Iowa Wing CAP

[mikeylikey]

^^  Your State Directors can get free housing on most bases/posts/installations.  Granted you may not be staying in the BOQ/BEQ/VOQ....you will get a place to set down for the night (old WWII barracks maybe).  As far as meals go the DFAC's can bargain out prices with the State Director if enough notice is given.  Nothing is free......but you have to put some serious time into finding the cheaper resources.

[cyclone]

Funding is of course at the heart of everything CAP.  So let's dissect the "average WTA" and set the mark at 150 people present, and an "operations" weekend with the Air Force providing funding for transport and training on the A/C and vehicles.

Facilities (Barracks, Orderly Room, Chow Hall, Classrooms, etc): $300
Food: $1,500 for food (we prepare it)
Admin (Copies, supplies, etc): $100

Total Cost / Weekend: $1,900

Cost / person (at 150 people): $13

Even if you go back to the days of passing the hat that's still not bad for a weekend of CAP.   Even if your wing did this quarterly I think you would see the difference.  The key is to do as much as you can for the month in that one weekend so everyone enjoys a break the other weekends of the month.

[Dragoon]

You're getting a heck of a deal for the facilities.

[RogueLeader]

^^^ that's one of the benefits with being "in" with the state and the Guard.  Senior Members also have the privilege of getting private rooms on base for $10 a night.

[ddelaney103]

^^^ that's one of the benefits with being "in" with the state and the Guard.  Senior Members also have the privilege of getting private rooms on base for $10 a night.

I don't care how "in" you are with them - $2.00 a weekend for lodging, including common areas, means some else is picking up the bill.  If the TAG is ponying up the funds, you still need to count that

Likewise, $10/weekend for food is also a great deal - though this is mitigated by the fact you're willing to sacrifice member training to get the food prepared.

I don't think your average Wing could conduct such an event for less than $40.00/person for a weekend.  That would be 4 $5.00 meals (3 Sat and 1 Sun) and 2 nights at $10 per.

[RogueLeader]

I don't care how "in" you are with them - $2.00 a weekend for lodging, including common areas, means some else is picking up the bill.  If the TAG is ponying up the funds, you still need to count that

Likewise, $10/weekend for food is also a great deal - though this is mitigated by the fact you're willing to sacrifice member training to get the food prepared.

I don't think your average Wing could conduct such an event for less than $40.00/person for a weekend.  That would be 4 $5.00 meals (3 Sat and 1 Sun) and 2 nights at $10 per.

1- We are counting cost to CAP and/or Members.
2- There is some loss to training, but not a lot
  a- scheduled around Training
  b- quickly made lunches Cold cuts, bought potato salad, mre's, etc.
  c- lunch mostly done by unscheduled personnel for time slot.

If you look at it from an officers side think of it this way:
1- State pays gas to and from- $0
2- pays for meals- $0
3- pays for barracks- $0
4- Training/Materials-$0
Cost of Weekend- $0

The only thing lost is money from work, which would have happened anyway, if attended.

[ddelaney103]

But that brings us no closer to reproducing the IAWG plan to anyone else.  If the plan has to start, "1. Find a TAG willing to be your Sugar Daddy," this thing is DOA.

Even a quarterly weekend could be of use to create a whole new group dynamic for CAP, but resources are a real killer.  I've seen too many help messages going out because some logistical failing at the Tri Wing Encampment to believe that setting up WTA's are as easy as all that.

[Hawk200]

I've seen too many help messages going out because some logistical failing at the Tri Wing Encampment to believe that setting up WTA's are as easy as all that.

Considering that they've been doing this for a while, it probably really isn't that difficult now, it's no longer a once-in-a-while thing. I imagine it was probably a nightmare initially, most people scratching heads as to what's next. Perfect practice makes perfect.

[RiverAux]

I think everybody thinks this a good idea, but free base housing has been extremely hard to come by lately.  The facilities near us are in constant use by the military and our folks are tearing their hair out every year about whether encampment is going to get cancelled at the last minute for "the needs of the service". 

All that aside, I'm just amazed that you've managed to get the people to volunteer to lead all the training each month.  For such a small wing, that is a major accomplishment.

[Hawk200]

All that aside, I'm just amazed that you've managed to get the people to volunteer to lead all the training each month.  For such a small wing, that is a major accomplishment.

I would agree, it's dedication. I hope people are writing up a dec (or a dozen) for the folks that are taking the time to instruct. People that are putting forward their time need be shown that their service is appreciated.

[Nick Critelli]

I think you guys are missing the point.  You are focusing on one small part of the end result of the project rather than the project itself.  We have all these benefits, e.g. TAG support, funding, etc. because of what we have done.

Our whole message is "make yourself relevant to the powers that be by developing and delivering  a service that they need when they need it. "

Over on the other thread I tried to explain why we pushed for U.S. Civil Air Patrol....it enhances our relevancy and acceptability. It's the same reason we dropped "senior member" and went to "officer."  Call it branding, packaging or whatever but make your service attractive and acceptable.

NC

[RiverAux]

Over on the other thread I tried to explain why we pushed for U.S. Civil Air Patrol....it enhances our relevancy and acceptability.

Sounds nice, but the only reason stated when this was proposed was to avoid confusion with the Brazilian Civil Air Patrol (whose name is in Portugeuse anyway). 

[Nick Critelli]

Well, I don't know anything about the Brazilian CAP. b I told you guys about this before. We wrote back in January requesting HQ to consider adding the U.S. to the name. 

"Working on behalf of CAP with state and local government it has come to my attention that there is some degree of confusion regarding our identity.  While many understand our status some do not. Some believe us to be a state organization, i.e. the Iowa Civil Air Patrol yet others believe us to be a  private association. "

State and local government  were constantly misidentifying  us as state entities.  The press was all over the place.  See, for example "...hundreds of laymen's groups, from the General Electric plant at Erie, Pa., to the New York Civil Air Patrol, to soldiers at Ft. Belvoir, Va., ... (www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,824043,00.html) or  "...As the search continues, members of the Nevada Civil Air Patrol and the California Civil Air Patrol are also lending a hand. ...
(www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20050907/REGION/109070023).

We know they meant the New York Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, etc. etc but that's not the way it comes out. I've seen MOU's and state statutes written in the same manner.

I don't know about "branding" or Brazil, etc." but I do know about the issues that were referenced in our request.

NC

[isuhawkeye]

just another clarification. 

Our relationship with the TAG came about well after we began the revamp of our wing.  This relationship was a direct result of that hard work. 

secondly our facilities are in no way free.  we are billed the same rate that active duty, guard, and reserve units are billed for facilities. 

Lastly we receive no special treatment in reserving our facilities.  we get bumped, and re-scheduled.  this is a direct result of units preparing for their primary mission.  CAP has picked the 4th weekend of the month because that is an off time, and resources are available. 

[RogueLeader]

It is hard, though, to make yourself relevant and ready to the state, when the training is not uniformly high standards.
To address the idea of a unified CAP, I think that for the sake of press releases; we use our numbers instead of names.  For example,  Instead of "Iowa Wing, Civil Air Patrol is . . . ."  we would use "XX Wing of  . . ."  We retain our names on patches, letterhead, leases, etc.  This would prevent the impression that there are 52 CAP organizations. WE all know it's one, and so do many people; but there are plenty more who do not.

[ZigZag911]

I think the problem is that too many of us want to adopt the Iowa program as a "turnkey" operation, and that just won't work....they developed a means to an end for a small wing (number wise) in a fairly good size state....and it's working for them.

They have provided some working parameters that can be adapted to local situations...including the degree of support available from state TAG.

For instance, there are undoubtedly wings in which moving all the field grade officers to wing won't work, for various reasons....in Iowa it was a solution, elsewhere it might simply create more problems than it resolves.

[Nick Critelli]

Bingo....you've got it right.

[RogueLeader]

Has anybody heard about what Iowa is doing to reinvigorate the CP?  It really is a piece of work.

Removed attachment - MIKE

[RiverAux]

Holy cow.  You can't say that some thought hasn't been put into that document, but making every squadron a senior squadron and having 1 statewide cadet squadron with just detachments at the local level seems incredibly risky, for very little return in my book.

I did find one major error in fact.  In there it says that all of Iowa's 111 cadets only make up 1 typical successful cadet squadron elsewhere.  Last I heard there were only a handful of squadrons in the entire country with more than 100 members total. 

[Nick Critelli]

Dear Rogue Leader

What are you doing posting our  internal Wing documents on the Internet
As part of our  due diligence this document was put out to the Wing on the Wing's secure Virtual HQ  for review and comment prior to Wing Executive Board  action and decision by the Wing Commander.