Cadet Blog

We are asked from time to time for statics on our cadet population such as separating cadets by age, gender or ethnicity. We recently ran these numbers and wanted to share them with the membership. We also included the 10 largest units, by number of cadets.

Ever since the Air Force went to electronic-only publishing for their manuals, we haven't had the Drill & Ceremonies Manual available in hard copy format. The good news is most of the time most cadets don't need the full manual, but they do need some kind of training aid. Enter...

General Courter wishes to better articulate the desired relationship between Cadet Programs and DDR. She's also announcing two new annual activities designed to bring DDR and Cadet Programs closer together. The attached memo explains the details. We ask everyone in the cadet community to spread the word and do what...

Today is the day that we announce the scholarship winners and slot the NCSAs. The announcement of the winners for the 2010 Scholarships is now available.   All NCSA applicants should have received an email stating that you were either “selected to attend” or an “alternate.” You can check your status...

Publication of the new "Learn to Lead" textbook and online achievement testing system is being pushed back to 1 July 2010. Although there is tremendous enthusiasm for those two new initiatives, we have to slightly delay their release to ensure we get them right. A small army of volunteers is...

To help senior members and cadet officers see the whole forest that is cadet leadership education, we’re publishing a Curriculum Guide for the upcoming Learn to Lead textbooks that launch this spring. The main idea behind the Curriculum Guide is to explain how four different arenas -- academics, activities, Air...

The Spaatz Association is hosting their 8th annual winter dinner event in Washington DC on February 27th.  All are welcome to join TSA in honoring today's cadets and cadet program professionals. TSA's dinners have always been great fun, plus the proceeds go to their fantastic scholarship program.  For details see www.spaatz.org//current/dinner.php. ...

One of my predecessors at NHQ is Lt Col Gerry Levesque. Some years ago he left his desk here and established the Sheldon Cadet Squadron in an inner-city Houston school. Today, it’s the second largest cadet unit in all of CAP, with 238 cadets. When you have such a huge...

I don't believe the Cadet Advisory Council has ever adopted a formal motto for itself, but after reviewing their latest product, maybe "To Analyze and Persuade" would be a good one. We're sharing this document (at right) with the cadet community because it is a superb example of a formal...

Greetings, Gen Courter and I need your help. She has a vision of a strong and dynamic Cadet Alumni Association to reach out to the roughly one million former CAP cadets floating around this country of ours and allow them to reconnect.  Similar to a academic alumni association, a CAP...

There have been some issues with individuals applying for NCSAs and Scholarships.  NCSAs 1.       T-Shirt Size. If you cannot go to the second page for NCSAs because the application is requiring your T-Shirt size, please click on the “Modify Personal Information” link. This will take you to the front page of the...

The Cadet Program is on the rise. Our membership and flying statistics are encouraging, as is the feedback we've received about curriculum resources published in 2009. Knowing that the cadet community is always eager to take a detailed look at Cadet Programs issues and statistics, we offer this year end...

To qualify for the Eaker Award, currently cadets must complete Cadet Officer School, a Region Cadet Leadership School, or the correspondence course known as AFIADL-13. The Senior Member Professional Development Program is phasing-out the AFIADL-13 course, thereby affecting the 2 to 3% of cadet officers who have typically followed that...

Thanks to our friends at AFJROTC and the Air Force's Holm Center, you'll find some outstanding drill and ceremonies videos available at capmembers.com/drill. These are the same videos found on the Air Force drill and ceremonies DVD that we sent to every squadron about 18 months ago. For your convenience,...

Are CAP regulations easy to read? Can you quickly scan them and find what you're looking for? I can't. Dozens of members have told us that they like the layout that's been used for cadet publications over the past couple years. Therefore, we're considering taking publication design a step further...

  “Learn to Lead,” which will replace the cadets’ current leadership text, launches on 1 April 2010, concurrent with achievement tests moving online. Visit the "Learn to Lead" homepage to download an update on this project. Better still,Module 1 (chapters 1-3) and half of Module 2 (chapters 4 & 5)...

The Cadet Life Video has been a huge hit, but we want to take it a step further.  Cadet Programs has created a cadet recruiting video competition to see what our members can create.  To learn more about the competition and the prizes being offered, please go to http://www.capmembers.com/video.  

  We are pleased to announce that Spartan College of aeronautics and Technology has come back as a scholarship partner. Spartan College is offering scholarships for both their flight and technology programs. They are just one of the 9 partners we have in our scholarship program.    We are now accepting...

The wildly popular "Investing in America's Youth" is now "Today's Cadets, Tomorrow's Aerospace Leaders!" We have updated the quotes and statistics and reformatted for a smaller presentation that will allow our printing budget to produce more of these high-impact publications. This is a DRAFT version that will also be available...

I just got back from the International Air Cadet Exchange Association (IACEA) Conference that was held in Ghana. This was the first IACEA meeting to be held on the African continent and it was a great success.  There are many things happening with IACE, not the least of which is that...

Nine months ago, we launched the Cadet Blog with two main goals. First, we wanted to keep you better informed about Cadet Program news. Second, we wanted to let you sound off to us directly about the new activities, curricula, and support tools we have in the works. Judging by...

Civil Air Patrol will send four cadets to the National Character and Leadership Symposium, sponsored by the United States Air Force Academy.  The Symposium provides cadets the opportunity to engage in dialogue with visiting undergraduate university student leaders from across the country in seminars and discussions designated to enhance their own understanding of...

What is the Cadet Program all about? What do cadets do? "Cadet Life in the Civil Air Patrol" is a 3-minute video introduction to the Cadet Program. It focuses on what the typical cadet can do during his or her first year in CAP. The video is intended for use...

  We're ready to see many of you at the National Boards in San Antonio over Labor Day weekend. Perhaps the most important seminar we'll be hosting is "Cadet News & Innovations," which summarizes what's recently been released in Cadet Programs, what's upcoming, and what new ideas are on the...

Attention high school seniors!  Now is the time to start your application for the Air Force Academy.  Please see the flyer for specific instructions on how to apply and what to do to get the required nomination in order to receive an appointment.  Don't wait until the last minute for...