Civil Air Patrol

It seems the posts are getting further and further apart. I guess that means life is settling into a routine. Of course, if you know Larry, life is seldom a routine for very long.

He's still working on the basement remodel but, in his usual fashion, he is looking several steps ahead. He's not one to live in the moment like I'm prone to do. As he considered options of different hobbies or careers (to supplement his auditing job now) several were being considered. This included pursuing his magician hobby, setting up a stain glass shop and perhaps marketing finished pieces and... it seems like there was a third but I don't remember it now. For some reason I just don't understand, gardening was never in the top 10 things to consider. We would have made a great team. Oh well.

During the midst of all this discussion, the idea of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) starting climbing the "list". We have a good friend who is involved and the two of them got to talking. I showed some interest too which really fueled the fire. We visited a meeting and decided to join. That was about a month ago. Larry joined first and I followed shortly behind.

Some of you may not know that Larry has a pilot's license, it's just been inactive for a good long time. He can reactive his license without too much trouble and then he can be an asset to the local squadron. In truth, we can both be assets to the squadron without being pilots.

It's a different sort of volunteer opportunity as it's actually a civilian branch of the Air Force. As such, there are strict rules and structure. This can be an advantage as the roles are clearly defined and you know what you need to do. As I see it there are two paths to follow. One is in support of the squadron itself (support roles such as leaders, admins, communications, educators, etc.) and then specialty roles for missions and exercises (pilots, observers, scanners, ground crews and the like). There are ranks to achieve (such as lieutenant, captain, major, etc.). It really is different than anything other volunteer role I've ever been in.

Why am I doing it (you might ask)? For two reasons. First, for the purpose of volunteering in a meaningful organization. This is an adult squadron (called a "Senior Squadron") but there is a Cadet Squadron in town too that Larry has visited a number of times. The two overlap from time to time. CAP is involved in three main areas: 1) Aerospace Education 2) Emergency Services and 3) Cadet Programs. The other reason I joined is so that I would be involved in something with Larry where we both know the people and the jargon and can go together to functions (whether that be meetings, missions, or trainings). This will certainly do that. We could both make second jobs out of this if we let it.