Civil Air Patrol

[Selino631]

I am thinking about joining CAP. I think it would be good before i enlist in the Army next year. But what type of things do the cadets do? I am 17 years old, what stuff would i do?

[Raptor]

Learn how to march, commands, dress in camo most nights, once a month you wear a formal uniform. Basically it is like a night class that is physically demanding. You learn a lot of Air Force related things. You are given a notebook with pamphlets and books, you are given the opportunity to take a unit test once a week. If you pass the test, you increase your rank.
If you are going in at 17, be prepared to have some 14 year olds bossing you around, so I recommend studying and taking the tests as quickly as you can. (there are people from 14 to 22-ish in CAP).

[Yenny]

Umm well CAP are more of Air Force related then Army. I was in CAP for like 2  years when I was a 15-17. It was fun I enjoyed it, it could help you with marching etc. I really doubt if it prepare you for army though. No worry your drill sgt will get you into it really fast=)

[Selino631]

Thanks for the adivce. see, i am planning on being a Warrent Officer when i enlist in the army, so any flight expericne could help me because i want to fly helo's. And the uniforms would make me feel special

[superpug1]

I was in CAP from 13 to 18. It is a good experience but the quality of your experience depends on the squadron you are able to join. I recommend that you try and advance in rank as fast as possible. Also, go to Basic Encampment. Its only a week long during the winter or summer, but itll get you used to some of the yelling thatll go on at boot lol.

[CAP1]

I am thinking about joining CAP. I think it would be good before i enlist in the Army next year. But what type of things do the cadets do? I am 17 years old, what stuff would i do?

we're more aimed towards air force, but it helps regardless of what you do.

you can/will learn search and rescue(we do 90 or so % of all inland SAR), survival, UDF, protocols, counter drug, homeland security, you can get free flight time.

look here.

www.cap.gov

there's a unit locator in there, that can get you contact information for the squadrons closest to you. you can then check them out, and see what ya think.

 it's fun. sometimes, very hard, but ALWAYS worth it.

<<S>>

[CAP1]

Learn how to march, commands, dress in camo most nights, once a month you wear a formal uniform. Basically it is like a night class that is physically demanding. You learn a lot of Air Force related things. You are given a notebook with pamphlets and books, you are given the opportunity to take a unit test once a week. If you pass the test, you increase your rank.
If you are going in at 17, be prepared to have some 14 year olds bossing you around, so I recommend studying and taking the tests as quickly as you can. (there are people from 14 to 22-ish in CAP).

actually, at 18 the cadet either becomes an airman, or a seniro member. there are no cadets older than 18. youngest to join is 12, but at that age, they'll obviously have no rank yet......

[CAP1]

Thanks for the adivce. see, i am planning on being a Warrent Officer when i enlist in the army, so any flight expericne could help me because i want to fly helo's. And the uniforms would make me feel special

one of our senior cadets just went into the coast guard....and is taking helicopter training. i think i got her hooked on that, as i got a friend of mine to donate time for all of our cadets in our squadron to fly the simulator. she was flying a hughes 500 soon she'll probably be in a dauphin

[eagl]

CAP does search and rescue, but it depends on the region.  Some areas are very busy, some are not so busy.  To participate in the search/rescue/recovery efforts, you have to get certified to do the tasks.  Re-reading the thread, I see CAP1 has a link where you can find the local units.

I went on one search when I was in CAP, but I had just joined so I ended up marshaling aircraft on the ramp.  Easy enough to learn and it was nice to help out even if it was something the pilots probably could have figured out themselves if they had to.  But for a pilot at the end of his third 3-hour search grid mission, I guess it was nice to have some kid tell him where to park so his plane would get gassed up and he could get some coffee without him having to think about it very much.

We were also "hired" by local airshow organizers to help out with crowd control.  You'd be surprised at how willing people are to take instructions from a 14 yr old simply because he's wearing a sharp looking uniform, but it worked great keeping people off of the active flight line and away from spinning props and other dangerous areas.

At age 17, you may be more interested in the "adult" functions of the CAP more than the cadet stuff.  I don't know the age limits and all that (check with the local CAP squadrons) but at the very least you might manage to get checked out as a spotter or a ground search party member.

[CAP1]

CAP does search and rescue, but it depends on the region.  Some areas are very busy, some are not so busy.  To participate in the search/rescue/recovery efforts, you have to get certified to do the tasks.  Re-reading the thread, I see CAP1 has a link where you can find the local units.yes, i should have mentioned the need for certifications. they come with the training though. someone mentioned about people yelling at cadets too....that doesn't happen/

I went on one search when I was in CAP, but I had just joined so I ended up marshaling aircraft on the ramp.actually, this is one of the most important jobs. it's very hard to see out of a cessna when it's on the ground, and it's a bit hard to judge wingtip clearance at times. also, as you sound like you know, it gets somewhat busy in the cockpit, so having a marsheler is good.  Easy enough to learn and it was nice to help out even if it was something the pilots probably could have figured out themselves if they had to.  But for a pilot at the end of his third 3-hour search grid mission, I guess it was nice to have some kid tell him where to park so his plane would get gassed up and he could get some coffee without him having to think about it very much.i flew 2 sorties on a mission looking for a crashed helicopter in south jersey last year. they were playing around. 2 marines flying a homebuilt, ran out of fuel while below 100 ft alt. they almost made the atlantic expressway. unfortunatly, they died as they autorotated intot he woods.

We were also "hired" by local airshow organizers to help out with crowd control.  You'd be surprised at how willing people are to take instructions from a 14 yr old simply because he's wearing a sharp looking uniform, but it worked great keeping people off of the active flight line and away from spinning props and other dangerous areas.this i consider to be a benifit. the kids get to see the airshow for free, even though they're working it. they work in shifts. ours got to meet the thunderbirds on mcguire last year.

At age 17, you may be more interested in the "adult" functions of the CAP more than the cadet stuff.  I don't know the age limits and all that (check with the local CAP squadrons) but at the very least you might manage to get checked out as a spotter or a ground search party member.

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he could very easily qualify as a mission scanner, then as an observer. the mission scanner is kinda the secratary till you enter the search area, then it's his main job to look for the target. observer is copilot, works some of the radios, helps the pilot in any way the pilot needs. it truely is a team effort.
 there are other flights too, besides SAR. we do homeland security, counter drug, and CAP played a major role in helping after katrina.
 we have many many capabilities that we can employ, and as i've mentioned(bragged about) we are very very good at what we do.
 most of us don't get paid for our service, but we love what we do, and acordingly we are the best in the country at what we do.

<<S>>

[trigger2]

\
he could very easily qualify as a mission scanner, then as an observer. the mission scanner is kinda the secratary till you enter the search area, then it's his main job to look for the target. observer is copilot, works some of the radios, helps the pilot in any way the pilot needs. it truely is a team effort.
 there are other flights too, besides SAR. we do homeland security, counter drug, and CAP played a major role in helping after katrina.
 we have many many capabilities that we can employ, and as i've mentioned(bragged about) we are very very good at what we do.
 most of us don't get paid for our service, but we love what we do, and acordingly we are the best in the country at what we do.

<<S>>

As this points out (very well I might add ) there are quite a few things that you COULD do, but at 17 you'd still be a cadet, so you'd learn how to work in a flight, basic commands, which would indeed help you in the army, but in the SAR section of it, it all depends on your preferences, I perfer working with the Ground Team, but it's all in where you want to invest your time...