I’m just looking for general info on civil air patrol with no end goal of Service Academies or other military prospects in mind. My six year old is in love with airplanes and practically lives at a nearby aviation museum. Lately, we bump into ACP kids there all the time - I think they opened a new chapter/unit nearby. The kids in uniforms are always helpful, friendly, and my son now says he wants to be just like them when he is old enough. I know six years is a long time and everything might change, I just wanted to get more personal feedback on the program as none of our friends are participating. Thanks!
I know nothing about it, but my younger son made me read every book in the library about naval battles of World Wara 2, he’s now an officer in the Navy! My older son was still into trains at 6, but he discovered computer programming at 7 and there was no turning back for him after that.
@mathmom, thank you. I am not sure an interest in airplanes will hold, either, but I am strongly considering an alternative to Boy Scouts - my husband is dead set against them since our neighbor’s kid is selling cookies every year and H abhors Amy kind of solicitation.
My friend’s daughter started Civil Air Patrol at age 12. She loves it. If your child continues the interest, then definitely look into it. I’m not that familiar with it, but she has meetings about twice a week. I think she did a camp at first and then she was sold.
@firstwavemom, thanks, that’s a great idea, I will ask about camps next time I see their stand. Thanks!
Not all troops solicit. If that is the objection, look for a troop that charges annual dues instead of fundraising. Our son’s troop never did a single fundraiser. Annual dues were $125 in a troop of 85 Scouts.
@ChoatieMom, I’d say that is a prejudice rather than objection on H’s part. Some things we can argue about (i.e., kiddo is not good at tennis, but he loves it and loves the social aspect of it, so I can convince hubby to let S play on despite lack of “prospects”), but some things he is just stubborn about and I pick my battles 
Civil Air Patrol can be a wonderful activity…but not for a six year old.
At this young age, it would be best to let your kiddo explore many options for things they might or might not enjoy.
As an example…when my older kid was that age, he wanted to become a pilot. Fine. We had friends who wer pilots who very willingly took him out flying…even up to age 9 or 10. BUT this same kid realized that he was a far better musician than he would have been a pilot…and decided to devote his time to music endeavors, which are very time consuming, by the way.
As parents, we felt it was important for our kids, when they were young, to be exposed to lots of different things.
I will add…my older kiddo didn’t like scouts. Boy Scouts around here sell popcorn, which was fine. Kid just didn’t like scouting activities as much as he liked other things.
Kid two was a Girl Scout through grade six. Believe me…it was a social event. The annual cookie sale was really no big deal…at all, in our opinion. But if you don’t share that opinion, that’s OK.
@thumper1, I am well aware that a lot may change in six years, including his interest in airplanes, piloting, etc. I don’t have a career in mind for him. Just exploring my options in case he does retain his interest down the road, since we have no friends who are pilots or aerospace engineers. My best friend’s son is very much into aviation and even won a local scholarship to a summer program where he’d get his pilot license. When asked about ACP, mom said he doesn’t want anything to do with the military in any form or shape, and my gut feeling is they don’t know much about it, so that’s why I am asking about it. Thanks!
My son is a senior officer in a Civil Affairs Unit. I can’t speak more highly of the program, its values and the mission.
The cadets learn leadership skills, aviation, aerospace activities, search and rescue operations. The opportunities abound. The cadets are engaged and share like passions. They just returned from a one week course in cyber security in association with the NSA. The cadets in my son’s squadron have a great track record of prestigious college admissions as well as some into the service academies.
I believe the age for cadets is 12. The camp that was referred to in an earlier post is a one week summer encampment similar to an annual training exercise for the military. It is not what you think of as a “summer camp”.
Below is a link to my son’s squadron:
http://www.399cap.org/
@ECmotherx2, thanks so much, this is great to hear and was very helpful!
My D is also in CAP. She’s been less active recently due to other obligations but it’s been great for her in so many ways, especially in developing leadership skills. Encampments and the flights were a lot of fun, and her squadron is very involved in volunteering in the community so she had opportunities for service and interacting with people she would have otherwise not had the chance to get to know. The summer programs are amazing. You can get a pilot license, travel abroad, get verified in different levels of search and rescue, study cyber security, as mentioned before, etc. I’m a huge fan of CAP.
About the service academy part, I think there might be spaces reserved in the Air Force Academy for CAP members. I’ve heard they want CAP kids to apply. A kid from D’s squadron is there now. D was interested but had reservations because of her medical history, and then she got a concussion the fall of senior year. But she got quite a lot of recognition in CAP and when she expressed interest in the AF Academy, she received a lot of support. Even the congressman’s office called her to encourage her to finish the paperwork for the nomination. I don’t think that would have happened without CAP and what she accomplished through it.
@MACmiracle, thanks, the more I read about it, the more I like the program (again, no military goals in mind). Thanks again!
If your son’s interests shift more towards airplanes landing on aircraft carriers, there’s the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps. You can start in the League Cadet division as young as age 10. My son has been involved with Sea Cadets for 4 years and it’s an amazing program and not as well known as it deserves to be. (And most of the kids in my son’s division don’t go into the military.)
@My3Kiddos, thanks a lot, I looked it up, sounds like a great program, unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a unit nearby. It would be awesome if they could open one up in the next four years
We chose the Boy Scout troop for our son based on the fact that they did not solicit. We paid higher dues and that seemed preferable to me than asking our neighbors to buy stuff to help fund our kid’s activities. (soap box rant over)
I’ve only heard good things about CAP and Sea Cadets but have no first hand knowledge. I think it is something to continue looking into.
I just saw this thread, and despite its age, want to add my perspective. I was in the CAP as a teenager many years ago. It is the civilian auxiliary of the US Air Force and it has teen (cadet) members, as well as adults. When I was in it we were required to wear the Air Force uniform and abide by USAF grooming standards regarding hair length. The cadet program is an active leadership laboratory, with academic testing of aerospace knowledge and military drill, along with physical fitness, being the basis of rank promotion.
When small aircraft are lost off the US coastline, it is the job of the Coast Guard to search for them. Within the territory of the US, it is the job of the Air Force, which it has delegated to CAP, which maintains a fleet of small planes for this purpose. Cadets often form the core of the ground Search and Rescue teams. We’d go to an active military base for a week each summer for a Class A encampment, with daily barrack inspections, physical training, and were expected to observe all the military customs of the USAF. For a kid who is considering a career in the military, I can’t think of a better activity to see if he’s like it. It’s not for the whiney, self-absorbed individualist, the counter-cultural, the purple haired and vaping type of kid.
One of my cadet friends went to the Air Force Academy and has been in the USAF for 30 years, he’s a colonel last I heard. Another won a full AFROTC scholarship to Syracuse, spent a long time in USAF, then became a civilian and got a Ph.D A few others enlisted. About 8 years ago the son of a co-worker got into Annapolis after doing CAP in high school. I have enormous respect for the program, loved it, and counted it as one of the formative experiences of my life.
Thirty years later I’m the father of 2 sons, one an eagle scout and the other about to become one. I’ve been an assistant scoutmaster in their troop for 10 years. As much as I enjoyed and respect CAP, I steered my boys to BSA for 1 simple reason. Can anyone name the ultimate cadet award in the CAP program? Probably few of you can. It’s called the Spaatz award, and it is very prestigious, very few cadets in my day earned it. Now how many of you have heard of the eagle award in BSA? Almost everyone I wager. The stories in the scouting community are legion about how having eagle on their resume has helped get many men a first job offer. For my money, a young man can make no better investment during his teen years than earn eagle, because it’s one of the few things you can place on your resume after you graduate from college which speaks to your character and work ethic and is something employers like to see. Spaatz, while very prestigious, would take a good deal of explanation. Two of our scout troop’s alumni are currently at West Point, so BSA can get you to the service academies too. Both are great programs.
As far as developing leadership, little competes with BSA. When a boy is older, he can be the leader of dozens of other boys for a week at summer camp, or on a high adventure trip for a week in the wilderness. The responsibility is 24/7. I’ve seen my sons and their peers, any many others do it. Sorry, but no sports team captaincy comes remotely close to demanding as much of young men. It baffles me that more people don’t seek these opportunities for their sons to put down their electronics and become men. Scouting is an awesome program, and in some communities there is a fundraising component to help finance it, as there are for numerous athletic and artistic endeavors kids engage in. If the presence of a fundraising component for a program this valuable is going to deter the parents’ willingness to allow their children to participate, that’s not just short sighted, it’s tragic.
I can only say my 13 y/o son has grown tremendously over the past year, since he joined. He loves learning about planes, drilling, the physical training! The program is a complex animal and it’s been hard to navigate. There’s a Civil Air Parents group on FB that’s been helpful, which I’m only mentioning because College Confidential is about colleges, not the nitty gritty of how to advance in CAP. On the subject of colleges, CAP is considered highly by admissions officers, as they know there’s no BS, that’s what I’ve been told.
Re. post #16 above, I don’t agree on prioritizing Boys Scouts over Civil Air Patrol based on the expected impact of merit awards for each. For starters, each of these pursuits has become a relatively niche undertaking that is appreciated and understood by a relatively small slice of tradition-minded American society.
Neither of these pursuits will put your high-achieving kid onto the high road to prestigious, prominent, highly selective and desired-by-many positions - with ONE exception: admission to the service academies.
To that end, the value and significance of the CAP Spaatz award are well known to all the service academies and the services’ ROTC commanders and scholarship boards. Ditto for the other awards, including the Earhart award.
So I would not rule out or de-prioritize Civil Air Patrol on this basis alone.
Agree with everything else in post #16 above. Civil Air Patrol is an extraordinary opportunity for a young person. It’s extremely well-run, and is also one of the few activities left in our society that bring young people from all economic and cultural backgrounds into a service-based, meritocratic, serious adult environment. That alone makes this worth doing, for anyone.
One of my D’s best friends was in CAP. She started in middle school, I think, and was involved through high school. She got an ROTC scholarship for college, and she is now in the Air Force. She has a great job in California, doing something covert that seems to allow her a lot of time to enjoy her friends and the great outdoors. She does not live on a base. All I know is, she loved it and has had great opportunities as a result.
Of course, your 6 year old may no longer be interested when the time comes to really get involved in CAP. We always laugh about the fact that my S wanted to be Power Ranger when he grew up. D, who was 3 years older, was angry that we didn’t tell him he couldn’t be a PR - we told her we were certain he wouldn’t want to be one in a couple years. And we were right. Kids change their minds and interests all the time!