Is The Civil Air Patrol still worth it?

[Jreb892]

For about 2 years now I have known that I want to join the military. About a year ago I came to the conclusion that I will become a military aviator. I though joining Air Force ROTC would be the best way to achieve this goal. I looked into it. I found out before I can go to an AF flight school, in my junior year, I would need my private pilots license. If I didn’t have it they would put me in some program were I join The Civil Air Patrol (CAP).

Well, less than a year ago I join CAP. I am now able to start flight training, but I am not sure if I should.I am not a big fan of CAP, well, maybe just my unit. I am counting the days until I turn 18. Attending CAP is like playing army at a middle school. It is terrible; there are many problems that I would rather not talk about. Should I stay in CAP? Can I just blow it off, if I go the NROTC route?
How does the navy train its ROTC pilots? Would I already need my private pilots liceance for NROTC? Would CAP help me with NROTC?

 

[NuSnake]

you dont start formal flight training until after you are commissioned

 

[NeoCortex]

I never liked the poeple in CAP when I was in high school either. I decided to go Naval Aviation and now I'm also getting my PPL while waiting. You would not need a PPL to get into NROTC. CAP may or may not help. Anything can be a help, so it would be the degree it would help, and I'm not sure it would help a great deal, but I didn;t do ROTC.

Ben

 

[Jreb892]

Originally posted by NeoCortex
I never liked the poeple in CAP when I was in high school either. I decided to go Naval Aviation and now I'm also getting my PPL while waiting. You would not need a PPL to get into NROTC. CAP may or may not help. Anything can be a help, so it would be the degree it would help, and I'm not sure it would help a great deal, but I didn;t do ROTC.

Ben

How are you getting your PPL? Is the navy helping?

 

[NeoCortex]

cash out of my own pockets, not a great way to do it, I might add.

Ben

 

[bch]

Jreb, my .02
I did CAP for a year prior to applying to NROTC. I can't say how it affected the board, but I can say that when doing the application, it was another bubble I could fill in on the sheet. There were even more "bubbles" associated with achieving mitchel, spatz etc in CAP.

If you do go the NROTC route, you may see a lot of the things that you did not like about CAP. IE 19 yrs olds being in charge of you and giving you orders. It is all part of the learning process to become a leader.
I did not think that CAP helped me much at the time, but now that I am commissioned and can take a step back and look at my ROTC experience with hindsight, the adjustment factor was not as big going from highschool to NROTC as it would have been.

I would say, maybe go see if you can find another CAP sqd in your area, or go talk to the unit staff and let them know that you are thinking of leaving. They may have no idea that there are problems.

I think if you stick it out, you will find it may pay off later.

 

[04Hopeful]

Jreb:

I didn't like my CAP unit much either but instead of dropping out, I decided to take action so in less then 2 years I became cadet commander and took the squadron to second place in the National SAR competition. Now I am not telling you this to toot my own horn, but life is what you make of it, if you don't like what is happening set out to change it anyway you can. I ended up spending 6 years in CAP and doing many more things that JROTC people could only dream of, so there is always a reward for hard work. Best of luck, and btw being cadet commander is a great leadership position in which you can begin to learn and practice your skills. My $0.015

 

[av8tor]

When I was an Ensign I walked passed a Major in the CAP without saluting. He stopped me in front of his little Hitler youths' and began to berrade me. He described in detail his stature as a member of the Air Force Auxillary and even had the audacity to compare his formal training with members of the active duty. Needless to say I told him to go FUCT himself and I would kick the shez out of him if he failed to move his fat ars immediately. CAP - Boy Scout's - and the Band - while I'm sure provide the structure of the military are designed for adults with an ego complex that can't survive without an association. On the other hand, military members strive to serve the needs of society not themselves. Join an association which you'll enjoy belonging to.

 

[NeoCortex]

That has got to be the craziest thing that I've heard Av8tor!!! The guy actually expected you to salute him? Wait... You not actually supposed to are you?! (I'm just not sure about it) What's next having to salute the Majors in the Salvation Army?!

 

[wink]

I have had some dealings with the CAP youth program and found it to vary widely in quality. 04hopeful went about it the right way. While I might not have reacted the way av8tor did when he ecountered the CAP Major, the Major showed his lack of professionalism and leadership by reacting the way he did. Not exactly a good leader for youth. And I trust av8tor was exagerating when he made the comment he did about CAP/Boy Scouts leaders. I have been a Scout Leader for several years and I can assure you that the vast majority of adults in the program invest long hours to help young men grow and mature into good citizens. I don't need to look for an ego boost in hearding 14 year olds. My resume stands on its own. Maybe when avator is older and less cynical he will realize there is value in contributing to an organization like CAP and Scouts. I would encourage all of you to give something to our future. Volunteer to coach, lead Boy Scouts, attend career days at a school or make a presentation at a JROTC unit. Off my soap box now...Membership in CAP absolutely does count positively on your application, even for OCS. Don't forget, there is more to CAP then the youth program. You college students with PPL can contribute as well. Oh BTW av8tor, if you haven't met anyone in the Navy that is serving their country as a means to an end, i.e. in it for themselves to include ego, you haven't been around the flight deck yet.

 

[zachary2777]

I did the CAP cadet program for a little when I was younger. I didn't really like it, but I can't speak for the whole program. From my experience, the cadets in charge were on a power trip. The cadet commander threatened to kick my ass because I accidently called him Sgt. instead of Sir on my first day and didn't fess up to it.

However, I thought all the senior members were good people. My grandpa was a member for over 40 years. I think the senior program is an excelent opporunity to fly for free and to serve your community. My grandpa flew with DEA agents and helped out whenever there was a natural disaster amongst other things. My dad was a cadet, and this helped him get into the Air Force Academy. He had tons of flying experience when he got there, and this ultimately helped him get F-15s right out of the academy.

The cadets do do some cool stuff. You can get your PPL with minimal cost (if any at all, I can't remember), and they have some summer camps you can go to etc... So maybe you could just skip out on the cadet program and do the senior program if you don't like the BS.

-Zak

 

[Valion310]

Jreb92

I was a CAP cadet member in highschool and like the others had mixed reviews. Once I trained my entire squadron in ground SAR, made cadet XO as a SSgt it became baby-sitting duty rather then a leadership role.

I've come back to CAP at the tender age of 25 as a new 2LT and it has actually become a very rewarding tool in honing my leadership skills. Im wrapping up college and dont get the "formal" leadership training and experiences the ROTC or Academy guys get, and I felt it important I be exposed to some aside from my enlisted time in the Navy.

The point being, as stated above, make it what you want of it. Cause once your commissioned, you'll find tons of block heads in the service too. There are good, wierd and bad people in every orgainization, and I rather enjoy the challenge of keeping teenagers motivated and trying to teach them discipline. ( Much prop's to the folks now ... Teen's are a hand full.)

Valion310 ... EJECT!

 

[Valion310]

Originally posted by NeoCortex
That has got to be the craziest thing that I've heard Av8tor!!! The guy actually expected you to salute him? Wait... You not actually supposed to are you?! (I'm just not sure about it) What's next having to salute the Majors in the Salvation Army?!

Regulation 450883.H.303039445.good.38948.beer states that:

Activy duty guys are not "required" to salute CAP Officers, they can do it if they feel like it. But CAP Officers ARE ABSOLUTLY required to salute all military Officers, of any service, of all countries.

I've found when Im in my flight suit up at the local base, most guys dont pay attention to the difference in uniforms (they see the gold bars, silver AF pin-stripe on the cover and silver wings on name tape) and salute me anyway. I always give a sharp salute back, but feel kind of guilty about it. So I avoid wearing my uniform on base, I dont feel I've totally earned the right to be saluted by active duty military when I went to a worthless 2 hour CAP indoc that taught me everything I already learned while in Navy bootcamp up at Great Mistakes, IL.

Anyway, an answer to your question.

Valion310 - WAIT - DONT EJECT! ITS WORKING NOW!

 

[Flyguy0891]

Now more than ever I believe CAP is worth it! What I have made of my association with CAP has opened many doors for me. My job today is a direct result of CAP. Additionally, because of my experience and hard work in CAP, I was offered a direct commission in the Air Guard and I was a non-prior. But, regardless of what CAP has done for me, more importantly it is what I have done in CAP for others.

I just received word yesterday; a cadet that in all honesty I thought wouldn’t amount to anything pulled it together because of CAP and is on his way to college on an Army ROTC scholarship. I had the fantastic pleasure to be the Deputy Commander for Cadets and I hope I had an impact on them as much as they have had on me!

Additionally, I have served on over 20 search and rescue, disaster relief and homeland security mission in which my efforts assisted in the overall success of the mission/operation. I have two saves under my belt!

When it comes to saluting, it doesn’t matter if you are CAP, Salvation Army or Air Force, it is what we in the armed forces call courtesy. CAP members in their own way and right has earned the privilege to be saluted. No, not required, and I am not trying to justify what that CAP Major did, it was unprofessional and against CAP protocol and directives. None the less, out of courtesy I would salute or at least exchange a greeting.

It is unfortunate that many of you have had a poor experience with CAP and unfortunately that can’t be changed. However, it is now up to you to ensure future cadets can be provided with guidance and ‘real’ military assistance and knowledge that you have all gained through your experiences.

Always Vigilant!
Flyguy0891

 

[Pookie2]

I am an adult who's thinking about joining CAP. I was never in the military, but CAP seems like a good organiztion from what I've heard so I'm a little disturbed to read so many negative comments on here about it. Is joining as a senior member worth it, or would I really just be a glorified babysitter?