Questioning a SM.

[RogueLeader]

I was at the mall today to talk to the NG recruiter about possibly getting BDU's for cadets- CAP Activity.  An unknown person comes up and asks WHY I was in uniform.  Not what uniform it was or anything about CAP.  I ask who he was, and he refused saying that it was none of my business who he was.  He kept asking me questions, and I kept asking him about who he is.  Turns out that he is a SM in the wing- he thought he was a member of our squadron.  He was transfered out.  He also believed himself to be the Squadron PA Officer.  This member has not been seen in the entire time I have been here in the Squadron- about eight months.

Do you feel that I had the right to question who he was and such?

[jeders]

You always have the right to question who someone is when they come up and start asking you stuff. For all you knew, he could've been a crazed axe-murderer. Just be polite about it, and it's all good.

[♠SARKID♠]

Of course you do.  He's assaulting you with questions, why can't you ask back?  If he's going to come up to you and demand answers, you deserve just as many in return.  And IMHO his identity would be of even greater importance if he's trying to hide it from you - concealment of identity can often cover the butt of one intending to cause mischief (he wasn't trying to, but you didn't know that at the time).

[Eclipse]

Last I checked we don't have a Stazi in CAP, so no one has "special interrogation powers" - if it was none of your business who he was, it was none of his who you were. 

Anyone with real authority or interest would have identified themselves to you and explained what the issue or question was.

If you know who it was, you should inform your CC or the wing that someone out there is pretending to be something they are not.

[RogueLeader]

I also found out tonight that the person in question is no longer in CAP.  He dropped out of sight well over a year ago, and off the books this December.  He also never made it past 2d Lt.  The things you find out. . .

[Flying Pig]

I would have said I am Lt. XXX with Civil Air Patrol....since you were in uniform, and politely asked who he was.  If he wants to be an idiot, I would flat out tell him we were finished talking.  In CAP uniform, I can and would expect questions, but not rude interrogations.  Whats your Sq#?, General recruiting type questions etc. are OK.  In CAP you are first and foremost a private citizen.  If some clown suddenly starts questioning who you are in an unreasonable manner, you have every right to protect yourself and your personal information.

I get it all the time when I am in my work uniform.  Sure, I give a lot of slack, I will be in a public place and people suddenly decide they want to debate a legal issue with me or ask me why the cops set up their son's best friends cousin while I am in the middle of my Denny's Club Sandwich. I tell people, "If your looking for an argument, go somewhere else."  I am well within my authority as a Deputy to tell people that, so you can definitely do that as a CAP member and private citizen.

[DNall]

So anyway... how'd it go getting a uniform connection with the guard? BDUs are no longer authorized for us as of next month. We're not taking them up though when we issue ACUs. Almost everyone is fully switched over, but a lot of people only have one or two sets of ACUs so far. If you can work it out with the supply section at local NG units, most are willing to ask for BDU donations for CAP, and you might get some decent stuff.

[DrDave]

I fail to see how being rude to a member of the general public who is inquisitive about who we are, portrays CAP in a positive light.

Every single one of us, especially when "in uniform", is representing the entire organization.  Each of us is a "recruiting and retention officer" representing the best and the brightest of a 66 year old volunteer organization.  You never know who you're talking to, what organization they're with, what MEDIA organization they might be with, or if they're the parent of a prospective cadet or two or three.

Even if they were rude or inappropriate, do all in your power to remain calm, polite, and professional.

Of course, if you have to end the conversation because you're talking to a looney or obvious trouble maker, do it politely, professionally, and firmly -- while referring them to the national or your wing's website.

Dr. Dave
Asst. Wing PAO
Former Wing Recruiting & Retention Officer
Missouri Wing

[JohnKachenmeister]

I see no reason to be rude, but at some point I would also be uncomfortable with such questions, especially from someone who refused to identify themselves and identify their reason for asking.

I'm a retired policeman, and I still have the atomic-powered threat-and-lie-detector radars surgically implanted in my brain.  When the needles start moving into the yellow zone, I start reacting tactically.

[RogueLeader]

So anyway... how'd it go getting a uniform connection with the guard? BDUs are no longer authorized for us as of next month. We're not taking them up though when we issue ACUs. Almost everyone is fully switched over, but a lot of people only have one or two sets of ACUs so far. If you can work it out with the supply section at local NG units, most are willing to ask for BDU donations for CAP, and you might get some decent stuff.

Went good.

I see no reason to be rude, but at some point I would also be uncomfortable with such questions, especially from someone who refused to identify themselves and identify their reason for asking.

I don't either, but when a civilian is asking questions about where it is authorized to be wearing a CAP uniform outside of a meeting his highly irregular- there were many soldiers at the mall in uniform, that's what made the questions seem out of place.

He basically came out and verbally attacked me for what I was doing.  I'm sorry, but if I have no idea who he is, or what he represents; I will give no value to his statements.  He then stated how long he was in, trying to make me believe that he knew more about the organization than I do.

I feel that I acted properly, for the fact that I was approached in an unfriendly, and unprofessional manner- it was in the middle of the mall- and interrogated.  There were no polite questions asked, and there were false accusations about my actions.  Was there a better way that it could have been handled, I'm sure there was.

[ZigZag911]

there is indeed a difference between those who are truly inquisitive (be nice, make CAP look good, might recruit a new member!) and those conducting an inquisition (be civil but as uninformative as possible, unless the individual identifies himself/herself as one with legitimate authority to be asking the questions....of course, ordinarily someone who actually has the right to ask will behave both courteously and professionally!)