"Cadet Protection Implementation Guide"

The cadet experience is positioned along a continuum of discipline intensity, somewhere between Daisy Scout llama camp and Marine Corps boot camp.

We never will tolerate hazing or ridiculous and counter-productive Hollywood-style approaches to leadership. At the same time, we know that one of the Cadet Program’s major attractions is the regimentation, the discipline, the military-style “look and feel” that challenges our cadets to excel.

The very best, veteran Cadet Programs officers skillfully ratchet the military-style training intensity up and down, tailoring it to the cadet’s age, rank, training needs, and training environment. But not all senior members, cadet officers, or cadet NCOs truly understand how to design and implement cadet activities that are as wholesome as they are regimented.

Enter the (draft) CAPP 52-23, Cadet Protection Policy Implementation Guide. It offers sound doctrine, realistic examples, and practical guidance on how to strike the right balance with training intensity.

The author is one of the most respected Cadet Program experts, Lt Col Ned Lee, a 40-year member; former cadet and Spaatz Award recipient; CAP Board of Governors member at-large; former national, region, and wing director of cadet programs; superior court judge; and retired Army officer. Ned doesn’t boast about his credentials, but I mention them here because I hope you will come to rely upon Ned’s judgment as I have. His “Implementation Guide” is a gift to our program. “Ha-zaa!”

We invite you to review this draft and share your comments via the Cadet Blog. 

--Curt LaFond