jr cap program

I have been hearing a lot about this CAP program for elementary school kids. What is y'all's opinion on this? Should we have a program for kids in this age group? Is this in compliance with our missions?

One of My question for those of you against the program is "why not?".
It can only help the younger kids!

I sometimes think that 12 occasionally seems too young for CAP. Any younger than that is rediculous. I don't think they would get the point. Not to mention they will probably never sit still.

Yah, we have to remember in this that we are a paramilitary organization, not day-care. CAP is not for everybody, especially kids who are too young to even realize the significance of the program. IMO, our reputation as a program would be harmed by having 5 year old kids involved. The complete lack of military bearing, discipline, and ability is a violation of everything that the program stands for. In short, this is my opinion on the subject. Sometime I'll get back on and expound when I have more time.

Poobah wrote:Yah, we have to remember in this that we are a paramilitary organization, not day-care. CAP is not for everybody, especially kids who are too young to even realize the significance of the program. IMO, our reputation as a program would be harmed by having 5 year old kids involved. The complete lack of military bearing, discipline, and ability is a violation of everything that the program stands for. In short, this is my opinion on the subject. Sometime I'll get back on and expound when I have more time.

The classes are designed to teach kids to have military bearing, to have drive, and to be moe mtivated to do things in life. I think that's one thing we can all do more with. CAP is not for everyone, but kids can certainly get alot out of it at a young age, and they don't have to become members after elementary school.

At least, that's what I see when I read about it.

OconnorRT wrote:The classes are designed to teach kids to have military bearing, to have drive, and to be moe mtivated to do things in life. I think that's one thing we can all do more with. CAP is not for everyone, but kids can certainly get alot out of it at a young age, and they don't have to become members after elementary school.

At least, that's what I see when I read about it.

That is what is supposed to happen now, in the regular CAP program. But we all know that a lot of people don't get that out of those classes. There will also be those squadrons, just like there are now, that don't really do anything and in turn, the kids don't learn anything.

From what I have heard from my position as wing CAC chair it sounds kinda lame.

The idea is to get more people into CAP at a younger age before they have commitments and although it does make sense, it wont work

This is only another way, after the middle school programs, to bolster the wing numbers. In my opinion. this will lead to more problems and not do anything. To many people who join at 12 leave when they turn 16. The same thing will happen only earlier if we do this and CAP will end up having issues never before discovered.

C/Capt James Flanagan

NATCAP needs to be more concerned with the quality of our program, and less obsessed with numbers.

I dunno what your talking about. Our program is great and our quality is better than most wings. But we do need more numbers. FYI we got next to nothing this year for O-rides because we are down to 230 cadets. We need more but I dont want them from programs like this.

That's what I'm saying. NHQ is concerned with fleshing out the ranks, and they'll even bring elementary school-age kids into the program to do it. This will ultimately have a detrimental effect on the quality of the CAP Cadet Program.
All this has already been said, I don't need to quote the whole thread.

The CAP School Enrichment Program is a great program that's still in its infancy. (See http://www.cap.gov/visitors/members/aerospace_education/school_enrichment_program/ for more information on the program.)

When you mention the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), there is immediate name recognition. The same goes for ROTC. How do most people react when you mention the Civil Air Patrol to them?

If you're a member of the BSA or J/ROTC, how do those programs compare to CAP? From most of my experiences and opinions of those I talk to, CAP is on the level or better than these programs. Why, then, does CAP have such poor name recognition?

J/ROTC is firmly entrenched in high schools and colleges around the nation. The BSA has strong ties to religious and community organizations. Both these programs have partnerships with other organizations that help promote what they're offering. CAP has nothing of this scale. Squadrons or wings may have MOUs with companies, cities, counties, or states, but this may not be enough. I can see that the CAP SEP will help the Civil Air Patrol in a number of ways. First, we will certainly try to recruit more members. As this program develops, I can understand that it will have hiccups on the way, but it can become something great. At the very least it will increase recognition of the Civil Air Patrol name among middle schoolers (who do get older and grow up eventually.)

If you think the CAP SEP has an inherent design flaw or some weakness that will damage CAP in any way, what do you think it is and why?