Section 1 | Minimum Program Scheduling Requirements

Unit Training Plan & Goals

1.1  Monthly Contact Requirements

Cadet units are required to incorporate the following into each monthly schedule: 

• 1.5 hours of Leadership (includes drill)

• 1.5 hours of Aerospace (includes non-aviation/aerospace cyber and STEM)

• 1.0 hours of Fitness (includes testing)

• 1.0 hours of Character

• +15 minutes of Safety Education (see sub-section 1.2 below)

Despite the above requirements calculating to 5 hours, 15 minutes of program scheduling, unit must provide at least 8 hours of cadet activities and/or training each month. 

The squadron schedules 3 hours per week (Thursdays from 6:00-9:00pm Eastern Time); thus, the unit generally provides a minimum of 12 hours of contact each month. Unit meetings are intended to be successive in their design (i.e., rolling into one another to train toward a greater, comprehensive learning objective). [NOTE: Viewers of this page should caution that this information is for planning purposes only and does not reflect actual schedule information. The unit web calendar should be used for actual schedule reference.]

Monthly contact elements are tracked on the Cadet Detachment's Master Schedule (Google Sheets) file on Google Drive. 

1.2  Safety Education

Safety Education, while not technically a component of the CAP Cadet Program, is a critical element of each member's education and awareness of pertinent safety-related matters. The unit's Safety Officer (senior member) should coordinate with the Cadet Staff to ensure that Phase III and Phase IV cadets assist in the development of the unit's Safety Education plan (annual plan), with Phase II cadets assisting in the facilitation of Safety Education classes/presentations. 

1.3  "Weekend" Activities

It is required that the unit provide at least one "weekend" activity each month. These activities, which may be hosted by the squadron or an external host agent, are outside of the norm of weekly meetings and may include, for example, field trips, parades, academies, bivouacs, orientation flights, social events, and other cadet opportunities. "Weekend" activities are considered those which stray away from the weekly training experiences that cadets would normally receive at each week's scheduled meeting; however, their time exposure may be factored into calculating the required minimum contact hours for cadet training (see sub-section 1.1 above).

The unit defines that, in order to be acceptable as credit to meet the intent of this standard, "weekend" activities must be eligible and/or open for attendance/participation opportunity by all cadets in the unit. For example: Field trips are generally regarded as activities that all squadron members may attend. Cadet Staff-only activities are not inclusive of all squadron members since they target a specific audience for eligibility to attend; as such, this type of activity would not count for "weekend" credit. 

It is preferred that a Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) activity will be conducted at least once per month, able to be attended by all squadron members. 

1.4  Web-Based Calendars

Cadet activity schedules must be made available via web-based means, with "weekend" activities preferably announced at least two (2) weeks in advance to allow families time to plan accordingly. 

Activities shall be posted to the squadron's website calendar (public) and Google Calendar (internal; CAP members only). 

Events posted to the calendars shall be listed on the unit's training schedules to ensure maximum communication and planning interfacing within the squadron. 

1.5  Parent-Focused Activity Notifications

The unit uses the Remind mobile messaging platform, which permits unit leadership to communicate with parents about upcoming activities and pertinent, last-minute information updates. 

Additionally, the unit will hold a parent meeting twice per year to discuss current events/issues with parents/guardians of current cadet members. This meeting should not be confused with the parent meeting held as part of the Basic Cadet Training onboarding period. 

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