a flight commander, then first shirt could well be seen by some as a step backwards.

[Chatterbox]

I can see all that, but my main concern is that nothing was explained at all. How can you improve if you dont' know what to improve?
PS. he was a flight commander while the actual one was out. Couple months. Than the decision was made that Flight commander should not be NCO.

[Eclipse]

It doesn't sound like any "improvement is necessary", in fact from 50K feet it looks like the proper decision was made.

These staff appointments are not popularity contests, nor are they supposed to be "due" to anyone, regardless of grade.
As mentioned, a cadet who is all but an Officer is a poor choice for First Sargent.  A lot of CAP opportunities are as much about timing
and circumstance as any sort of specific progression or expectation of appointment.

You said there is new senior leadership, which is good, because it sounds like the old ones needed help (i.e. having NCOs as Flight CC's,
etc.). 

How your son (and you) deal with disappointment like this will be a good lesson in how life, and the military works.  He's going to encounter this
a lot more as he gets older, and the reaction will usually shape future assignments and opportunity.

If you and he treat this as a "no fair, that was my job" and then adopt an "I quit" mentality, well, that's what he will get
and a poor lesson.

If you adopt a "this was the best choice for all" and "you need to help the new guy and then look to the next challenge" mentality
a lot of other doors, as well as your son's attitude, will open up. 

As a Cadet Officer, it is time for him to start "giving back" - staffing encampments and other large activities, mentoring new cadets
and NCOs, and generally showing appreciation for everything he has received to this point.  He will also have plenty
of leadership opportunities in becoming a Flight CC, and potentially squadron staff as well.

As to your own involvement, if you want to have an influence, you need to become a full member.  As you have seen, Sponsor members
are essentially "extra hands chaperons" who are generally viewed as only being in it for their child, which is fine, such that it is,
but won't open up the staff to your input.

[NC Hokie]

Here are my thoughts (for whatever they are worth):

Your son has promoted at an above average rate and has shown himself to be a hard charger.  Both of these facts suggest that he would only hold the position of First Sergeant for a very short time before promoting to C/2d Lt, so I can easily see why he was not given the position.  The Assistant First Sergeant thing is a little wierd, but that may have been a clumsy attempt to avoid any hard feelings on his part.

The decision to take the Flight Commander position away from him was in line with the various regulations and publications that address cadet staff positions.  The idea is to make sure that cadets aren't thrust into positions that they are not prepared to succeed in.  From what you've shared, it appears to me that the new senior member leadership is trying to do things "by the book," which doesn't seem to have been the case previously.

As far as the lack of explanation...has your son asked for one?  As a CDC, I make decisions all the time without explaining myself to everyone in the squadron, but I am more than happy to answer any direct questions put to me.

My advice to your son would be to first ask why he was not given the Flight Sergeant position outright.  After that is dealt with, continue to work towards the Mitchell Award and do nothing to harm his reputation at the squadron.  It may well be that the senior member leadership has plans to offer him another position once he promotes to C/2d Lt.  Finally, do what he can to make things better for all of the cadets in the squadron.

[Chatterbox]

All, thank you. I do not think he realized fully the part about promoting to 2Lt and timing. He is eager to attend future encampments as a staff member and I really would like to see him to be involved in CAP. It is a great experience. This will help me to help him see things at a different angle. Like I said, my first reaction was - learn from it, it's a tough life. But I also wanted to get some input from those who has experience in CAP.
thank you again

[A.Member]

"Assistant First Sergeant"?   

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

Or is that Assistant to the First Sergeant?

[Eclipse]

Second Sergeant?

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

Second Sergeant?

AKA Second Shirt?

[coudano]

Well the others have hit the high points, but i'll just add a couple of thoughts...

1.  Being the shirt is a big deal to cadets who are aspiring to it.  There may have been REALLY good reasons for picking the other cadet.  Personally I would have pulled aside the other senior NCO's and explained what the squadron was doing, and why this decision fit the big picture.  That's just basic "taking care of your troops".  This could have been handled differently with a much better attitude outcome.  Welcome to CAP.

2.  Because of the way the cadet program is structured, this situation is inevitable.   In any medium or larger size squadron, there are going to be a lot of NCO's (almost 1:1 with phase 1 cadets infact).  At the end of the day, not everybody is going to get a chance to be the shirt.  That's just the way the rocks roll. 

3.  That said, you don't always get picked for that promotion at work.  Even if you are a kick butt employee who busts your butt.  Sometimes the person who does get picked isn't as good as you.

4.  Hey sometimes things are jacked up, and wrong.  Sometimes there is blatant favoritism and unfairness.  That (might) have happened here.   It does happen, out there in the world.  We don't know from this point of view.   That said, when it does happen, we all have our choices to make about how we react to it.  Taking your ball and going home is one option.  Ideally the cadets are developing the resilience to bounce through it and continue to excel  in spite of it.

[EMT-83]

I would exercise caution and not become a helicopter CAP parent. There are times to be an advocate for your cadet child, and other times to sit back and let things shake themselves out while quietly offering advice in the background.

[Chatterbox]

I would exercise caution and not become a helicopter CAP parent. There are times to be an advocate for your cadet child, and other times to sit back and let things shake themselves out while quietly offering advice in the background.

I am not trying to be that. But I do want to help him deal with it outside of CAP. How he handles it with CAP is up to him.

[Майор Хаткевич]

In any case, my son is currently C/CMSgt, half way to his Lt. rank. He has been a member for 2 years, never missed a meeting (with one exception when we went to visit family). He attended 3 encampments (basic, intermidiate and ATS), was working very hard on his advancements. He was a flight commander for some time, participated in other activities. He wants to enlist right after school and that was the main reason for joining CAP. Couple weeks ago current First Sergeant was promoted to 2Lt and my son was really excited because it was leading to his promotion to FIRST Sergeant.

The two bolded portions right away told me why he didn't get picked. He's at a point where minimum times are 16 months, and he's there in 24 months. So he may spend between 2-3 months and then become a cadet officer. Not quite long enough to be the cadet first sergeant.

When I transferred to my current unit (August 2005), I was a C/CMSgt with everything but a PT done for my Mitchell. For various dumb reasons, I was holding off on the promotion. This lead to me becoming the cadet first sergeant in the unit in September of 2005, and things being as they were, applying and becoming the cadet first sergeant at encampment (April 2006). The condition put on me at this point by my leadership was to knock out the last PT and be promoted AT the graduation for encampment, so as soon as my tour as first sergeant ended there, it also ended at the unit. I was able to get in a good 7 months as a cadet first sergeant, and typically I would say that's a position that should have 6-9 month terms. Good times, all around.

But why tell you that? Because it really takes a good 3-4 months JUST to get into the role. In 3 months, we're talking 13 meetings. That's not nearly enough time for much of anything. Have him focus on finishing his Armstrong, taking his Mitchell, and working on developing himself as a cadet officer. If he plans on enlisting, then the cadet officer lessons will be more of a benefit to him when he gets closer to NCO level than the Phase I and II lessons have so far.

[AngelWings]

This organization has its ups and downs, its bright people and its insane people. Your kid will be much better off becoming an LT than staying a 1SG. I would NOT let your kid take it personally, because at the end of the day, these positions won't mean as much as saying you belong to a mere 15% of CAP.

[Майор Хаткевич]

Better yet. Get 2d Lt, get Earhart under 1 year, and its now the top 5%.

[Chatterbox]

Thank you, guys. This is exactly what I need to boost his spirits and morale. 

[Tim Day]

As the CDC in my squadron, I treat cadet leadership positions as training opportunities in line with the cadet programs manual. As a flight commander, and about-to-be C/2d Lt, your son is beyond the point in the syllabus where being First Sergeant lines up with what he's studying.

I respectfully disagree with the need for a First Sergeant to serve more than 3 months or so. Much depends on the training program and passdown.

For what it's worth (and I don't know the situation in the unit) I'd recommend a staff position (Admin NCO, Schedules NCO, ES NCO, etc) versus Assistant First Sergeant. This would give him an opportunity to work with the Senior Members and would prepare him for future cadet officer positions.

I think you're doing a great job helping him through this, by the way. I tell my cadets' parents they have every right and should feel comfortable questioning decisions I make or approve.

One other recommendation: I encourage you to review the Training Leaders of Cadets material on the national website. TLC has good content that can help you be more of an asset to your cadet program, even if you can't find a local course to attend.

[Patterson]

I think everyone missed a huge aspect of the story presented.  The Cadet in question "was a Flight Commander for some time". It's obvious that something has taken place to find this cadet replaced in that duty, and offered a "parting gift" staff job in a politically correct type way.

Cadets move up or lateral in terms of staff positions or duty assignments.  This was clearly a move down and away from any command assignment!

[jeders]

I think everyone missed a huge aspect of the story presented.  The Cadet in question "was a Flight Commander for some time". It's obvious that something has taken place to find this cadet replaced in that duty, and offered a "parting gift" staff job in a politically correct type way.

Cadets move up or lateral in terms of staff positions or duty assignments.  This was clearly a move down and away from any command assignment!

Actually we didn't, it's already been brought up and explained several times.