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Professional Development -
Career Progression
Senior Program & Ranks
How do I progress through the
CAP Senior Program?
Similar to the U.S. Air
Force, there are several ways to progress
through the ranks. Certain individuals who
bring specific skills or experience with
them which are useful to CAP may qualify for
direct commissions to a higher rank after
Level I training, e.g. Ministers, Teachers,
Medical Professionals, Pilots, etc.
Similarly, commissioned officers of any U.S.
military service may be granted equivalent
rank in CAP (up to Lt Col).
What is
described below is the normal progression of
rank through the training program for most
members.
Exceptions from the normal progression (CAPR
35-5 Section C - Special Appointments) apply to professional appointments. For the
details, check in
CAPR 50-17
(Training) and
CAPR 35-5 (Officer and NCO
Appointments and Promotions).
Senior
Member Ranks
|
Level |
Rank |
Abbreviation |
Term of Address |
Insignia |
|
1
Introduction
|
Senior Member
Membership Ribbon
|
SM |
Sir/Ma'am |
 |
|
Flight Officer* |
FO |
Sir/Ma'am |
 |
|
Technical Flight
Officer* |
TFO |
Sir/Ma'am |
 |
|
Second Lieutenant |
2d Lt |
Lieutenant |
 |
|
First Lieutenant
Leadership Ribbon
|
1st Lt |
Lieutenant |
 |
|
2
Technical
Training
|
Senior Flight
Officer* |
SFO |
Sir/Ma'am |
 |
|
Captain
Certificate of Proficiency |
Capt |
Captain |
 |
|
3
Management
|
Major
Grover Loening Aerospace Award
 |
Maj |
Major |
 |
|
4
Command and Staff
|
Lieutenant Colonel
Paul E. Garber Award
 |
Lt Col |
Colonel |
 |
|
5
Executive
|
Gill Rob Wilson Award
|
|
|
|
|
Command
|
Colonel
(reserved for Wing Commanders,
Region Commanders & Region Vice
Commanders) |
Col |
Colonel |
|
|
Brigadier General
(reserved for the National Vice
Commander) |
Brig Gen |
General |
|
|
Major General
(reserved for the National
Commander) |
Maj Gen |
General |
|
*NOTE: The Flight Officer Ranks are for
Senior Members under the age of 21.
They are
not in the normal progression of ranks.
Level I -
Introduction
You receive your introduction
to the Civil Air Patrol. In this day-long
course, you will learn about its proud history, its three primary missions of Cadet
Programs, Aerospace Education, and Emergency
Services, the chain of command, and the
services that CAP provides to other
organizations, communities, and to the
nation.
Upon completion of Level I earns the
Membership Award, and you are eligible for
promotion to the rank of:
Flight Officer, after three
month's service (age 18-21);
Second Lieutenant, after six month's service
(age 21+).
Level II -
Technical Training
You become a
part of the squadron team, contributing your
time and talents to helping the squadron run
smoothly. You will choose a functional
specialty, or an area to focus your efforts
on in order to earn promotions and awards.
You can also choose a mission specialty that
you will perform when CAP is called into
action.
Achieving a
Technician Rating in your functional
specialty earns the Leadership Award, and
you are eligible for promotion to the rank
of:
Technical Flight Officer,
after six month's service as a Flight
Officer (age 18-21);
First Lieutenant, after one year's service
as a Second Lieutenant and/or Technical
Flight Officer (age 21+).
In Level II, the emphasis
turns from introduction and learning how the
squadron works to professional development
and leadership. Here, officership and
command ability become more important. CAP
provides you with the tools and the
opportunity to move ahead. The capstone to
Level II is the Air Force Institute for
Advanced Distributed Learning (AFIADL) CAP
Senior Officer Course 13 (taken by
correspondence) and the Squadron Leadership
School (SLS). SLS is a weekend-long course
conducted in your area, that teaches
leadership and the proper functioning of the
program at squadron level.
Completing Course 13 and the
SLS earns the Certificate of Proficiency
Award, and you are eligible promotion to the
rank of:
Senior Flight Officer, after
one year's service as a Technical Flight
Officer (age 18-21);
Captain, after 18 month's service as a First
Lieutenant and/or Senior Flight Officer (age
21+).
Level III -
Management
This level signals your
commitment to CAP and to your career. Here,
the emphasis shifts from the squadron to the
group, wing, and national level. Completion
earns the Grover Loening Aerospace Award and
you are eligible for promotion to
Major after three years as a
Captain.
Level IV -
Command and Staff
The emphasis here shifts to
the educational aspects of CAP by focusing
on leadership in CAP training activities.
Completion earns the Paul E. Garber Award
and you are eligible for promotion to
Lieutenant Colonel after 4 years as Major.
Level V -
Executive
This is the top of the Senior
Program. Group, Wing, or National Leadership
is attainable at this stage for those who
are willing to see the program through. The
focus here is on making CAP run smoothly
nation-wide. Completion earns the Gill Robb
Wilson Award.
Command
Wing, Region, and National
Command are the next steps. Achieving these
positions is the only way to be promoted
past Lieutenant Colonel.
Wing Commander
A wing is composed of all the
units in a state. The Wing Commander is
responsible for these units, their
personnel, and the equipment assets at CAPs
disposal and holds the rank of Colonel.
Region Commander
The next step is Region
Command, which entails command of several
wings. Region Commanders and the several
deputy Commanders are Colonels.
National Vice Commander
The National Commander and
Vice Commander are the only serving General
Officers in CAP, although there are several
past national commanders who retain flag
rank. The National Vice Commander holds the
rank of Brigadier General.
National Commander
The National Commander, who
holds the rank of Major General, will do so
for about three years, when a new National
Commander will be named.
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