All cadet activities require at least one senior member. But what constitutes a "cadet activity"? If a bunch of cadets (4 or more) choose to get together to practice drill at a friend's house, is that considered a cadet activity that requires senior member supervision?

So I recently made it to C/2ndLT and I can’t find any good reference on how my class A jacket for my blues, is supposed to look with my new ranks on. I’ve tried looking it up but I’ve been having a hard time finding the right imagine and or instructions. I could really use some help from any officers out there!!

in the packing list it says to bring a "f) Vest, reflective, orange (T)", however a vest would/could restrict or make hard the retrieval of gear; Also the high vis of the vest is reduced/covered when wearing gear (i.e. backbacks, alice gear, and belts).

This all to ask, could I outfit my gear with reflective tape or equivalent to replace the vest?

How can we make it better? Any ideas? Do most cadets know what CadetInvest is? Is CadetInvest working? All input would be appreciated. Thank you!

I’ve seen some vids on YT of encampments and the obstacles are insane and I just wanna know are they that bad? (Most of the crazy stuff happens to be from the Virginia wing)

NORAD is responsible for all Santa Clause tracking operations, but with global tension rising lately the USAF and Royal Canadian Air Force has been busy monitoring Ukraine and Israel due to activity conducted by adversaries in said country's airspace. Since CAP has capabilities to locate and track aircraft, wouldn't it be more financially efficient for the USAF to allow CAP personnel to conduct the santa tracking operations? Plus it gives ES based members more experience in arieal vehicle tracking experience. Anyone who worked with NORAD have any experience with Santa Clause tracking? I would love to hear input, I just don't see why the DoD doesn't use us for such a critical mission we 100% are capable of conducting.

This may start an argument, but I really do like to understand both sides of the stories.

We all know cadets and seniors have issues with each other now and then, but why do some SMs take the program extremely seriously? I literally once had an SM threaten to have me court marshaled for a “breach of the UCMJ” (I didn’t finish a task in time they wanted). At first I thought they were kidding, but they were dead serious. I’ve had other Seniors that are reasonably protective, and some that are outright rude. Though I know they don’t represent all of the seniors, how do you feel about them?

I'm working on improving the aesthetic of my CAP uniform builder homepage.

Would it be okay to use the CAP Logo?

CAPR 900-2 says:

"f. The CAP Logo should be used for marketing and advertising, promotional and recruiting materials, news releases and publications targeting internal and external audiences. It is authorized for optional use on the following: (1) All official printed or electronic newsletters, magazines and other publications. (2) All official CAP web pages. (3) All official CAP social media sites, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, blogs, etc. (4) Official invitations, greetings, and programs. (5) CAP business cards using the member’s official CAP duty title. (6) Exhibits, signs, banners, billboards, posters, videos, mugs, coins, and lapel and other civilian-attire pins or other jewelry, shirts, etc."

Also, would I be allowed to use "Civil Air Patrol Uniform Builder" as my header, or would I need to use "CAP Uniform Builder?" If not, I will probably try to gain permission from my unit to use our name.

A wind cone, also known as a wind sock, is a conical fabric device found at airports, airfields, and helipads. It provides visual information about wind direction and approximate speed, which is critical for pilots during takeoffs and landings.

Key Points about Wind Cones:

1. Wind Direction: The narrow end of the wind cone points in the direction the wind is blowing toward. For instance, if the narrow end points north, the wind is coming from the south.

2. Wind Speed: The cone’s angle or the extent to which it inflates indicates wind speed. A fully extended cone generally represents stronger winds, while a limp cone means lighter wind. Some wind cones are calibrated with markings to indicate approximate wind speeds.

3. Colors and Visibility: Wind cones are usually brightly colored (like orange or white with stripes) to be highly visible from a distance and under varying weather conditions.

4. Lighting: Many wind cones are illuminated at night, allowing pilots to check wind conditions during nighttime operations.

Understanding wind cones is essential for making safe decisions in aviation, especially regarding takeoffs, landings, and on-ground operations.

I've always wondered how backtracking works and I wish to learn more about it, if anyone could explain that would be great.

Was idly thinking about the ongoing water cooler talk about an eventual hypothetical switch to OCPs for CAP, and how we'd apply patches to it.

Within the DOD, civilian employees are sometimes required to wear OCPs, and when they do, they wear a "DOD Civilian" or some other appropriate name tape in place of the "US AIR FORCE" nametape, and wear a triangular "US" insignia instead of rank (the design is in fact related to the CAP triblade logo, there used to be lots of Civil Defense orgs that had similar logos).

So my spitball idea is that, in the name of consistency, CAP would wear the triblade logo on the velcro rank tab (probably in full color because CAP doesn't go for low-viz insignia or nametapes), Wing and Unit patches would probably go on left and right sleeves to mirror how USAF wears MAJCOM and Unit patches. I'd have Cadets continue to pin rank to the lapels, and I'd have Senior Members put their rank on the right sleeve velcro, similar to where USAF wears their ranks on the Combat Shirt (which has nowhere to stick rank on the chest).

With the remaining velcro real estate on the sleeves, I'd probably suggest sticking stuff like the Ground Team badge, assuming they didn't just sew them on to the chest like USAF does occupational badges.

I need a good Facebook post snippet to through onto our suburban communities page. I want to try to reach cadets close to home, especially since my son is a cadet it could work out on multiple levels.

Anyone have a good FB Post saved they would be able to share that gets just enough info out that would interest people?

What I mean is are we considered civilian or cadets even outside of CAP, are we maybe even considered military personnel?

Short question is just are we considered non-civilian outside of CAP?

EDIT: thank you for the replys and I am now aware of this, I want to make it clear because it seems some people thought this, but I am not asking this for myself, I had a strong feeling we weren't non-civilian but was just double checking

I don't really know what to write an SDA on. The CAP website provides examples of SDAs but it doesn't really give recommended topics. Does anyone have any suggestions? This is for Achievement 9.

Like are we under ACC, AETC… ect

i’m actually begging i’ve failed aerospace four times im very bad at it does anyone have any study materials (i’ve been reading all the books through, taking notes, studying those, just doing my best to lock in 🤯🤯)

Does anyone know of resources to help low income senior members cover the cost of uniforms, membership fees (NQH, squadron, Wing), activity costs, activity-related transportation/hotels, etc.?

I know there was a table showing that if you requalified in some areas, other qualifications would be renewed? Where could I find this?

I'm considering proposing to our squadron's leadership that we request a CAP van. We have the most cadets of any squadron in our group (in the past, transporting cadets to activities has been a challenge). We're also trying to get involved locally with emergency services, and being able to effectively transport people if we're call out in an emergency is a pretty good asset.

From an administrative perspective, what's the administrative load in having a CAP van assigned to the squadron?

Is there any additional cost we'd be responsible for if we were assigned one?

How does maintenance work?

Any other insight would be appreciated so I can have a good background before proposing this.

If we think it's a good idea to request one, I assume we just go up the chain?

Quick question, can you sign up for APJOC if you haven't taken PJOC yet? I want to take APJOC and PJOC, as I am looking into becoming a PJ. For example, can I sign up for PJOC, and basically sign up for APJOC with the plan that 'if' I make it through PJOC, I can go to APJOC?

I wouldn't think you can do this, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to see if it was possible. Thanks!

As the title suggests, I need a new NRA Silver Marksman Badge. Unfortunately, I had recently gotten my class A jacket fixed at the tailor shop Not wanting to remove all of my medals, ribbons, tags, etc, I left them on and thought nothing of it. I'm not sure how, but the connector broke and I need a new badge. Where can I purchase it? I could not find it anywhere online.

This is for the IT Specialty Track body text (optional)

Hi guys! I'm kinda 13 years late with this one but I was re-watching Captain America and saw in the credits the iconic yellow WW2 CAP planes taken from I am assuming a recruitment poster? As much as you guys have probably noticed this a while ago, last time I watched it I was barely old enough to watch a PG-13 and had no idea what CAP was. So this is exciting for me!

I am pursuing my Recruiting and Retention Officer specialty track (technician level) and it says I need to do an internship. I was wondering if there are any relevant manuals, regulations, or pamphlets or if anyone could tell me exactly what this entails. I am currently my squadron's recruiting and retention officer.

I plan on joining my local squadron soon and I'm looking for advice on what to bring and whatnot for when I join, CAP related or just helpful to have at meetings/events, anything is welcome.

-EDIT, just stuff to throw into a small bag to clarify that i might need

So I understand that you can receive up to 10,000 from the Ray foundation with wings. I'm a (closing in on stage 3) student, still technically stage 2. Meaning, I'm nearly done with my PPC, can excess training be done after passing checkride (an instrument rating for example) or does the money go to waitlisted cadets? (In short should I start applying for other scholarships for my instrument?)

I’m trying to get my GTM 3 and the last task I need is basic first aid training or equivalent. What does this mean and is it just something to do with the Red Cross or something you can do during a squadron meeting?