Do you consider yourself an encampment expert? Are you skilled in curriculum development, including lesson plans and learning objectives? The Cadet Programs team needs your help!
We are looking for 3 volunteers to travel to Maxwell AFB over the weekend of April 27-29, 2012, to participate in an all-day encampment curriculum planning workshop. Limited travel funds are available for reimbursing volunteer travel and lodging. The goal of the workshop is to outline the academic structure for a 40-hour encampment. The goal of the project is to publish a wealth of encampment resources, lessons, academic tools, and teaching plans that wings can use for summer and winter encampments.
If you'd like to be part of the committee, send an email to bsundhagen@capnhq.gov. Include one paragraph outlining your encampment experience, and one paragraph outlining your desired big picture for a new encampment curriculum. We will contact participants by the end of February.
Comments
You have made some very good points. I think, however, that we should reserve 'operational'-type activities for airshows, SAREXs and similar venues or, at least, retain the 'basic training' atmosphere and team-building models for first-year attendees. The possibility of expanding learning opportunities for advanced cadets who have already established their inner-fundamentals is very worthwhile but we need to establish the basic core values first, before we inject too much operational distraction. I fear that the temptation to allow shortcuts and superficial learning of those fundamental values in new cadets, in order to accomplish the 'scenario' might lead to degrading of the overall 'product', which should still be well-trained and motivated cadets with strong core values and established team-working and cooperative skills. We have enough of a challenge establishing those ideals in modern youth without adding more distractions. The basic model is time-tested and effective in that aspect. Now, for second/third-year and even more advanced Cadets, using other simulated atmospheres to inspire improvement in existing skills (ES, Survival, AE-related, etal) is a fabulous idea! Most Cadets do not start out 'eaten-up' with pure 'Leadership-only' motivation. That is simply a product of the attrition of those who wanted other things but weren't able to find them. Providing other means of keeping their interest and focus while learning more advanced skills would not only provide more opportunities for those 'others' but would also help with retention and the eventual replenishment of our Senior ranks with more broadly-skilled new members from the Cadet ranks. If each Wing or set of Wings that sponsor encampments could augment their existing programs with these wide-ranging opportunities for advanced cadets, they would get a lot of 'bang-for-their-buck' at existing venues with existing infrastructures. Maintain the 'bubble' around the Basic Cadet Encampment but provide the opportunities for as many more people as the facilities and staffing can accommodate. CAWG has done this a few times, when possible but our problem is space limitations on available facilities. We'll keep trying. Good Luck.
I attended three Wing Encampments as a Cadet in NY Wing, once as an in-flight Cadet and twice as a staff member. Each time I returned I learned more about myself and the type of leader that I wanted to be. I had the advantage of having strong mentors, both Cadet and Senior Members that I respected and wanted to emulate. I did not realize it at the time but I was developing skills that many of my peers had no access to through other organizations or life experiences. To this day I find myself relying on many of skills and habits developed during my Basic Encampment. Things like time management, interpersonal interaction, critical thinking and course of action development. As I moved into the work world and later a Commissioned Officer in the US Army, I found myself ahead of my peers and in a lot of ways working at a higher level due to my encampment experience and the resulting self-confidence. I can say after three deployments to the Middle East as an embedded combat advisor to local security forces, I have seen the CAP encampment training model of “be, know, do” applied to real world situations and result in nothing less than success. Understanding all of this I want to extend the opportunities that I enjoyed as a Cadet to the next generation. The typical Wing Encampment is a solid model, but as in other things, it too needs to change with the times. If given the opportunity I would focus future Encampment curriculums on the idea of an “operational unit” or an organization with a mission to accomplish. One of the main short comings of CAP is the inherent shortage of volunteers due to low individual unit numbers, work schedules, completing time commitments, etc. An encampment gives a Wing the opportunity to establish a fully staffed chain of command with complete staff sections. I would take this organization, provide some basic instruction to develop a common operating picture, and then conduct a simulated “deployment”. The mission would be based on real-world CAP missions such as a SAR situation or a community event. From the receipt of the mission, to operations planning, to execution, staff sections, line units and basic cadets will have to work as a unit towards a common goal and get to experience working and living in a functioning unit. Such a training event would give leaders from the most Basic Cadet to the most Senior Adult Members a chance to learn and grow while working alongside individuals of differing ages, life experiences, and ideas. I feel that members coming away from this encampment would gain a wealth of experiences that would better benefit CAP in the long run as we move further into the 21st century with an increased focus on interoperability among various agencies and organizations.