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Registration now open for Winter Encampment

2011 Winter Encampment commander, Lt Col Robert Jennings, has announced that registration and payment for the Texas Wing 2011 Winter Basic Encampment is now available.  Texas Wing has adopted an online system, hosted by EventBrite and featuring payment through PayPal.  The fee for this winter's Encampment is $150 for Cadets and $50 for Senior Members.  Once registration is complete, Basic Cadets will receive an e-mail with the link to the forms packet.  In a change from prior years, Cadets willhand-carry their forms package to Encampment in-processing.  Register here: http://txwg2011winterbe.eventbrite.com/

Cadet Staff Selection complete
The Winter Encampment Cadet Executive Staff; C/Capt Ariel Sten, C/Col Jamie Douglas and C/Maj Blake Orth, have completed the challenging task of recruiting and selecting more than 70 Cadet Staff members.  They reviewed more than 100 applications from highly qualified and motivated Cadets.  Although not all applicants could be selected, all of the Cadets who applied were outstanding candidates. On behalf of Texas Wing Commander, Col Brooks Cima, thanks to all who applied and congratulations to those selected.

Senior Member staff recruiting 

A successful Cadet Encampment relies on dedicated Senior Members committed to the In-Flight (Basic) and Staff Cadets.  Senior Members are needed for a variety of training, leadership and support functions that are critical to the success of the Encampment.  Lt Col Jennings has sent out an e-mail to all Senior Members of Texas Wing, asking for volunteers for these essential positions, which can also be viewed at http://www.texascadet.org/Winter_Encampment.html

 · Winter Encampment page (http://www.texascadet.org/Winter_Encampment.html)

http://txwg2011winterbe.eventbrite.com/)

Commander's Welcome 

The Basic Encampment is a foundational experience for Civil Air Patrol Cadets, and is the gateway to future progression and activities in CAP.  The Basic Encampment is a pre-requisite for the Billy Mitchell milestone award and promotion to Cadet officer, National Cadet Special Activities (NCSAs) and many other valuable training experiences for Cadets.  According to CAP's Cadet Program Management regulstion, "An encampment can be the most significant and worthwhile training experience of a CAP cadet’s membership. Training is what the encampment is all about." (CAP Regulation 52-16, Paragraph 9-1.b.).  The Texas Wing 2011 Winter Encampment will embody the letter and spirit of this intention.

With the concurrence of the Wing Commander and the Director of Cadet Programs, we have made the difficult decision not to hold an Advanced Training Squadron (ATS) in conjunction with this winter's Encampment.  ATS will resume in conjunction with the 2012 Summer Encampment.

Basic Cadet Registration and Payment

 Cadets can register with our new online system at http://txwg2011winterbe.eventbrite.com/ and will automatically be re-directed to the PayPal system to pay for Encampment and complete registration.  If any of the Cadets or their parents have a significant PayPal issue, they can contact the Encampment Commander (robert.jennings@njwg.cap.gov) for alternate payment arrangements.  However, all payments will have to be received at Wing HQ not later than Monday 12 December 2011.  No payments will be accepted at the Encampment.  Shortly after registering, Basic Cadet attendees will receive an e-mail with a link to the forms package, and instructions for in-processing (which will include hand-carrying completed, signed forms to Encampment in-processing). The payment for Basic Cadets is $150.

 Cadet Staff Registration

 Cadet Staff also register at http://txwg2011winterbe.eventbrite.com/. Cadet Staff members should have been offered and formally accepted a staff position before registering.  The payment for Staff Cadets is $150.

 Senior Member Staff Recruiting
We are just six short weeks out from Encampment, and making great progress.  The Cadet Staff is in place, and busy updating materials, developing a training plan and all of the many details to prepare for a successful Encampment.  Now, we are reaching out to the Senior Members to recruit for the positions that are equally essential to a great Encampment experience.

Listed below are the positions we are accepting applications for.  The term "mentor" means a SM who assists, advises and monitors the Cadet Staff that own the primary responsibility for the respective position or function.  The term "officer" (i.e. - Safety Officer) means that the Senior Member in that position owns the responsibility for that function.  Senior Members who have already reached out to inquire about staff positions will be followed up with in the next few days.

Even if you are not available for the entire week of 26 Dec to 31 Dec, but want to be a part of providing an outstanding Encampment experience, please contact us for what "part-time" role you would be interested in.  Senior Members who provide two full duty days of service to the Encampment will receive Encampment credit.

The cost for Senior Members volunteering their time at this year's Winter Encampment will be $50, which will include all meals and lodging for the week.  We will handle "part time" SMs who stay overnight on a case-by-case basis.

Command Staff:

 Safety Officer (1 position)

 Chaplain/CDI (multiple positions)

 "Advance Party"  I need 2 to 3 Seniors, preferably in the Waco to Austin corridor area, who can pick up Encampment equipment and supplies, drop them off at Camp Swift, pick up keys at Camp Swift, etc. on Thursday and Friday, 22 - 23 December, and be available to be on-site with me and the rest of the Executive Staff at Camp Swift to hand off on Sunday, 25 December (yep, Christmas Day -- sorry 'bout that!).

TAC Officers:

 The TAC Officer is one of the most important SM positions at the Encampment.  They spend the entire day with their "eyes on the cadets", assisting the flight staff, ensuring all Cadets remain safe and accounted for.  The TAC Officer operates on a fine line between guiding and mentoring the flight staff, but not taking over the training function.  A background as a former cadet and/or military service is helpful, but not required.  The TAC Officer is also the most physically demanding of any SM position, as the TAC is with the flight, on their feet all day, every day of the Encampment.

Chief TAC (1 position)

Senior TACs (3 positions)

TAC Officers (9 to 12 positions)

SET Mentor (1 position) -- Mentors the Cadet SET staff in performing evaluations, inspections, etc.

Support Staff: 

Health Services Officer (1 primary, would be nice to have assistants) -- Responsible for the medical staff, which advises the Corps of Cadets on preventive healthcare (blisters, weather injury avoidance, etc.) and first aid for minor healthcare issues.  It would be wonderful to have a Doctor or Nurse volunteer for this position, but any reasonably experienced healthcare provider (Paramedic, experienced EMT, etc) is encouraged to apply.

 Finance Officer (1 position) -- Monitors expenditures against the finance budget, accounts for expenses, prepares the Encampment P&L.

Admin/Personnel Mentor (1 position) -- Mentors the Cadet Admin staff in the record keeping, document preparation, in and out processing functions.  Knowledge of Microsoft Access would be very useful.

Logistics Mentor (1 position) -- Mentors the Cadet Logistics staff in the logistics functions of the Encampment (equipment, supplies, daily vehicle inspections, etc.).

Transportation Officer (1 position) -- Oversees the operation of CAP vehicles assigned to the Encampment.  Ensure the Cadet Logistics staff correctly performs daily inspections, maintains key accountability and tracks vehicle locations.

Mess Officer (filled) Operates the Dining Facility, develops the menu, purchases food and affiliated items, supervises the Cadet Mess Staff and in-flight KPs.

Assistant Mess Officer (2 positions, 1 filled)

Public Affairs Mentor (1 position) -- Mentors the Cadet PAO staff in the marketing and external communications functions for the Encampment.

Ops Center Chief (1 position) -- This winter's Encampment will establish an Operations Center, which will function as the "brain" of the Encampment -- all command, control, communications and information will flow through the Ops Center. The Ops Center will be the standard duty location for all support staff functions during the duty day.

Staff Duty Officer (SDO, AKA "CQ Mentor", 1 position) -- Senior Member that supervises the Cadet CQ staff on safety watch overnight.  The duty hours for this position are 2200 to 0600, sleeping during the day.

Firearms Instructors (3 to 4 positions, 2 filled) -- Supervise introductory firearms training for the Cadets.  Must meet the qualifications for Cadet firearms instruction described in CAP Regulation 52-16, Paragraph 2-11.b.  Experience with training teens is very helpful.

Communications Mentor (1 position) -- Mentors the Cadet Communications staff, with an emphasis on equipment accountability and training the Cadet staff in advanced CAP radio communications topics.

IT Officer (1 position) -- Ideally, an Information Technology industry professional, responsible primarily for Internet connectivity, software assistance (experience in Google Apps and Microsoft Office (particularly Access) especially helpful) and printing issues.