Youth (Cadet) Program

Get ready for the greatest adventure of your lifetime!

The CAP cadet program offers some of the greatest life-building skills and experience you could ever hope to join. When a cadet joins the program, the first several months are spent learning the basics of wearing the uniform, reading the manuals, performing the drill maneuvers and preparing for the first promotional advancements from the rank of Airman to preparing for the NCO ranks.

Once the first achievement is finished, many new opportunities become available. Summer and winter basic encampments, emergency services training and missions, and assignment to cadet staff positions will help you learn to follow the lead of others and develop your own leadership skills as you advance toward the senior NCO ranks.

As a cadet officer, you will begin to test the limits of your leadership potential, leading groups at both the local squadron and at state and even national activities. You will learn many other life skills such as communication, organization, and critical thinking while sprinting through military obstacle courses, taking the controls of aircraft, and earning awards for marksmanship, rocketry, and many others!

If this adventure sounds like your next challenge, contact our cadet programs director, 2d Lt Zack Bell: Zack.Bell@wawg.cap.gov. 

For Parents

Cadets who join CAP can only succeed with family support. For that reason, you may be asked to help out at various events or even join in order to support your cadet and ensure that your own family values are well represented. Although this is not required, it is highly encouraged. At a minimum, cadets need consistent transportation to weekly meetings and support in completing registration paperwork for events.

The time commitment can be quite heavy. For many cadets, the program is a significant part of life throughout high school. We strive to provide a setting which builds the utmost in moral and critical decision-making abilities while still allowing freedom to learn, create, and grow. At times, your high school student may even be in charge of organizing multi-week activities with hundreds of participants under their responsibility in a safe, mentored setting.

When you first visit the squadron meeting, be sure to meet the adult and cadet leaders so that you can best help your cadet progress. Technology and online account access is a requirement for testing and completing required training.