CAP's New Education and Training Program
for Senior Members Now Open for Business
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Civil Air Patrol's much anticipated Volunteer University is now a reality as the cornerstone of CAP's new Senior Member Education and Training Program.
Volunteer University, or Vol U, went live on Aug. 4, offering online and off-site courses and schools to enhance the education and training opportunities for CAP’s more than 37,000 members.
“This is a new era for Civil Air Patrol education and training,” said Col. Regena Aye, chief of the Education and Training Program. “We've prepared for over a year now, and to see it finally happening is really exciting.”
In a congratulatory message to Aye and the Vol U team, Maj. Gen. Mark Smith, CAP's national commander and CEO, said, "The structure and processes you have built into the program will help it to stay leading-edge indefinitely. The fruits of your labor will benefit the members of Civil Air Patrol for many years to come.”
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Blood Drive Mission in Ariz. Collects 500+ Units |
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When the Arizona Wing began its mission to support the Red Cross during the COVID-19 pandemic by opening its squadron facilities as emergency blood donation centers March 29, the goal was to collect 500 units of blood by Aug. 31. That goal was exceeded a month early, on July 30, when 31 units donated at the 388th Composite Squadron in Glendale brought the overall total to 519 units.
“This was the 15th blood donor center mission in 106 days. That’s unprecedented,” said Lt. Col. Bob Ditch, incident commander for the Arizona Wing’s effort. “But we still have more lives to help save,” he said, noting that six more blood drives are already scheduled for August.
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Hawk Mountain Ranger School Goes Virtual
As CAP's only National Cadet Special Activity to move to a completely online format so far this year, Hawk Mountain Ranger School wrapped up its 64th year with more than 650 participants from 44 wings.
Virtual training sessions featured a widespread curriculum covering the Basic and Advanced Ranger Course, Team Leaders Course and Field Medic Course – training typically provided as part of the summer activity. Classes included such topics as basic and advanced navigation, ropes and knots, search theories, basic survival skills and several other fundamental ranger tasks.
“I'm inspired by all the CAP members who participated online knowing that we weren't going to provide sign-offs simply because they wanted to advance their training. That is how dedicated CAP members are,” said Lt. Col. Brian Cuce, Hawk Mountain Ranger School commander.
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Del. Wing Cadet Solos Glider on 14th Birthday |
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Cadet Master Sgt. Lars Trone of the Delaware Wing's North Chesapeake Cadet Squadron had planned to celebrate his 14th birthday on July 25 at CAP's Tri-Wing Encampment, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he spent the day soaring the skies in a glider and earning his Student Glider Pilot's Certificate.
To top it off, his instructor, Dave Anderson (seen in photo with him), said of Trone’s glider flight, “It was a textbook takeoff and a smooth landing that most any pilot would be envious of.”
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Sneak Peek at CAP's New Innovation Program |
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Curious about Civil Air Patrol’s new Innovation Program to be officially launched during the 2020 National Conference? Wondering who invented CAP’s innovation approach?
During a monthly meeting, the Technical Advisory Group, CAP’s information technology volunteer leaders, proposed the idea of an eServices platform that would make local technical solutions available to other members for reuse.
That evening, HUBCAP Phase 1 was born.
CAP leadership was intrigued by HUBCAP’s capabilities that allow any member to submit their “invention” and the reliance of crowdsourcing to surface the best ideas. They charged the member-led Innovation Governance Team to design processes and tools that capture any type of innovation artifact, provide a home for sharing best practices and create a marketplace for seeking innovation partners to assist members to move an idea to a viable solution.
Please visit the Innovation offerings in the 2020 National Conference schedule for more details on this initiative.
What’s next? HUBCAP Phase 2 to be released Aug. 11.
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National Conference Registration Remains Open |
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Due to an overwhelming response, CAP has increased the number of seats available for the virtual 2020 National Conference, so registration remains open.
If you thought you missed the chance to be part of the first virtual National Conference, register today with access code CAPExcel2020. (Reminder: The code is case sensitive, so please type or paste as is here.)
Over 8,100 people have registered so far for the virtual National Conference which begins on Aug. 14. That’s more than 10 times our normal registration for an in-person event.
As part of your registration, content access from the conference (presentations, videos, etc.) will be available for one year. So even if you cannot attend Aug 14-15 but would like to view the content at a more convenient time, you need to be in the system. Register today.
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Previewing CAP's Education and Training Program |
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In the weeks leading up to the launch of Volunteer University, we've been providing an overview of the focus and requirements for each level of CAP instruction. Here is an overview for the final phase, Level V: |
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CAP Marketing & Strategic Communications
877-227-9142
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