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 route to the Eaker.
It is not certain yet if the OBC will count toward the Eaker Award. Therefore, we recommend all cadet officers plan to attend a RCLS or COS to satisfy the Eaker Award requirement. Moreover, the AFIADL-13 course will stop accepting new cadet officer students effective 1 March 2010. Cadets who are approaching the Eaker and are yet to fulfill the COS/RCLS/AFIADL-13 requirement should plan accordingly. The good news is that in recent years the RCLS program has exploded, and now cadets have about a dozen RCLSs to choose from.
We want to see RCLS continue to grow. Toward that end, we will propose a standardized curriculum in 2010 and redouble our efforts to help the volunteers who lead those schools.
Finally, a word about the new OBC program itself. This exciting web-based course aims to equip senior members with a solid foundation in leadership, and officership in particular. When OBC launches on 1 January 2010, cadet officers will be eligible to enroll and we encourage them to do so, but at this time OBC cannot be used to satisfy the Eaker Award requirements.
If you have questions about OBC, please visit the OBC home page or contact Bobbie Tourville. If you have questions about the Eaker Award, please contact the Cadet Team.
           
 Eaker Award Requirements
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Comments
I think it is more beneficial for cadets to attend COS or RCLS, particularly COS. Unfortunately, there are a number of cadet officers that are not able to attend either. My hope is that more opportunities come for cadet officers. This new requirement may send many more cadets to COS. I know some cadets won't attend due to how expensive that event is. I think with more cadets going the price for COS should be lowered. I plan on going next year but it seems a shame that cadets that want their Eaker have to pay $350. RCLS prices vary, I know. I still think that COS is more beneficial to cadets since it is more advanced training (cadets that attend RCLS do not need to be officers). Eaker cadets are expected to have highly advanced leadership training and experience. I think as a goal, CAP should either have COS have cheaper prices or RCLS have more advanced training.
The idea of having a standardized RCLS curriculum (with room for continued creativity in implementation at the local level) *rocks*. :-)
I believe it very important that cadets maintain an opportunity to earn the Eaker award without attending COS or a RCLS. My academic, sport and activity commitments will not permit me to attend COS or a RCLS. Although only a small percent of cadets have historically taken advantage of a correspondence course, it is important to maintain the program flexibility so that all cadets have an opportunity to advance.
Cadet Professional Development (PD) should be different then Senior Member PD. OBC should not count in place of RCLS & cadets who attend RCLS should not get credit for OBC. The OBC should be updated each year! We need to stop giving free rides to cadets to keep them. If they need a free ride to remain, then we are setting the bar very high. Cadets can already pin Captain on day one of being an Senior Member. They should be required to earn the rank like everyone else. Remember a General who joins today will still have things to accomplish if they with to be a certain rank or complete a certain level of the PD program...
Since there is a maximum amount of enrollments which can be handled at any one time, I can see the restriction on cadets receiving credit for the course. In fact I would restrict cadets from enrolling until the slots are expanded from the current 180 per cohort.
From a Professional Development Officer standpoint, I think that the new OBC is a great upgrade in the program for new senior members attaining their Level 2. I know of Senior Members who were Lieutenants when I joined CAP 9 years ago as a cadet, and still haven't received their Level 2 because the ECI-13 was an outdated program that provided no real valuable and practical information to them, not to mention the application process was extremely confusing. Having taken the ECI-13 out of interest as a cadet, I would have to say that the RCLS I attended was more valuable to my leadership education than learning "how to be a senior member." To be an Eaker Cadet requires a curriculum that applies and engages Phase 4 cadets who have been in the program long enough to know the information provided within the OBC. I don’t think the program should provide cadets with credit for the Eaker because it doesn’t really apply to them at their high levels of experience, unless they choose to take it out of interest or are transitioning to the senior side. I think an appropriate compromise is to provide Phase 4 Cadets with OBC credit for receiving the Eaker Award. This would potentially make the transition to the senior program more desirable and make the other benefits former cadets recieve more valuable. It’s a matter of redundancy, but I’m sure cadets who are interested will apply, and having that option available is very important and was a wise choice by the creators.
Cadets will have 1 year from the enrollment date to complete ECI 13 and must be enrolled by 1 March, 2010. Directions for signing up for the course are available at http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/cap_university/au_a46_students__usaf_dl.cfm.
I like the idea of proposing a standardized curriculum for RCLS so that more members have the opportunity to hold these schools locally. Of course, I am disappointed that OBC will not count toward the Eaker Award, but I understand the reasons. I have already enrolled in and ordered the test for my ECI 13, so I hope I don't run into any trouble so long as I take it before March 1. I would love to see the RCLS curriculum when it is approved.
I believe the OBC should count towards the Eaker. This course is the basics for any senior member becoming an officer in CAP. So this should be the same for the cadets