Q: Do you have other comments about this topic?

“I joined as a SM and had no mentoring or guidance on the program other than unit & wing emails. Kind of discouraging.”

“Think in military terms and procedures, not like an aircraft owners club.”

“Yes,...bottom line is...a member will receive back,  what effort he puts into it...I just didn't do that.”

“This was a good idea... we can learn from each other... retention of the cadets is the #1 problem most units I’ve spoken with will agree on...”

“Weekly training (15 minutes or so) at squadron meetings on various subjects.”

“Needs Command attention and better PD.”

“Because I am a patient person with goals, I have endured but am disappointed with the time it takes to learn what I need to do.”

“Retention of cadets is something we worked on this past year.  We had a better retention rate but a lot depends on their school activities and their parents.”

“I only recently joined so I am not familiar with the unit practices and can't answer many of these questions.”

“Professional development in my experience tends to be more driven to those individuals who are pilots. For those of us who do not have a pilots license it tends to be a second thought. On another note holding trainings on the weekends would much more convenient for my work schedule.”

“It is so hard to keep up re certification so often and have family time; the wife complains after all the CAP volunteer time why I have to pay every year to belong.”

“The reason I'm a member is to fly missions. I'm afraid that our current unit and wing leadership seems focused on so-called leadership subjects to the substantial exclusion of operations activity.     One indicator of wing indifference to operations is its apparent reluctance to financially support pilot training. Mission readiness, etc., is not the subject line of many wing or group emails. In just over a year as a member, I recall one SAREX which was not supported that I was aware by the wing of group.”

“General comment:  every time you turn around some person comes up with a new required test which have no value in real life and only make members ready to quit.”

“Member involvement is mostly the responsibility of the squadron commander.”

“A wealth of talent that can be utilized if primary project officers utilize other members to accomplish goals thru direction rather then accomplishing these goals by themselves. The more senior members are more then willing to be mentors but should be tasked as mentors to individuals. Mentors should not only answer questions but also advise, guide and encourage new members to accomplish either squadron or individual goals.”

“Good luck.”

“Being a schools cadet squadron is different than other squadrons with unique challenges. Some senior members join with their cadets and when the cadet leaves so does the senior member.”

“Lets change topics and get to the root of the problem! CAP is now a FEMA "&&&&" and video slave.  Without being able to certify anyone without a SAREX (No B or C) missions and no more UDF mission all we can do is tell new members about the good old days and that we do not know when CAP will go back to training and doing.”

“The ‘change’ mentality out of National and Wing is starting to affect our senior members.  We study and work toward higher ratings in our chosen areas, only to hear that the rules have changed and we have to re-due everything again.  Or more trivia has been added.  There comes a point in time and that will be soon for some of us that CAP can take their ‘changes’ back because we will be past members and not around to do them!  We "Come And Pay" to help our fellow man but when the fun is taken out of it, we find other avenues in which to serve.”

“The Commander and I assign mentors according to the similar interests of the mentor and the new member.  Most members who have been assigned as mentors are not enthusiastic about mentoring.  I sent an e-mail to all mentors asking them to contact their assigned members and included excerpts from CAP pubs as to why mentoring is important and why it works.  NOT ONE PERSON RESPONDED.  Mentoring is an ongoing process and I see it daily, but not specifically involving the mentor and mentee.  This is the most common form of mentoring.  It doesn't have anything to do with regulations; it comes from the heart and soul.  I can honestly say that our squadron doesn't lose members because they have not been mentored, in one form or another.  We have some very dedicated members who enthusiastically guide and assist anyone who would like to progress.  Some of the reasons for members becoming inactive or leaving our squadron are:  don't have the time to devote; don't like to wear a uniform; are 'regulation' resistant; find CAP is becoming too complex; don't like to use computers; CAP is too expensive in today's economy; do not take criticism well from their peers; have been belittled by a higher ranked member;  are influenced by negativity exhibited by another member; CAP is too political; CAP is not what they thought it was; relocating to another city; have personal problems at home; have volunteered for too many responsibilities and emotionally/physically crash; will not be promoted or given an attempted award because of lack of required tasks; bullying; have to spend spare time on a second job (in this economy) and then, of course, a list that is too long for this survey.  As you well know, there are many reasons why people leave CAP and mentoring will not change or influence some of these reasons.  I find retention is one of my biggest challenges.  I have a lot of success stories where I can honestly say the reason for retention was mentoring.  It definitely works, if the person doesn't have other issues previously mentioned.  Our senior membership consistently hovers around 55.  1Dec06 we had 52 seniors.  Presently, we have 54.  Right now there are 25 promotions past due.  Of that number:  14 are 100% inactive and of those we will have 6 renewals (for financial support only) and we will lose 7 of them at renewal time (one has found a demanding job, one will quit because his daughter will, one has launched in a new career away from home, one wanted to be Finance Officer and was told it wasn't for new members, one is financially strapped and has to find a 2nd job and his house is on the verge of foreclosure, one's son launched a new business and needs dad's fulltime help, one is working in the northeast and I think can't devote the time) ; 1 is mostly inactive; 7 are active and are not interested in promoting (4 don't care about rank and 3 do not have the time right now); 3 are potential candidates for promotion.  Of the 7 members we will lose at renewal, mentoring will absolutely not help.  FYI 4 are long term members - 4 years to 13 years, and 3 are members 9 months or less.  In 2010, 9 promotions are due and all of them are active members.  Of that number:  Six are not interested in promoting (3 are not interested in rank, 3 don't have the time); 3 are potential candidates for promotion.   Of the 9 members up for promotion in 2010, I don't anticipate any of them will quit CAP.  Sorry to throw so many numbers at you, but perhaps the statistics will help in your survey.”

“There exist assets with extensive experience who have been allowed to die on the vine usually through  neglect or jealousy of their skills, experience, etc, so sad to say.   I was told long ago by a group commander that paper or commendations are not expensive but add to esteem but seem to be almost never used.”

“Quit going for numbers and master the basics on what the CAP is about. I was looking into CAP history; during WWII classes were held in navigation and other subjects which is why I joined but found I was pretty much left to my own devices to figure it out.”

“Get people engaged early. Tell them what they need to do to get the certifications and qualifications that they need. A formal checklist with a proposed timeline would help. For example, when will I get to go to Mission Scanner/Observer training? No one seemed to be able to answer these questions. A lot of the training seems to come up short notice. People need to be able to plan for these things.”

“More publicity might be helpful somehow.”

“Frustration has created negativity. Members can not always put 'seemingly benign' comments in proper context. This becomes a part of the unofficial formal training. If you don't change attitudes, mentoring will just produce more of the same.”

“Nat'l needs to be reorganized get back to being an auxiliary not a step child.”

“Too many cancellations on training. Know one can advance when you sign up for a class just to find out there isn't going to be one. There should be more online course for a senior member to advance on their own.”

“My answers are not backed by facts, they are just my impression.”