Normal Meetings

Cass County CAP HQ
816-380-2917

Normal Meetings
Every Tuesday of the month
6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Testing & Review Boards
1st & 3rd Tuesdays of the Month
5:45 pm to 6:30 pm
Senior/Cadet Staff Meetings
5th Tuesdays of the Month
5:45 pm to 6:30 pm

Home

About Us

Cadet Programs

Article Index
Cadet Programs
Honor Guard
National Cadet Competition
All Pages

Page 1 of 3

If you want to do something with your spare time that really matters…
If you want to learn new technical skills that will help you in the future…
If you want to become a leader and grow stronger and smarter…
Civil Air Patrol’s cadet program could be for you!

Cadets spend thier spare time with like-minded guys and girls, ages 12 to 21, doing volunteer work that really helps the community. At Civil Air Patrol’s weekly meetings, they learn teamwork and leadership skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

The Cadet Program recognizes and rewards cadets every step of the way, with rank, ribbons, and respect. In Civil Air Patrol, hard work gets you something, whether it is the right to wear a Ground Team medal or the privilege of attending a special meeting, activity or training course as the Civil Air Patrol representative. The system offers you a variety of avenues and to reward your efforts. What you get out of Civil Air Patrol depends on what you put into it.

As cadets progress through CAP’s multi-level cadet training, they learn the principles of aviation and aerospace flight. They learn about rocketry and physics through hands-on experiments. They can even get a taste of military life, and learn about military history, customs, drills and inspection. You could end up in one of the top squads in the nation if you advance to the most elite competition for CAP cadets, National Cadet Competition.

CAP offers national cadet encampments with activities in emergency services, engineering, technology, physical fitness, teambuilding and flight training. You can even visit foreign countries through the International Air Cadet Exchange.

Thanks to good preparation and valuable scholarships, many CAP cadets go on to careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. Some pursue technical degrees and others go on to one of the nation’s prestigious military academies. Each year, at least 10 percent of the freshman class at the U.S. Air Force Academy is made up of former CAP cadets.

Military Customs & Courtesies

Civil Air Patrol's cadet program is a traditional military cadet program. CAP cadets wear modified versions of Air Force uniforms, hold rank and grade, and practice military customs and courtesies. They are also required to maintain physical fitness standards and are tested on their fitness and their knowledge of leadership and aerospace subjects for each promotion.

The current Cadet Program is composed of four phases (learning; leadership; command; executive), each of which is divided into several achievements. Achievements generally correspond to a grade promotion while phases are tied to a level of responsibility. The Cadet Program is executed at the local unit (squadron) level with weekly meetings and weekend activities, along with national and wing sponsored week- and multi-week long summer activities, of which encampments are an example.

Cadets have a rank structure similar to the United States Air Force enlisted and officer ranks. A cadet starts as a Cadet Airman Basic and is promoted as he or she completes each achievement. To complete an achievement, a cadet must pass a physical fitness test as well as two written tests; one for leadership and one for aerospace education.