Air Force Kills the New CAP ID Card

From the Executive Director:

The design for a new CAP picture membership card was approved at the March 2005 National Board; however, formal Air Force approval had not been received at that time.  The May 05 NEC discussed this subject and chose to delay the implementation plan for the new card until Air Force approval was received.

Unfortunately, the Air Force did not approve our proposed design. Brigadier General Pineda has been working closely with the Air Force to determine what changes need to be made to ensure that the next design is approved.  This item will be discussed as "Old Business" at the upcoming August National Board meeting.

Download: Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Identification Card Request (.PDF)

:: The CAC derived design made sense. We were set to get started.

It's a shame the AF reversed itself and disallowed the submitted design.

So here's the latest proposed revision. 

In a word...

Lame.

If as an Auxiliary Officer, I'm asked to act as an instrumentality of the United States Air Force, and asked to I wear a distinctive military style uniform, and asked to  execute my missions in a professional way...

Why am I saddled with a crappy ID card?

The Air Force states that they are concrerned about the commonality with the DOD issued Common Access Card (CAC) identification.... Well that's the whole point! It's that commonality that would help us be taken seriously when performing missions for the Air Force. Carrying a funny looking ID card is detrimental to our ability to complete the missions we're tasked with.

Is the Air Force actually worried that an Air Force SP is going to mistake a CAP Officer for a regular AF Officer carrying a CAC type ID? I give our front-line Airmen a bit more credit then that!

Even civilian contractors working on Air Force bases are issued CAC cards. Why deny them to CAP?

The obvious solution to this silliness is that the Air Force should issue CAP IDs at DOD facilities using the CAC infrastructure that is already in place.

Comments

[Alex Ramos]

It was determined in the recent NB minutes that it will be for SM's AND cadets.

[John Kachenmeister]

Frankly, guys, I don't understand all the fuss.

I can understand the legitimate security concerns of the USAF. They have guys that are not much older than our cadets on the gates, and the ID card should CLEARLY identify who we are.

The new card, as proposed isn't so bad that it rates a temper tantrum. It is, after all, still better than what we have.

The only thing I would change is to transpose "Civil Air Patrol" with "US Air Force Auxiliary" and but the USAF Aux text above the line and prominent. After all, we haven't "Patrolled" since World War II.

Also, I would use the official round seal rather than the command patch.

That's my 2 cents worth. Anyone needing a receipt for tax purposes, contact my at the e-mail address provided.

[C/SrA Alex Ramos]

Well, not to worry. According to NHQ(Gen. Pineda), we WILL have the CAC-like card and no funny looking one with the CAP command patch.

[Eclipse]

We ain't the only ones to have ID card issues.

"Standard federal ID to replace common access cards"

http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123013230

[Jimbo]

In response to http://grant.henninger.name/archives/2005/07/26/cap_member_moan_about_inconsequential_things.html

I must say that I agree completely. It is the things that some CAP members do that are just stupid that carries on to the Air Force. I was a cadet in CAP, and some seniors were great, others were not. Now that I am a active duty commissioned officer in the Air Force, I don't always have a great impression of CAP based on my own experience in the program.

[Capt. in CAP NOT AIR FORCE]

Lets face it an ID card is just that... It identifies you as part of an organization. That Organization is CAP not the USAF. On the other hand the Air Force should have no say in what our ID's look like if they distance themselves from us when they find it convenient. Second. Education should be our main focus. They say well you should join the military. I being a member of the military in the past (true redline) can honestly say is... Those with eductions usually tend not to go into the military unless they have a perceived family obligation or are just too gung-ho. Lets face it lets teach our cadets to learn and hopefully none of them will have to see the travesty of ware ever. Maybe they can become lawyers and doctors instead of PT Privates and MP enlisted. PS I would like a pretty ID.. but from CAP not the AIR FORCE

[Member]

ID LOOKS GOOD TO ME... mmm better than my CIA CRACKER JACK CARD.

[aveighter]

Judging from some of the expressed thoughts and grammatical stylings above, I'd say we are all in a lot of trouble.

[Good Point Aveighter NOT]

There is always an idiot in the group and I vote aveighter the winnnner. Please add to the conversation instead of demonstrating your ability to suck the air out of the room.

Also you may consider giving a class on writing to cadets and seniors. However, your one-liner does not demonstrate any true aability. Add to the blog do not detract from it with your idiot statements on grammer or spelling.

Lt. DO YOU THINK CA

[Bucc]

Capt in CAP NOT AIR FORCE,

I would like to thank you personally for denegrating the men and women who serve in our armed forces. Especially those you choose to single out in the Medical and JAG professions. Your opinion our imbecilic service members is a genuine piece of horse feces. My opinion is that you should better use the time allocated to the USAF Auxiliary and try a soup kitchen or the Peace Corp. I would not want you to lower yourself any further by biding your time with those who are beneath you.

Bucc

[CG Aux]

You CAP guys are the biggest bunch of cry babies I have ever heard. You all whine and cry about the lamest crap. While we actually rescue people from harm, all you do is "Watch" from your little prop planes. Big Help...

If you all hate your organization so much, then QUIT!!!

[JT]

Wow. I had a pretty high opinion of the Coast Guard Auxiliary until that last post.

[John Kachenmeister]

I'll be a crybaby if I want to. This is America. I got rights.

[J.E. Carrales]

CG Aux,

Really...please, spare me the incredulous platitudes. The fact is that CAP and USCGAux are basically the same sort of thing....Civilian Auxiliaries of larger forces.

"Watch from our little prop planes" indeed?

I didn't see and boats flying over ground zero on 9-11...hummmm? Curious...

In anycase, I have lots of respect for the USCGAux...however your words cut more like a hachet than a razor!

From debate comes change...progress and mitigation of ills. Call it "being a crybaby" if you will...but those that make the most noise often get noticed.

That is why I come here...to throw around ideas. For the betterment of CAP, not to exchange insults with other ORGANIZATONS.

[Weps21]

I've read a good portion of the posts and agree and disagree with some of them.

My squadron is on a military base, Fort Knox to be exact and we have had more face time with guys from all the branches, DHS, FEMA, and a load of other agnecies. The Army has actually offered to sponsor CAC's for us, but we turned them down because we don't want any kind of debacle going on between the Army and AF, so it's in deliberation with our posts AF Liasion, Wing HQ, and NHQ.

(In this post when I refer to Army it's the Fort Knox Garrision and assigned units to the post)

Now I for one don't want recognition as Active AF, or the same kind of recognition that Active AF deserve. I want recognition for CAP, we are in a neat little position that alot of other org's aren't.

Recently a amry reserve unit requested that we train with them on Fort Knox because of the CO wanted us to help give them a refresher in land nav and other related areas, and we were exstatic that a unit ASKED US, rather than the other way around.

Well this is where trouble starts, you can't enter a training area without consent from the Army JAG, and proof of insurance. So my LT calls up our JAG, hooks them up with their JAG, calls the insurance, has them fax two copies, one for us, one for the Army, the Army JAG types up a MOU stating that all DoD assets with assist CAP/USAFAUX, specifically our squadron, in training, support, lodging, logistics/supply, and any other legitimate support we request, due to the support we give to DoD and Federal assest, because of our unique position as an offical AF auxiliary and a benevolent corporation.

After it was faxed to us, the Army JAG asked my LT what kind of ammo we used 5.56 or 7.62 for our issue weapons so he could fill out a safety noitce. My LT repied, well we are kind of in the Non-Combat Role for supporting the AF.

Let me tell you, all that was missing from this letter was the X's and O's.

Anyway, the point of this story is, you have to work with people, play ball when it's needed, and work with what you have.

I tell you, the army has all but adopted us here. We consantly have visitors, guys from all services wanting to teacher classes, requests for training, ect...

FO Seaman, Squadron ESO
GLR-KY-077

[Weps21]

I was gonna keep posting in that one but it was a bit long.

The Army has also taken Combat Orientation Simulators and retasker them to help orientat SAR, ES, CD and other related things.

We did a large scale beta test in Febuary this year and it ws a HIT!

We had three GT's, a S/O aircraft, simulated Highbird, and other support. The aircraft are actaully flyable, I flew a sortie and then was a S/O for another.

While the GT's are preforming a search a CO or ESO can sit in the next room and monitor each teams progress , or even a single team member, you can move and watch each team, watch from the cessna, be a bird flying over from any number of computer screens or TV's.

The system also has what is known as OPFOR in the COS, but as wintnesses, supporting agencies, or hostile indivuals in this simulation. We had three people from this simulation training unit play witnesses or police supporting our search.

The whole search was for lost campers who never made it to their meet point.

The system graphics are awesome. There was blood trails, bottles, cans, clothing, a burnt out car, hostile animals, other traffic, ect...we had three sets of radio's, a provided set, our ISR, and some VHF sets I've never seen such a complex setup run so smooth, and it's all done on a bunch of desktop computers.

What is so great about this is the orientation of new and current GT's, Air-Ground cooperation, multi-agency operations, and any number of other CAP appliactions.

[SA Cadet]

I am a 14-year-old cadet in the Civil Air Patrol and I am very disgusted in what I am reading about. The Senior Members are who we look up to and if this is how they act we are in sad shape. So the ID cards don't have a pretty little picture and they don't look like my dad's active duty card but we do a job and that is what we ARE. We ARE the Civil Air Patrol no matter what card we have. I am still training in ES, I have taken numerous FEMA courses myself, and I’m on the Honor Guard, color guard, and drill team all starting at the age of 12. I AM going to the Air Force Academy (have wanted to ever since I was 5 years old) and serve my country just like my father. Now, my father is enlisted active duty but that doesn't matter; just like it shouldn't matter about a little picture on a card. We are a military family and our base has totally stopped the use of CAP IDs at most gates (depending on who is working). You have to go in and get a pass, no problem. My complaint is why isn't the history of the Civil Air Patrol's assistance in aviation not in the history of the Air Force? This is where the problem between the active military and CAP lays. I have been asked hundreds of times what CAP is by active duty. They either don't know entirely or they refer to me as an AFJROTC cadet (which as of this year I was able to finally join as a freshman in high school; dual enrolled and loving it). If they taught the full history of aviation in the Air Force like we as cadets have to learn then there would be an understanding of CAP. No, we are not "active duty" but we are just as important to our missions as one. We don't get paid for what we do. We don't get the recognition that you all "think" we should get. I know I can speak for my mom who is a 1st Lt, my dad who is also a 1st Lt, and my sister who can't wait and is already studying because she wants her Curry so bad (2 years before she can even join) and be on our drill team to go to competition the month after her 12th birthday and my 5 year old sister who is also doing the same (she wears her own BDUs); we love what we do and we won't grip about it. Since joining EVERYONE my father works with (active duty), all of my friends who are just lining up to join, and everyone we come in contact with know and understand the history, what we are, and what we do. Not only do we have a mission to do we also have a duty to educate so please stop bad mouthing the organization we love and do what we are meant to do, adhere to the "core values" and educate. Don't be a part of the problem; be a part of the solution.

[Weps21]

Hi SA Cadet,

Read you loud and clear, but you have to understand it isn't about having a neat looking card with our pictures on it. It's about the fact that we can't preform our mission's as easily or thoroughly without a proper form of ID. Have you ever been faced by a cop or MP at 2am who doesn't believe you and isn't in the mood to hear your story? What the majority of the complaint is, is that in this day and age of heightened security and awareness a couple of guys in BDU's with colored patches smacks a bit more of militia than CAP (also due to our limit public knowledge). I have been detained more than once because of my "cereal box" ID. When you are apart of a force, even as an auxiliary you need the proper tools to complete your missions, in today's world you can't even get close to a secure facility (military or otherwise) without ID. Fortunately for me my squadron was ok'ed by our Wing to get Army issued CAC's, and this isn't from us whining or complaining, it was by request from security forces on the post. We are considered by the garrison as a "Uniformed Civilian Service" and didn't want us to be a security hazard and we didn't want to be either, in order for us to even use facilities on the post everytime we had to have provided a unit roster, OPSEC SOP, Proof of Insurance, our MOU from Army JAG, ect... but now with a CAC each senior has all of this on the card and it provides access to our facility, the post facilities, and to the post itself as well as providing us with additional ID when challenged. And no the cards do not allow for anymore access to Exchange Services than your CAPID does, when we go to get them they already know that we have limited access to MCSS items, no commissary privileges, and limited PX privileges unless of course we are TDY and we have a MSA and all our other clearances and privileges as listed on the card.

Ever hear the saying "Who says being in CAP isn't like active duty". CAP is not active duty of course, but we are the AF Auxiliary and are a DoD recognized asset, and we suffer the same aches and pains as Active, Reserve, Guard, Volunteer Fire Departments, and Police Departments do. We are just another rung on the ES ladder. And you need to keep in mind the Cadet Program isn't CAP's only responsibility, we also take care of a very wide array of things.

The reason the AF has distanced itself from us 1.) Tony Pineada, 2.) lack of responsibility, and 3.) they're our parent and we brush them off like nothing, when they say "jump" we should be asking "how high".

We are not the Boy Scouts, JROTC, ROTC, the ACA, or Young Marines, we are Civil Air Patrol, we provide more than Cadet Programs for our communities, our government and our citizens.