Promote or not to promote?

[Dutchboy]

I have a questions related to review boards.  If cadet john smith is boarding for a Senior NCO Grade, has a attendance rate in the 50% range since his last promotion, ( Only absences are family trip out of the country(3 weeks) and school and college prep related(1-2) week(s)), Had info all wrong for the achievment he was boarding for, has not attended a squadron activity at all in the last 8-9 months, Uniform needed work , was asked to get his attendance rate at 70 %, Study more on the achievement (did not pass the board),  Should they have been reccommened for promotion?  Can the board ask for a 70 % attendance rate?

When he completed everything board asked for, he could then ask for a new board to be done. He asked before they were done correctly.

have grounds for an appeal?

Can a Squadron commander defer to higher command,  the possible appeal?

Please quote CAPR's with any guidance you offer if at all possible.

[SarDragon]

Well, as has been pointed out in other threads, retesting AE and Leadership stuff during a board is improper. He either passed the written tests, or he didn't.

[PA Guy]

Might want to read CAPR 52-16 sect. 2-4.

[Dutchboy]

Well, as has been pointed out in other threads, retesting AE and Leadership stuff during a board is improper. He either passed the written tests, or he didn't.

What about the attendance and Squadron activities?

[capchiro]

A cadet needs to be actively progressing/participating in CAP.  I would say that it is up to the unit commander to decide if the cadet has been satisfactorily participating or if he believes the cadet has reason to be excused from activities and attendance.  I would think school and family trips would be excusable reasons, but one would have to really know the facts to decide.  Has this cadet passed his testing?  I am confused on his "not passing the boarding".  What does that mean??  I would also think that the board's recommendation would be just a recommendation and it would still be up to the unit commander..  JMHO..   

[jimmydeanno]

There are numerous objective checks to promotion; testing, character development, etc.

Then there are the subjective checks; maturity, skill, "active participation."

What you are concerned about are the subjective areas.  Without knowing your cadet, I would have a hard time justifying the promotion based on what you have written.  Even though someone may have school things come up or family vacations, those breaks still eliminated much needed training opportunities and development time.  Even if all the absences are "excused" it is quite possible that the cadet hasn't had enough time to develop their leadership abilities to the needed point.

In our squadron's cadet program operating instructions, we try to address that very issue.  It says, "While there is no direct penalty for excused absences, cadets may be held in grade due to lack of
experience or inability to perform at the next level due to numerous excused absences." 

[Eclipse]

It doesn't matter why a cadet or senior member isn't at meetings and activities, CAP is not a correspondence course - you have to actually participate physically to expect progression and be considered as an asset.

As long as the expectations were set properly, I don't see an issue with not promoting him.  Your example is the reason we have boards.

There is no appeal to higher HQ on a promotion, other than filing a complaint that the Unit CC violated regulations in the procedure. 

From your specific example, I would say that missing 5+ weeks of meetings is probably a root cause of his being unprepared and uninformed.

[davedove]

A cadet doesn't have to be promoted just because all the boxes were checked.  If the cadet isn't ready, then no promotion.  With each promotion, the cadet gets more responsibility over other cadets and should not be promoted if they're not ready for that.

[Always Ready]

I have a questions related to review boards.  If cadet john smith is boarding for a Senior NCO Grade, has a attendance rate in the 50% range since his last promotion, ( Only absences are family trip out of the country(3 weeks) and school and college prep related(1-2) week(s)), Had info all wrong for the achievment he was boarding for, has not attended a squadron activity at all in the last 8-9 months, Uniform needed work , was asked to get his attendance rate at 70 %, Study more on the achievement (did not pass the board),  Should they have been reccommened for promotion?  Can the board ask for a 70 % attendance rate?

Here's what I think...

As far as the attendance rate, is he actively participating during the meetings that he does show up to? Is he acting his rank? Meaning, is he meeting the expectations that you have for him and others at his rank? If not, then don't promote him. If he is meeting your expectations for someone his rank, I would probably promote him...family and school do come first.

With CAP activities outside of the normal meetings, I consider them to be a bonus point for someone going for a promotion that is borderline performance wise. I do not hold it against anyone that cannot attend the extras outside of the normal meetings. I have a handful of cadets who can't attend because their parents don't let them do anything on the weekends. It is something out of their control (like this cadet's family vacations, school, and college prep time). There is a reason that that stuff is optional. Not everyone can be a CAP-nazi and do nothing outside of CAP, family, and school.

By this point in the program, his uniform should be almost perfect (very, very few mistakes) all the time. But I have seen more than a few high ranking cadet officers who totally screwed up their uniforms. So if they weren't huge mistakes, I would probably let it slide. But I would quickly remind him that he should be able to wear his uniform properly by this point.

With all that being said, if you are asking him questions during the promotion board relating to the material covered by the leadership tests or aerospace tests, he does have some recourse. If I were him, I would fight it. If he does fight it, some people in your squadron *could* get in some trouble on this premise:

d. Promotion Boards. Although not required, units may hold promotion boards
(sometimes known as boards of review), to help the commander decide if cadets are ready to accept the increased responsibilities that come with their promotions. If used, promotion boards must meet the following criteria:
*snip*
(2) Promotion boards will not re-test cadets on material they already passed through achievement tests.

[PA Guy]

A cadet appearing before a review board for a senior NCO promotion should have an outstanding uniform, it should be a slam dunk by that point. Anything less than outstanding would demonstrate a lack of motivation, knowledge and attention to detail.  It would be like saying, "I checked all the boxes so pormote me". It would also indicate a lack of maturity and ability to accept greater responsibility.  One of the tasks of a cadet senior NCO is to instruct lower ranking cadets in proper uniform wear. If they can't wear an outstanding uniform to their promotion review board they have a problem. While uniform wear is not the only criteria it is a very important one at that level.

[biomed441]

Has the rule of not re-testing information in a review board always been part of the review process? I have been doing my readings for the cadet programs specialty track and when I came across that, I was a little t'd off as I actually failed a board as a cadet because I choked and couldn't vocalize a few answers to some questions that covered AE and Leadership. I did pass the written tests though.  This was back in the 2001-2003 time frame though so I'm wondering if thats something realatively new or not.

Back on track with the origional post. Kudos for actually doing review boards.  I'm not certain my current squadron even does them. I hope to change that.  I also don't see any reason not to promote the cadet, though during the next review process, I would really have a discussing with him to determine if he still is willing to commit his time to the program and participate actively within the unit. After all they should be reciting their oath from memory in order to promote, and should also understand the oath they are reciting.

[arajca]

Has the rule of not re-testing information in a review board always been part of the review process? I have been doing my readings for the cadet programs specialty track and when I came across that, I was a little t'd off as I actually failed a board as a cadet because I choked and couldn't vocalize a few answers to some questions that covered AE and Leadership. I did pass the written tests though.  This was back in the 2001-2003 time frame though so I'm wondering if thats something realatively new or not.

I think it was added in the last revision.

[Pingree1492]

have grounds for an appeal?

Can a Squadron commander defer to higher command,  the possible appeal?

Please quote CAPR's with any guidance you offer if at all possible.

CAPR 52-16 2-4d. Promotion Boards. Although not required, units may hold promotion boards (sometimes known as boards of review), to help the commander decide if cadets are ready to accept the increased responsibilities that come with their promotions. If used, promotion boards must meet the following criteria:
(1) The commander (or commander's designee) must evaluate each cadet using a CAPF 50.
(2) Promotion boards will not re-test cadets on material they already passed through achievement tests.
(3) Commanders must apply local promotion board policies consistently, with all cadets being subject to the same process.

Okay, first question is What did his Form 50 look like?  If you're using the new CAPF 50-XX series, it gives you the "answers" as far as what we should be looking for in cadet maturity and readiness to promote to a new grade.   For a senior NCO, you should be looking at the following things: Attitude, Core Values, Communication Skills, Sense of Responsibility, and Inter-Personal Skills.

All of these requirements are looking at these areas as it applies to leading a small group (such as a flight).  If this cadet is having all of these absences, even though they might be excused, it makes it hard to justify giving him a leadership position.  If he's not doing these things to expectations, or you can't evaluate his Communication skills (proficient in informal public speaking) because he doesn't ever do it, then don't promote.

As far as requiring 70% attendance- this is certainly allowable within the regs (as in, your squadron's definition of "active participation"), but you have to apply it evenly across the squadron (or the cadets of the same grade).

The only "Cadet Knowledge" a Promotion Board can legally test a cadet on is the Cadet Oath.  Can't recite it from memory?  No promotion.  But that's it- Drill, Leadership knowledge, aerospace knowledge are already tested elsewhere and it is off limits for the board.

So is decision "appealable" - maybe.  If procedures weren't followed correctly IAW CAP 52-16, it certainly should be, in that the cadet should go before a board again, with the board following the correct procedures.  It shouldn't go higher that Squadron Commander level, unless said Squadron CC refuses to follow regs, then you/the cadet would be justified in kicking it up the chain (but ONLY if the regs weren't being followed).  Otherwise, the Squadron CC is the final approval authority for promotions.

This was back in the 2001-2003 time frame though so I'm wondering if thats something realatively new or not.

There was a fairly substantial change to CAPR 52-16 that came out April 2003, but I'm not sure if it included promotion board guidance (will have to pull out an old copy).  The last change certainly has it (Oct 06).  I don't believe there was much specific guidance on the issue before 2003, so what happened was most likely legal at the time.

[A.Member]

Should they have been reccommened for promotion?  Can the board ask for a 70 % attendance rate?

When he completed everything board asked for, he could then ask for a new board to be done. He asked before they were done correctly.

have grounds for an appeal?

Can a Squadron commander defer to higher command,  the possible appeal?

Please quote CAPR's with any guidance you offer if at all possible.

CAPR 52-16 is your friend. 

Section 2-4(c), which states:

c. Retaining a Cadet in Grade. Commanders should retain a cadet in grade if the cadet's performance or maturity does not demonstrate an ability to accept increased responsibility commensurate with the promotion. Using the CAPF 50, Cadet Leadership Feedback, the commander (or deputy commander) will offer constructive feedback to help the cadet develop his/her leadership skills. The commander must also schedule a follow-up review to be held within 60 days.

As it pertains to attendance:

1-5. Unit Meetings. Most squadrons meet weekly for 2 1/2 hours. The cadet staff, with senior member guidance, plans the program.

a. Quarterly Schedule. Units should organize their weekly meetings around a master schedule based on a 13-week quarter. This system ensures the unit fulfills the minimum training requirements, and allows ample time for other special training opportunities. See Figure 1-1.

b. Attendance. Cadets are required to participate actively in their local unit if they are to progress in the Cadet Program. Excessive, unexcused absences may be cause for termination from CAP (see CAPR 35-3, Membership Termination). Any school-related activity is considered an excused absence. Cadets are responsible for notifying the unit about school activities in advance. School-related absences do not excuse cadets from the pre-requisites needed to earn promotions.

Also see  paragraph 3c (below) of  CAPR 35-3 pertaining to causes for termination of cadet membership:

c. Lack of interest demonstrated by failure to attend three successive regular meetings without an acceptable excuse.

So, to answer your question:  No, the cadet absolutely should not be promoted if he is not participating and/or you don't think he is ready. 

Can the cadet appeal?  Sure, I suppose he could.  However, any Commander worth anything at all, at any level, will back you 100% on this issue.   You are the one most familiar with the situation and you have plenty of regulations to support such a decision.

In addition, you should be commended for holding your cadets to these standards and for the use of promotion boards.  Unfortunately, I've come across far too many seniors involved with the cadet program that have virtually no understanding of these regulations or others pertaining to the cadet program.  As a result, cadets end up "running" the program based on the "that's how we've always done it" rule with little true oversight from the senior members.   

The failure of some senior members in leadership positions to understand and uphold these regulations, particularly those pertaining to attendance, not only reeks of laziness and indifference but it underminds the entire purpose of the cadet program...to develop leadership skills and qualities among our cadets.  We do a disservice to ourselves and the cadets when they are allowed to progress without any true contibution or active participation.  If you join the football team and don't show to practice during the week, then you should expect to play on gameday.  Same concept here. 

I look at it this way:  If a cadet wants to mail in box tops and collect badges, they can join another organization.  I'm here to develop them as leaders and young adults - both within CAP and outside the organization.  They must earn their stripes.  There is no entitlement.  To some that may sound hard but I disagree.  It's merely upholding a worthy standard.  When that is done, cadets gain a true sense of pride knowing that they've really earned their achievements.

[Tueboron]

Disregarding any reasons the cadet failed his review board, CAPR 52-16 2-4 is clear.

"Using the CAPF 50, Cadet Leadership Feedback, the commander (or deputy commander) will offer constructive feedback to help the cadet develop his/her leadership skills. The commander must also schedule a follow-up review to be held within 60 days."

so if a follow up review was not scheduled at the time he failed the review he does have cause to file a complaint.

[MSG Mac]

The Squadron Commander is the final authority on promotions. The board recommends approval or disapproval and the Commander acts on the recommendation. If the cadet fails to meet the standard he/she shouldn't advance. If he is going for a senior grade he should be aware of the requirements and strive to exceed them. In this case the cadet didn't. If he was informed of what needed to be done and than fulfills the requirement(s) then he should be promoted at that time.