CAP Recruiters

[RiverAux]

Recruiting is an issue that we discuss here fairly regularly, with a primary focus on specific techniques and strategies to bring people in and some talk on incentives to encourage recruiting.  NHQ has been apparently devoting some attention to this issue through the marketing plan published last year and the recruiting and retention specialty track that was developed last year, however some stats presented in a thread in the spring of '07 indicated that there were only official recruiting officers at about 15% of units.  I know that my wing only has one designated recruiting officer (amongst all units and wing staff). 

When you put this together we seem to still live by the "everybody is a recruiter" rule.  This actually works pretty well, but at some point you run out of friends and acquaintences to drag to meetings.  At this point you've now got "Nobody is a recruiter". 

Of course the military has a very large corps of dedicated recruiters that could serve as a model for us.  Of course, they've got a few advantages in that they've got a fairly limited demographic where most of their attention goes and don't really care where you're coming from (people are expected to go to where they're needed rather than serve at home - NG/RES being the exception). 

One of, if not the, best State Defense Force is the California Military Reserve and on another board this was part of their update on 2008 activities:

1. First quarter recruiting goal is to break 700. Continue to recruit quality personnel into the SMR.


In April, we broke 700 and today there are 740 personnel in the SMR. At this rate, we could possibly go over 800 by the end of the year.
We conducted our first recruiter school in April with 26 graduates and 5 staff personnel attending. These graduates will be our full time recruiters in the Southern and Northern Recruiting Commands and will be authorized to wear the CSMR Recruiters Badge as they achieve their recruiting goals.

Now, California has one of the biggest CAP Wings and I've got no idea how many Recruiting Officers they have, but I feel relatively safe in going out on a limb by saying that they probably haven't had a recruiter school and probably don't have 26 full-time recruiters.  But, my point is that 3.5% of the membership of the CASMR is a full-time recruiter compared to about a third of 1% of CAP members (based on the numbers mentioned above and a CAP membership of 56,000). 

So, the question for the group is whether or not it is likely that CAP will develop an active recruiting program (obviously working with public affairs)?  Can you see a majority of squadrons having a recruiter and with a team of them on Wing staff?   

[Eclipse]

So, the question for the group is whether or not it is likely that CAP will develop an active recruiting program (obviously working with public affairs)?  Can you see a majority of squadrons having a recruiter and with a team of them on Wing staff?   

No.

The rank and file don't join CAP to get others to join.  They join to do something interesting and different from their daily lives.

[RiverAux]

Yes, no one joins to do that, but once in....and the CASMR seems to be showing that you can get people to do it in relatively large numbers in a (primarily) volunteer organization. 

[Eclipse]

"Primarily" and "all" are two different beasts when you start talking about volunteers.

We could make significant change in CAP in a very short period if we could move from "all" to "primarily".

[RiverAux]

I used "primarily" because there are a fairly limited number of opportunities for paid assignments in CASMR, but the vast majority of their work is done as volunteers, including recruiting.  The fact that some CASMR members can get paid duty doesn't impact the willingness of others to volunteer their time recruiting for the organization.

[Hawk200]

So, the question for the group is whether or not it is likely that CAP will develop an active recruiting program (obviously working with public affairs)?  Can you see a majority of squadrons having a recruiter and with a team of them on Wing staff?   

Is it likely? I would say no. Should we have a program? I would say yes. We need people, and there are plenty of people out there that probably have or would have an interest in participating, but just don't know we're out there. I mention around fellow soldiers that I've been doing CAP for almost ten years, and they ask me what it is.  A small few have been familiar with it, and an even smaller few have been members.

All in all, I think a recruiting program would be a smart idea. Any organization that doesn't actively recruit probably dies eventually.

[stratoflyer]

I was recruited during a recruiting drive at my middle school--this was a board with some pics of CAP in action, and a few members in uniform to talk to. They handed out a flyer with meeting info and that first meeting was a sort of 'basic processing' in which they gave a demonstration of drill, showed a slideshow of  CAP, and while we were outside, parents were indoors getting questions answered. A couple months later, it'd be done again, at a different school.

I think recruiting drives are the best way to do this, and theu should be staffed and organized by members of the squadron--in short, it should be a squadron activity.

Now, if CAP had dedicated recruiters that would serve as advisers, and would develop materials and distribute them, that would be ideal.

[CadetProgramGuy]

Too bad gto cannot use the Air Force or Army ways of selecting recruiters.....

Go to school or you go no where in your career.....

wait......thats us already......    <-- hey I was smiling when I said it!!

[Capt Rivera]

I think recruiting drives are the best way to do this, and theu should be staffed and organized by members of the squadron--in short, it should be a squadron activity.

I agree, but this is not always possible. There are some Public School systems who have seen fit to disallow access...

[stratoflyer]

While my suggestion was solely based on my personal experience, it was in no way meant as a silver bullet for every squadron out there. However, assuming youths are the target audience for most CAP recruiting drives, schools are not the only place to recruit. A thorough understanding and familiarity of your local area and a fair amount of creativity go a long way.

The best way though, regarding schools, is to recruit a teacher or faculty member to become a senior member. Provide some sort of liaison with school administration and make them feel CAP is part of the community as much as the school. Another example, next time the school has a major fund raiser, CAP members could help out. Sort of how CAP helps out during air shows. Provide a service and recruit at the same time.

There are many places where CAP recruiting can take place effectively. I think though, that folks from other youth organizations should be aware that CAP in no way competes with them. For example, I know many cadets from local schools who are JROTC cadets as well, and their supervisors feel as if CAP is stealing cadets. False! One of my goals with my local area is to establish a working relationship with JROTC's of different services. Think cadetstuff.org and how a cadet is a cadet, despite some differences.

I suppose in this capacity a CAP recruiter would also act as a liaison. In fact,  IMHO, if a recruiter does not necessarily recruit a new member, but instead makes a valuable connection that benefits the squadron, then that much is as helpful as a new member.

Folks, remember that quantity without quality is useless. So recruiters should also help out with improving the quality of the current membership of the squadron.

[afgeo4]

Recruiting, when done properly is very rewarding and lots of fun.

You get to help units, speak to children and adults at events, plan events, create and manage budgets, etc.

It's a great CAP career track for those who have a solid background in ALL 3 missions.

All we need now is for formal training in the job (recruiter seminars) and people at HQ levels being interested.

[addo1]

So, the question for the group is whether or not it is likely that CAP will develop an active recruiting program (obviously working with public affairs)?  Can you see a majority of squadrons having a recruiter and with a team of them on Wing staff?   

No.

The rank and file don't join CAP to get others to join.  They join to do something interesting and different from their daily lives.

I agree and disagree. While, I agree that each person joins to get what they need to get out of CAP, a lot of people do want to get others to join.  I can say this from experience.  I am the Recruiter at my squadron and have recruited personally over 15 people, and helped many more bring people in.  I did not join to recruit people, but after being in the program, I WANT to recruit to see others be able to get the same benifits that I did.  I think that there are other people that would agree with me that there are people out there who would devote themselves to solely recruiting.

[DC]

So, the question for the group is whether or not it is likely that CAP will develop an active recruiting program (obviously working with public affairs)?  Can you see a majority of squadrons having a recruiter and with a team of them on Wing staff?   

No.

The rank and file don't join CAP to get others to join.  They join to do something interesting and different from their daily lives.

I agree and disagree. While, I agree that each person joins to get what they need to get out of CAP, a lot of people do want to get others to join.  I can say this from experience.  I am the Recruiter at my squadron and have recruited personally over 15 people, and helped many more bring people in.  I did not join to recruit people, but after being in the program, I WANT to recruit to see others be able to get the same benifits that I did.  I think that there are other people that would agree with me that there are people out there who would devote themselves to solely recruiting.

Your perspective is a little different, you are a cadet recruiter, but a cadet first. SMs do not have as much of an established program to follow seperate from their specialty track. They might be able to get involved in something else (GT, Aircrew, etc) but for the most part, their job is their job.

[CAP_truth]

I have found that too many commanders from wing to squadron do not give the important that is needed to support a good recruiting program. We lose too many members while others do not give there effort to the duties of CAP. A good recruiting officer could better meet and orientate new members on the importants of their service to CAP.

[Ricochet13]

Important to set goals and establish expectations when a new member joins.  Also need to be sure that recruiting acknowledges quality over quantity.  Don't be afraid to say no to someone wishing to join if there is not a likely expectation of success, whatever the definition of member success is.  Warm bodies that eventually turn out to be either unable or unwilling to participate and contribute will detract from the overall effectiveness of the squadron.  The other half of the equation is of course retention.

[stratoflyer]

^Sounds callous, but true.