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Welcome to MER-NC-048, Raleigh-Wake Composite Squadron |
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The squadron would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your decision to volunteer your time, and talents, in service to your country. You will find that membership in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and the Raleigh-Wake Composite Squadron can be a very rewarding adventure. As with anything, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. You will find that we have fun, however, we take seriously our responsibility to execute our “Missions for America”. As a new recruit, so to speak, there are several things you must do to become an official member of the Civil Air Patrol. The requirements must be done in the proper order. We will try to outline those steps here. Please bear in mind that everyone in the Civil Air Patrol is a volunteer. Therefore, time restraints from personal and work responsibilities outside CAP may have a bearing on how fast your membership and leadership development requirements are met. Both you, and the other CAP members you interact with, must remain motivated in order to get all of your requirements done in a timely manner. A simple “please” and “thank you” goes a long way in motivating others to help you. Welcome Materials New members deserve a great start in CAP. The Great Start project helps to welcome and orient prospective members by equipping them with the knowledge of what to do during the first year in CAP. These materials will answer frequently asked questions and detail how CAP values the prospective members experiences. Great Start Booklet for Prospective and New Adult Members of Civil Air Patrol Cadet Great Start Orientation & Training for Civil Air Patrol - Cadet Great Start Homepage Basic Membership To guide you through your initial training, the commander will assign you a mentor. Your mentor will keep you on track and moving forward in your learning process. Your first step is to fill out a CAP membership application. Membership applications can be obtained at the squadron office. The application is very straight forward and easy to fill out. Next you must be fingerprinted. Fingerprinting is done at squadron level by the Security Officer. As a CAP member you may be responsible for sensitive information, expensive equipment, and interacting with young people of both sexes. The CAP needs to be confident that you are a trustworthy individual. The background check insures that CAP members are upstanding citizens. Although the Civil Air Patrol is partially funded by the US Air Force, all CAP expenses are not funded. Volunteers are required to pay dues to be a member of CAP. CAP is a not-for-profit organization and your dues and other CAP expenses may be tax deductible. (Consult your tax professional) Your dues need to be paid at the time of fingerprinting. Two (2) sets of dues are paid. One for National CAP Headquarters and one for our local squadron. These dues are payable on a yearly basis by cash or check. We cannot accept credit cards.) Level One Your next task is to become Level One qualified. Level One provides you with the foundations of Civil Air Patrol missions, policies and opportunities for service. Your mentor will be there to answer questions as you complete all the requirements for Level One. The following information is taken from the Civil Air Patrol website To achieve Level One of Civil Air Patrol’s professional development program, you will need to complete the following:
The CAP Foundations Course (Level One Training)
Once you have finished the CAP Foundations Course, ask your mentor to introduce you to the unit Professional Development Officer (PDO) who will sit down with you and go through a “Summary Conversation” guide designed to help you put the topics you studied into perspective. The PDO will help you to understand the reason why CAP has core values, why CAP members wear a uniform and why CAP emphasizes safety. In the process, you have an opportunity to ask questions in an informal, no-pressure setting. You should also get a brief description of the Professional Development Tracks available to you through CAP. You can pick a track that interests you or ask to be assigned one. In the event that the squadron does not need another officer in the track you pick, you may be assigned an additional track in order to fulfill the staffing requirements of the squadron.. Cadet Protection Program Training (CPPT) Online Operations Security (OPSEC) Awareness Training Online Equal Opportunity Training Each member must complete the Equal Opportunity Training powerpoint program. This training module is easy to complete and only takes about 10 minutes. Once you have completed the slideshow, simply click on the ”I Agree” icon and you are finished. Click https://tests.cap.af.mil/EO_Training/Index.cfm to begin. The Next Step Once you have completed Level One (comprising of the CAP Foundations Course, the CPPT and the online OPSEC Awareness Training), take your quizzes and pretest to your unit Professional Development Officer (PDO) or Commander for validation and credit. OK, Now what? You have successfully completed Level One training. You should have received a membership card and your initial CAP materials in the mail by now. If you have not, ask your mentor to help you find out why. Your next task should be to get your General Emergency Services (GES)certification. You cannot participate in any CAP missions or activities, other than meetings, without your GES. You can access the GES requirements by clicking here. Congratulations, you are on your way!!! |
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