2020-2021 NVWG Cadet Advisory Council

Purpose:

The Cadet Advisory Council is a body of cadet representatives from all squadrons in the NVWG tasked with accomplishing three missions, as outlined in CAPR 60-1:

• Provide a forum where cadets gain leadership experience at higher organizational levels. 

• Aid the commander in monitoring and implementing the Cadet Program. 

• Make recommendations to the commander for improving and running the Cadet Program. 

The 2020-2021 CAC Chair is C/Capt Gelfer, who previously served as Vice Chair for the 2019-2020 term with C/Capt Rudolph as Chair. He is assisted by C/Maj Scharoun, the current Vice Chair and Assistant Representative to the Pacific Region Council. C/Capt Ramirez serves as the Primary Representative to the Region Council.

Current Committees:

The majority of the CAC’s work is done through committees. The following committees are currently active in the NVWG CAC:

• Home Participation Committee: Conceived at the start of the COVID-19 shutdown, the Home Participation Committee organizes and runs weekly online events to keep cadets engaged at the wing level. Past events have included a talk with the National Commander, wing-wide trivia competitions, leadership and aerospace lectures, and fun/social nights. Events continue weekly, the details of which are released via email and the Nevada Wing Cadets Discord. C/Maj Scharoun serves as the committee’s chair.

• Outreach Committee: The Outreach Committee is dedicated to internal and external outreach for the CAC and CAP as a whole. Currently led by C/Capt Ramirez, the committee has written Silver Wing Articles, created 4th of July and Veterans Day videos, and advertised for the 2020 Encampment. In addition to this, the Outreach Committee also worked on creating CAP promotional products such as bumper stickers, which will continue once the Wing re-opens.

• Discord Committee: The Discord Committee is led by C/CMSgt Anastasia Wadleigh with the objective of making the NVWG Cadet Discord server a more welcoming and fun place for cadets to communicate. Work continues on the committee’s proposals, which aim to introduce a number of new features to the server in coming months. 

• ES Committee: The ES Committee is led by C/CMSgt Hranac and C/SSgt Milano and is tasked with getting more cadets in Nevada Wing into Emergency Services and helping cadets get qualifications like Ground Team Member.

• Aviation Committee: This committee is tasked with getting more cadets in Nevada Wing interested in flying along with educating them on the opportunities CAP has to offer. 

• Region Projects Committee: In an attempt to foster change on a wider scale and think strategically about the future of CAP, the Wing CAC has committed itself to developing solutions to region and national issues. This committee will develop ideas at the local level, then pass them through the chain for higher level implementation. The committee is always looking for ideas, and encourages any cadet with feedback about the cadet program to send in their thoughts in the #ask-cac channel on Discord or via email at timothy.gelfer@nvwgcap.org 

Past Committees:

The CAC has also been busy with multiple projects that have now concluded:

• Phase 1 Pre-opening Plan: Working with cadets from outside of CAC, the CAC created a proposal to Wing on how Cadet Programs should proceed in squadrons during Phase 1. The proposal detailed how aspects of the Cadet Program could be implemented, including drill, PT, member rotation, and interactive activities.

• Budget: The CAC took an initiative to get a budget for this fiscal year. We received funds that we plan to use throughout the year on prizes for upcoming cadet competitions.

• Wing Patch: C/SSgt Anthony Milano served as Chair and worked on developing a competition to choose a commemorative Wing Patch design for the 80th anniversary of the Wing.

• PCR Olympics: Our Wing spearheaded a fun competition between all Wings in the Pacific Region and NVWG ended up winning! This kept over 200 cadets all over the region engaged in CAP activities. 

• Virtual Party: The CAC ran a virtual holiday party with attendance from 2 regions! The event included a central socializing room along with several themed breakout rooms, including cookie baking, a games room, and a movie room. 

CAC By the Numbers:

• Since March of 2020 the CAC has delivered the following to the Wing, Region, and Nation:

• Lectures: + 40 Hours

• Events: + 40 Hours

• Long-Term Projects (completed and ongoing): +20

• Cadets and Seniors Impacted: +300

• Wings Impacted: 8

• Regions Impacted: 3

Future Plans: 
The CAC has no plans to stop producing content for cadets and senior members alike, although the format might change as needs evolve. In 2021, we plan to shift to a less frequent schedule for lectures and focus on inviting high profile speakers from both inside and outside Nevada. Aside from this, we also plan to increase informal virtual get-together events, facilitating connectedness in the Wing. Look forward to a potential live Q&A with an astronaut onboard the International Space Station and the like!

In addition to our current committees, the CAC also plans to work on recording how our Wing responded to the COVID-19 situation and produce a historical document. We will also commit ourselves to helping advertise for the 2021 Encampment and get more members using the Wing email system.

How you can be involved:

• Cadets: Please join the Nevada Wing Cadets server (https://discord.gg/A7XQYdZ) and make sure to read our weekly emails so you can attend our activities. Everyone is also invited and encouraged to attend our CAC meetings, which are held on the second Saturday of each month at 1900 on the Discord server, although Microsoft Teams is available by request. If you have any ideas that you would like to see us work on or any improvement you want to see in CAP, please share them with us!

• Senior Members: Please assign and support active CAC members. Support at our meetings and activities are also appreciated in addition to advertising our events to your cadets.  

Contact:

Capt Robert Margeson - Nevada Wing Director of Cadet Programs
Robert.Margeson@nvwgcap.org

C/Capt Timothy Gelfer - Nevada Wing CAC Chair
Timothy.Gelfer@nvwgcap.org

C/Maj Jason Scharoun - Nevada Wing CAC Vice-Chair
Jason.Scharoun@nvwgcap.org