Any Civil Air patrol Oppos out there?

"Slant6" (slant-6) 11/11/2015 at 13:47 • Filed to: None

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I’m thinking about joining. There is a regional squadron that meets at a church right by my dorm. I think it would be cool to help out. Maybe even ride small planes and use the town’s 700 foot runway.

I also have shaggyish hair that touches my ears, I hear it’s not a problem as long as I don’t use the USAF style uniform.

this is not matt farah's foxbodymiata > Slant6 11/11/2015 at 13:57

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Have quite a few friends who are involved. Some chapters are more fun than others, just depends on the resources available and the leadership. Sometimes it’s mostly just pretending to be in the airforce, but you can also get some amazing opportunities to fly, and when you’re experienced you get to participate in search and rescue and other operations.

A guy I know from high school got most of his hours for his private license through a local CAP chapter. He also got to go up in sailplanes, which is fucking awesome.

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > Slant6 11/11/2015 at 14:00

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TractorPillow > Slant6 11/11/2015 at 14:43

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CAP is why I am driving a Viper today: http://oppositelock.kinja.com/make-an-enthus…

I had a decent time with it for sure, but we did not do that much with planes unfortunately. I liked wearing a uniform and my scouting organizations and JROTC were a joke so I chose CAP. Taught me some discipline, got me interested in the military, and now I am a Captain in the Army. So worked out well for me.

Jakeleese > Slant6 11/11/2015 at 14:57

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Spent 6 Years in CAP and had some of the most fun experiences i’ve ever had and met some of the best people I know. As was said before some Squadrons are better than others but if you get a good legitimate squadron it’s pretty awesome. I got to go up in a Cessna 172 at 13 years old. Tell me where else you can do that lol

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Slant6 11/12/2015 at 16:36

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Current member here. Ask me anything. I’m preparing to haul a load of cadets down to Ft. Leonard Wood this weekend for a STEM academy (flight simulation, model rocketry, radio-controlled aircraft as well as orientation flights).

I’m in a composite squadron (seniors and cadets), but we’re mostly all about the cadets. We don’t have an aircraft, nor do we really have any activities for the seniors. Heck, we’re just now getting a van after a year of requests; it’s coming from a decommissioned squadron that had a total of some 8 members. When I joined this squadron we were fairly small, about a dozen members split evenly between cadets and seniors, but three years later we’re at 24 cadets and 9 seniors (or somewhere around there) and growing every week. It’s all about having the right people involved.

Even though the meeting location is rather far away (it was much more convenient when I worked close by) I look forward to the meetings and activities. It’s kind of a self-selecting group - people are here because they want to be. But, of course, teens will be teens...

Slant6 > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 11/12/2015 at 17:06

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The squadron I’m trying to apply for is pretty small, doesn’t have any presence on the internet except for the listing on the NC wing CAP website. I doubt they have an aircraft as the one air strip around here is 700 feet and for private use (although the aeronautical chart says 25% of operations are military).

It is a composite squadron so I guess I’d just be helping with Cadets which could be fun.

From what I understand I don’t need to have a regulation haircut unless I wear the USAF style uniform. I’ll probably eventually get a shorter haircut it’s just that I’m an 18 year old and allowed to have shaggy hair (it’s not long, just touches my ears and touches my eye brows if I don’t comb it).

What’s a meeting like? I’m going to show up tonight to see what they do. If I join I’d probably spend summer with the squadron back home that is much larger and operates out of an international airport.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Slant6 11/12/2015 at 18:16

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Since you’re under 21 you won’t be eligible for any of the normal ranks (Lt, Capt, Maj, etc.) until you turn 21; if I remember correctly you’ll either be listed as SM (senior member) or flight officer depending on your function.

Composite squadrons run differently all over the place, mainly based on the priorities of the commander. If it’s a fairly small squadron you’ll probably be doing things in support of the cadets. My two primary functions are as testing officer as well as aerospace education officer, so I proctor the various promotion tests as well as teaching a monthly class about something aerospace related as well as bringing up current events in the world or aviation. As we’ve grown larger and have a bigger core of cadet officers I’ve been able to hand over the hands-on teaching duties to the cadets. I’m still there to provide support in whatever form that take, such as providing supplies for hands-on experiments or providing ideas for the cadet instructor to research and teach. For example, I’ve got a box of old aircraft instruments and I’ll tell how they work (mostly by air pressure) and then hook up a vacuum or air pump so that they can see the stuff in action. We’ve also done lessons on trajectory using a water balloon slingshot.

We generally have a set monthly schedule. The first week is character development, usually focusing on Medal of Honor recipients. Second week is normally emergency services, safety, drill practice and color guard training (we participate in a number of parades an civic organizations). Third week is normally aerospace education and the fourth is for PT. Those are just the main items; there are other subgroups depending on the specialties of the various members, as well as administrative meetings.

Take a look at CAP Regulation 39-1 for grooming and appearance standards. Like a number of the seniors, I normally wear the corporate uniform because I don’t currently meet height and weight standards (I’m just undertall, that’s all...) We do have some seniors whose appearance is questionable according to the regs (lots of piercings and tattoos), but it’s up to the commander whether to make a big issue out of it or not. Since we’re a volunteer organization it’s kind of hard to turn down help, and so I doubt the hair would be much of an issue.

My squadron, St Louis Composite Sqdn 1, is the oldest continually-active squadron in Missouri. You can look us up on facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/stl1cap ) or on our website at STL1CAP.com.