I looked at the background of Governor Wes Moore's general election opponent. Let's just say that Moore has the more prestigious background. I was surprised to see that Dan Cox's Civil Air Patrol service was listed as military service on Wikipedia. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Cox In a House session, Representative Jasmine Crockett boasted about being a lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol. I've been a member of the Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard Auxiliary. They do some great, unpaid work, but they are neither members of the armed forces nor uniformed services. Honestly, people who have served in the military sometimes make fun of auxiliarists for being wannabes.
Good catch. I looked under the hood and it seems that this is a failure of the template that the Wikipedia software uses for officeholders, as the "Military Service" heading is inserted in a way that would be difficult and far reaching to change, and one would have to be a specially appointed "template editor" to do so, as an ordinary Wikipedian can't make this change.
CAP does some great stuff with high schoolers as well as search-and-rescue. I'd like to get involved with either the CAP or the Coast Guard Auxiliary eventually since military service is out of reach for me. If I lived in a state with a State Defense Force this would also be a good option to scratch that itch.
I have been a civilian volunteer in the Civil Air Patrol (Air Force Auxiliary) and the Coast Guard Auxiliary (Department of Homeland Security) for over 20 years. They both do a lot of good. I got plenty of training and was able to take free military correspondence courses that I converted into college credit.
I think they got rid of those, didn't they? By the time I joined the Civil Air Patrol in 2017, they were gone. Sucks. I haven't checked in years, but one could get a college credit via ACE for Coast Guard Auxiliary leadership C-school. The Civil Air Patrol is beneficial for teenagers wanting to join the military. One can enter at a higher grade.
The Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary to the Air Force. It is NOT the military. They're great with their cadet program for kids and for their real-life search-and-rescue missions. If I have to choose whether to put them in the "Military" or "Civilian" box, definitely "Civilian." This despite their wear of very similar uniforms and the use of comparable grades (ranks). From their website FAQ: CAP membership does not equate to membership in the military. CAP is a private, non-profit humanitarian organization, which is the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force. The ability to enlist at a higher grade depends on the CAP cadet's progress in the program. They and Junior AFROTC (high school) graduates--recipients of the Billy Mitchell Award--are eligible to enlist at the Airman First Class grade, two grades higher than normal. This also saves them one year towards promotion to Senior Airman. According to their website: Those cadets who earn cadet officer status may enter the Air Force as an E3 (airman first class) rather than an E1 (airman basic). Also, while there is no quid pro quo, they have a distinct advantage when competing for AFROTC college scholarships. Two of my former AFROTC students who went on to become Air Force pilots ended up flying with the CAP (as their active duty assignment). They both knew that it would be their last assignment before retirement, but both loved flying and had strong family reasons for staying in one place. It's my understanding that CAP adult members are eligible to take Air University DL courses based on their CAP officer grade.
I wanted to join the Texas State Guard until it became politicized by the governor. It would have also conflicted with federal employment since job protection comes from state law and, therefore, cannot mandate that federal employers grant leave.
I’ve heard that many history professors like to join the Civil Air Patrol or their state’s militia to help boost their resume. I think it’s great people want to help their community in some capacity. From what I’ve heard, joining a police department’s volunteer group is a way to see more “action”. One of my Army buddies, who is a cop now, told me about how a volunteer who was with him had to help him tackle someone. This something they’re technically not supposed to do. I’ve also seen police volunteers be trained in school shooting response on the news.
I have heard of the Sheriff and Police Reserve. Volunteer, no pay, often a certain number of patrols in a month. I was friends with a guy who ran a Law Enforcement Academy. He said they required reservists to attend a modified academy over the course of a year before being certified in order to weed out Robocop wannabes. That is another great way for community service that not a lot of people know about.
Yeah, standards differ by state. Some states, all Reserves attend the active duty academy and can be fully-sworn peace officers. Others, you attend a modified academy and may only have police powers when with a FT officer. I also considered policing as a career but I lack 20/20 corrected vision which is a requirement for most sworn officers, for good reason.
I hadn't heard that about history professors, but CAP does have a historian specialty track. My squadron's historian wasn't a professional historian, though. My state has reserve police officers, but they are required to go through the academy and become licensed just like any other officer. Some police departments have volunteer patrol programs. My neighborhood has retirees driving around. These volunteers are not licensed, and they do not enforce any laws. They're just neighborhood watch with police department vehicles that say "volunteer" on the side.
It's a big deal to the kid affected by your leadership! However, CAP doesn't qualify for VA healthcare....
In a similar vein I've become interested in land-based search and rescue. Unfortunately I don't live within the catchment area of my local SAR team (you need to be able to get to HQ within an hour of being called.) If/when I move though I'd love to take it up.
There's also CERT. Texas has something called the Texas A&M Task Force, which is one of the 28 FEMA urban search and rescue teams in the U.S. Below is a link to all the locations. I don't know if every state works the same. In Texas, your employer will continue to pay your salary while you're deployed. Afterward, your employer will submit a request for reimbursement to the task force. Task force members are protected by USERRA regardless of whether the deployment was ordered by the state or federal government. https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/frameworks/urban-search-rescue/task-force-locations
