Heather in WI Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Hi! My oldest is begging us to join Sea Cadets. Is anyone familiar with this program? Can you share your family's experience? We also have Civil Air Patrol in our area, and that would be closer for him to participate in, but he'd have to wait another year to join. Any thoughts on one versus the other? He's currently in scouting. He's a Webelos II, crossing over to Boy Scouts in the next few months. Has anyone's son been in both Boy Scouts and one of the other activities? How did that work out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted February 21, 2011 Author Share Posted February 21, 2011 Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 We looked into CAP last year and both my ds and I were very disappointed. He thought it was going to be more of a military style program, but the CAP we looked at was more a few guys winging it. They did not connect with the kids, they talked alot to each other then to the actual children, very unorganized and very boring. The program looked good IF it is run the way I think it is intended to run. I would attend a meeting or two of each and see what they offer or even who runs it and how they handle the kids. We might try again since we are in a new state, hopefully it was just THAT particular group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 No experience w/Sea Cadets, but my ds15 has been in CAP for 3+ years and likes it. He has aspirations of attending the Air Force Academy, so that's why he joined. His seems to be a good squadron--active, safety conscious, high standards w/out taking over the cadets' lives. Have you searched the boards yet regarding this question? I know there have been some threads about CAP for sure. Hth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmiraGulch Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 My niece and nephew have been involved with Sea Cadets for years. My nephew won Cadet of the Year last year. He's nearly 17 now. My sister and brother-in-law have been very active along side him. It has been a great thing for their family. My niece is now in college but will pursue a military career when she finishes. My nephew is likely going to skip college altogether and go straight into the Coast Guard (I think), but he is also seriously considering applying to the Coast Guard academy. The program has definitely contributed to the leadership aspect of his character and I know he has seen it as positive. It has been a very large part of his life. I have heard my sister say that their particular group (I don't know what they're called...unit?) is strong and has a lot of participation with high expectations. From what I understand the mileage may vary depending on the strength of the members in each particular unit. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mereminerals Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 My ds13 has recently joined the Sea Cadets. He is absolutely loving the program and can't wait for the next month to come around so he can go for his weekend. I don't have any experience with the Civil Air, though. My son would definitely recommend the Sea Cadets to anyone interested, and often does to those he wants to be interested. LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Here's a link to another thread on the subject of Civil Air Patrol: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242642 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Here's a link to another thread on the subject of Civil Air Patrol: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242642 So nice of you, Kathleen! That's one I was thinking of earlier. Heather--in the thread above, there's a link (also from Kathleen) to yet another CAP thread. I hope you get good info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajudy Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) My son has been in cub scouts/ boy scouts since first grade. He is a life scout, working on his eagle. He joined Sea Cadets in September, 2009, and absolutely loves it! They meet every Saturday for 4 1/2 hours. They do physical training (PT), drills, and lots of hands-on training. Last week they did fire fighting and damage control training (as in, what to do if you have a fire or a leak on your ship). They have visited an air traffic control tower, put on "gumby suits" and learned how to rescue people from the water, and did a weekend survival training bivouac This past summer my son attended recruit training for 2 weeks and field operations training for a week. The cadets can attend advanced trainings all over the country and even have a chance to do an international exchange. Sea Cadets is a great program with like-minded young people who have lofty goals. Many of them hope to attend the Naval Academy -- and quite a few graduates have! Sometimes my son has to choose between a boy scout campout and Sea Cadets, because they are always on weekends. He's learning to choose between what's fun and what's important in order to reach his goals. Sometimes, as senior patrol leader, he has to choose the boy scout event, but his commanding officer supports the kids in their other commitments. Other times, he has given up a fun boy scout event for an important Sea Cadet function. I don't know anything about CAP, but Sea Cadets is great! Edited February 22, 2011 by mamajudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 My dh was in Civil Air Patrol, and both his parents were adult officers. He was in for...5/6 years I think (?) He reached a certain rank by a certain age and received the Billy Mitchel award. Because he received that award, when he enlisted in the Army he was immediately promoted to E2 and was paid more even in basic training. I do not know if Sea Cadets has a similar program. But from what I know from my dh's experience, a lot depends on the individual group as to how organized/ambitious/active they are. I would attend several meetings at with both groups before picking one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I asked my dh when he got home, and he said the CAP guys used to make fun of the SC because they were really disorganized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Wow, thanks all! Dh and I have no experience at all with this. We had never even heard of these programs. I appreciate all of the info! Off to explore the threads. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajudy Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 (edited) I asked my dh when he got home, and he said the CAP guys used to make fun of the SC because they were really disorganized. I guess it depends on the division. Ours is one of the best. Check out www.seacadets.org Edited February 22, 2011 by mamajudy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I guess it depends on the division. Ours is one of the best. Check out www.seacadets.org Absolutely. Same goes for CAP. Some squardrons are more well-run than others. We were blessed with an extremely well-organized one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm379 Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Dd looked into both sea cadets and CAP and decided on CAP and LOVES it. The sea cadets in our area was only about 3 hours once a month while CAP is 2.5 hours a week and often runs over. Also, it was a lot less military oriented which is what she was looking for. She wants to be an engineer and is really into anything that leaves the ground as she puts it. She has learned so much in just the couple of months she has been in. Dh is a military pilot and looked over the aerospace education materials and was very impressed about the thoroughness. Also with CAP you can continue after you're 18 and be a senior member. I'm not sure if that is the same with SC. I think it would depend on the units in your area. The CAP dd goes to is on the AF base so the leaders are very knowledgeable and organized. I doubt she would have had the same experience if it was just a few people winging it. It also depends on what your ds is looking for and his interests. I know for CAP dd had to attend 3 meetings before she was allowed to sign up to make sure the program is a good fit so there was plenty of time to make a decision. I don't know if this is for all squadrons though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbiev Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Dh and I were both in CAP when we were in jr and sr highschool and we both loved it. I would go and check out your local squadron and see if it's a good fit. It will all depend on the senior members who are running it. Over the years we had leaders who kept us busy with things like camping, flying, participating in drill competitions, and assisting with search and rescues. We went through several changes in leadership over the years though and there were times when not much was being done besides our weekly meetings. My dh and several of our friends joined the military after highschool and several of them were able to join at a higher rate of pay and rank because of what they achieved while in CAP. It's all going to depend on who's running things as to how active and what activities your local squadron takes part of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 How old do you need to be for CAP? Is there anything for pre-teens who are airplane obsessed and can't wait to be pilots? Ds is discouraged that he has to wait so long to pursue his interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paceofnature Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 How old do you need to be for CAP? Is there anything for pre-teens who are airplane obsessed and can't wait to be pilots? Ds is discouraged that he has to wait so long to pursue his interests. My son is also chomping at the bit, but you have to be 12 to join. What he is doing right now is the EAA Young Eagles (which include free online ground school), X Plane, and building his own RC Planes out of Dollar Tree foam board and free plans from Flite Test (and learning tons about lift, drag, etc.) Maybe some of these activities will hold him over until he is old enough ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 It really depends on how vibrant and active each program is in your area -- which depends on the specific advisor/leader, AND the particular group of students involved. Over the years, we have known homeschooling families involved in both the Sea Cadets and CAP programs in our area. At one point, Sea Cadets was much more active, with more opportunities -- one student we know got to attend a special national summer program held by Sea Cadets that was on the other side of the country -- all expenses paid. A few years after that, CAP was more active in our area, with a set of twin brothers getting to travel to another state to participate in a national special summer program. An overall difference is that Sea Cadets is intended to prepare students to feed into Naval service, while Civil Air Patrol can lead to preparation for entry into the Air Force, but can also lead non-military adult civilian auxillary support of flight and/or the Air Force. OP: Some questions to consider as you work towards a decision: - What kinds of opportunities do the Sea Cadets and CAP in your area offer? - What are the goals, projects, volunteering, etc. for each program specifically in your area? - What appeals to your student about each program? - What special opportunities or future benefits are offered by each program -- and which best match up with your DS's possible future interests/needs? - Can you and/or DH sit in on a meeting or two of each to "preview"? - What are the students like in each? The squadron leader? - Can you speak in more detail with local homeschooling families involved in each to see which might be a better fit for YOUR family? BEST of luck in deciding what's the best fit for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I only have experience with CAP. Ours was ran by male volunteers who had children in the program. They were not true leaders and our meetings were pretty boring. Having said that, the encampment opportunities rocked. I worked at the annual Oshkosh fly-in for two weeks one summer. I got to help park planes; see vintage military aircraft flown in by the pilots who flew them during WW2; meet Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Chuck Yeager, Frank Borman...; and fly from there to Chicago in a military refueler (the pilots did a mock demonstration for us with another aircraft...cool). We also did overnight security for a street fair and helped with sandbagging efforts for all of the Midwest river flooding during the 90s. I was only a part of it for a couple of years. The program can be one of those it-is-what-you-make-it kind of things. Enthusiastic kids can go far. Definitely shop around for a squadron, if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in WI Posted August 19, 2014 Author Share Posted August 19, 2014 Oh my gosh, so :wub: to see this thread! My Webelos II son from the OP is now a Life Scout working on his Eagle AND he and second ds officially joined Civil Air Patrol a few weeks ago! They received their dress uniforms and BDUs last night. I think we found a good squadron. (Is that the right word?) We ultimately decided against Sea Cadets back in 2011 because 1) there were only two kids in the unit in our area and 2) the meetings didn't fit with our schedule. We waited on CAP until both of our two older boys could join, and they're just loving it! Third ds can't wait until he's old enough. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelle in MO Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Yea! So glad it all worked out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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