Joining CAP at 16?

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bosoxnation33

5-Year Member
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Jan 29, 2014
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Anyone care to share their experiences of calling 12 year olds sir because they joined CAP in their teens? :)
And I'm looking to be a Marine Corps pilot, so I figured CAP would be more helpful than Sea Cadets. Do you agree?
 
Having a lot of Sea Cadet experience I am biased but both programs will serve your purpose. That is they will provide leadership experience, structure and opportunity for community service. Sea Cadets is a much larger program and offers a huge selection of summer training opportunities across the nations military bases. The plus of the young Marines is it shows that you have always been dedicate to the Corps as they are big on that in interviews. Whichever you do, do it at 100% and excel. Stand out from the crowd as take advantage of every leadership and training opportunity you can get your teeth into. Soon, they will be calling you sir. Good luck.
 
Sorry. Thought you were taking about the young marines. CAP is great but around here, much less military structure and less opportunities for travel training.
 
Hi,

I joined CAP at age 16, which is a bit late in the game. However you might have time to get to your Mitchell, depending on your school grade, etc.

I will say that the youngest person you will be calling sir/ma'am would be about 14 and probably closer to 15/16 or older. It takes a while to become an officer and most of the time the younger cadets aren't necessarily driven enough to try and shorten this time. Which is fine.

I whole heartedly say join CAP!!!!! At the very least, you will learn good skills like shoe shining and attention to details on your uniform. At the most, you can get your Mitchell, excellent leadership training/experience, friends you will keep, and confidence.

Just my thoughts. Good luck either way!!!!!
 
I don't know about CAP, but in Sea Cadets, the only people you call "Sir or Ma'am" are (adult) officers. Petty officers and the like are called "Petty Officer, LPO, MAA, etc." At least that's the way it's done here.
 
The best thing I can tell you is to Google it yourself.

However, some basic things about the Mitchell Award are:

-It is the transition from NCO to officer. You pin on a Cadet 2nd Lt.

-It is the second milestone achievement a Cadet reaches. (the first being the transition from Airman to NCO)

-It ranks about equally to becoming an Eagle Scout

-Were you to enlist after earning your Mitchell, you could go straight in as an E-3.

-It takes a lot to become a Mitchell Cadet.

Hope this helps!
 
bosoxnation33 said:
Anyone care to share their experiences of calling 12 year olds sir because they joined CAP in their teens? :)
And I'm looking to be a Marine Corps pilot, so I figured CAP would be more helpful than Sea Cadets. Do you agree?
Click to expand...

LOL! I am a martial artist, 3rd degree. I call 5 years olds "sir" and "ma'am". They find it more weird than I do. It's a sign of respect, nothing more.
 
56 days between promotions

Our experience with CAP from my son starting as a junior (16), was that age is too late to rise in rank with the unit we were in. They have a self imposed 4 week waiting period prior to accepting the new cadet, due to weather related closings this was further delayed to 6 weeks. Once he became a Cadet, the assistance from a new leadership command to learn the system was nonexistent. After each promotion you then need to wait 56 days before the next promotion. This was further delayed because the commander did not submit the paperwork timely after the previous promotion.


I would say Boy Scouts, Sea Cadets or JROTC is a better program unless you want the Air Force as your final destination.

Although, you may have a better experience at another unit that the one my son joined.
 
My son joined CAP a few months before his 16th birthday, and was the best two year experience he had. His regret was that he did not join sooner. I would not discourage you. He did promote to an NCO rank but did not make it to the Mitchell Award level before he graduated HS.
 
I joined when I was 16 and had a blast. Between encampment and SUPTFC it was what convinced me to join the military and you can get your Mitchell Award in two years if you want it.
 
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