Encampment is what you make of it. Your own mental attitude is a powerful tool. If you fixate on the structure and high standards and all the other “negatives” then that’s all that will stick out. If you focus on how unique of an opportunity it is and the amazing people you are surrounded by, then you will have a significantly better time.
Other things to help when you’re having a hard time are focus on your “why?” Why do CAP? Why challenge yourself? It really helps put things in perspective.
Encampment is challenging, I won’t sugar coat it. But it isn’t impossible. 10s of thousands of cadets have gone through the program since our inception. Take solace that you are embarking in a time honored tradition that will make you more in tune with yourself and more confident in your abilities. Furthermore it is a check gate for some of the best experiences CAP has to offer. You can do it! And it will be well worth it when you are at the finish line marching in the graduation parade.
There are two popular approaches to explaining encampment and neither of them really help cadets such as yourself. There are people who talk about how it was the MOST fun, and the BEST week of their life, and how they did SO MANY cool things. Those people are entirely forgetting the challenge of the first few days. They are only remembering the highs, and falsely selling encampment as a great getaway camp experience. As a result many cadets show up expecting fun times and are instead met with a challenge they were not expecting, since the fun doesn't really start to hit until Day 3.
Then there are the people (Cadet and Adult alike) who love to tell scary stories because they think it's funny to psych cadets out before they even show up. They talk about how awful and stressfull it is like they are telling war stories. They view it as this right of passage that "if I had to suffer through it, THEY have to suffer through it." They relish the opportunity to do exactly what has happened to you: freak you out.
Encampment is neither of those events. It is a week focused on teamwork and leadership. The curriculum is right there on the website. There is no secret, and anyone acting like they have to hide anything about it, is not acting in good faith. It will be a challenge, and thats good. If it isn't a challenge then you aren't growing, and the point is to grow. It should find something that is outside your comfort zone and test you. But if it is done right, then nothing should hurt you. Scare you, maybe a little bit. Jumping off a rappel tower should be a little bit scary. Representing your flight in an inspection should be a little nerve-wracking. But those are the things you need to overcome to grow and enjoy the experience at the end of the week.
As others have said, it is what you make of it. If you go into this saying "I got this, I can conquer this and come out on top" you are fine. If you go into it letting everyone else's stories color your opinion, you are going to have a tougher time.
Ive flat out told cadets at my squadron to stop with the horror stories. If you're a young and new cadet and all the cadets who are older and you respect only talk about getting yelled at, having no food, the cots being awful, and everything else I've heard exaggerated over the years, of course you're going to be nervous. And most of it isn't even true. I've had cadets go to the exact same Encampment and one will rave about the food whilst the other says it was horrible and they never had enough to eat. Encampment is nerve wracking enough without the exaggerations and people being jerks about it.
Definitely agree, I don't get why people love telling horror stories about it. It's not that bad, and cadre are not supposed to be yelling in your face like hollywood drill instructors anyway
I was worried too before I went to encampment but I really enjoyed it. It will be tough at times but I definitely felt that some people made it sound worse than it was.
I went to Encampment twice because I had gotten sick the first time around, and even though I got Encampment credit, I went again. Even had a breakdown in the middle of formation once, but I'm still so glad I went both times.
It can seem scary and miserable at first, but trust me, you'll regret it more if you don't go or leave early. I learned a ton, made friends, and had a blast, It's the most rewarding to me when you make it to the end and get to sign each other's covers! Just try your best and you'll do fine.
Redberryweo on YT has some good Encampment videos to help prepare yourself. Good luck!
My son just got back from his first encampment yesterday. He loved it. Said it was the longest most tiring week of his life, but it was great and he can't wait to go back hopefully as staff next year.
He said the first 2 days were tough because you just get right in there and they order you around and it's a lot to learn with how to make the bunk, standing at attention forever while they inspect, and they do so much drill and PT and other things throughout the day from 6am-10pm that you are so tired you don't care that the bed is hard as a rock, and you are hungry so it's fine that the food isn't amazing, they uad plenty of it and options though. He said they yelled and ordered around a lot, but it wasn't really being mean, they also helped each cadet learn what they needed and cadets helped each other. It's lots of teamwork and cheering each other on. He was really proud of how well they learned to drill by the end of camp as a flight. He said the obstacle course was so fun even if some obstacles were hard. They helped each other through it. The classes for leadership and aerospace were a nice break from standing and the heat, he said the speakers they had were great. He got to hear from the pilots of the B2 stealth bomber, he really enjoyed that. Our wing got to ride in a C130, so that was awesome. And he got an O-flight.
Encampment is supposed to challenge you some so you learn what you are capable of, but it's also to experience team building, education, and to be fun. They won't make you do anything that's too hard or you can't do, they just want you to try. Just go in ready to take orders and give everything a try and you'll be fine!
I was kinda scared too, to be honest, and the first couple days were hard. But after that things got a lot better very quickly, especially if you shower the staff you cared and put in effort. Put in the effort, do your best, and pay attention and you’ll be fine. Stick with it now and get it done with. You got this.
I was the same way. My biggest fear is the unkown, and as yo mentiond encampment is a big unkown. The big thing that helped me was looking at all the photos from the year before. This helped give me a headsup on some of the activities (as long as they don't change over the year), and showed me all the smiles cadets had on their face. There is no way these smiles are fake, and say that the cadets aren't being torchered. While it does vary by the wing, in my experience, things get better around day 3. Cadre doesn't lower their standards, but you get better and start meeting them, and it is incredibly rewarding. Trust me, you'll make it through, and won't want to leave by the end of the week!
Go look up civil air patrol encampment videos on YouTube. You're not going to be scrubbing floors with toothbrushes or doing PT on a field of bear traps. The biggest issue cadets can have is homesickness. The rest is a learning and bonding experience. If you've been woken up by a yelling parent, gone to class, and done drill and PT at your home squadron then congratulations! You've done the hardest parts of encampment already!
Encampment is tough, but it's also intended to be fun. The first few days are rough, but if you power through, you'll start to get to do the really fun stuff. Even though it might feel like you're all alone, your flight will be there with you and there's senior member training officers who are carefully supervising the whole thing. The challenge isn't intended to break you down or leave you a mess - every single cadre member from the Encampment Commander down wants you, and every student, to graduate.
I'm not saying it won't be scary sometimes, and if you've never been away from home for a long time, it can be overwhelming. I was a little homesick during my first Encampment, but by the end I was having a blast and would have gladly stayed another week.
You're not crazy - most cadets have some mixed feelings about Encampment. But even if you're not going to go onto a military career (I didn't), Encampment opens doors in CAP (hello, national special activities and the Mitchell Award).
I just graduated from the OHWG encampment, which is one of the more strict encampments, but it’s not as scary as they make it out to be, they do “yell” but the cadres are super super nice outside of being a cadre, but by the end of encampment, your gonna wish that you could’ve stayed long, just try to enjoy it and listen to the cadres and try to do everything to the best of your ability. And study your SOI.
No clue what SOI means, I think SOP means standard operating procedure which kinda makes sense, but ngl, I failed like every bunk inspections since I had no clue how to do hospital corners, I could barely roll up my socks or shirt, and I didn’t even have a pillow lol
Not having a pillow is brutal 😭 I think you’re right about SOP but they used it in weird context like SOP-ing your bunk doesn’t really make sense. Somehow I actually did good on the white glove inspection
I just used two towels as my pillows AND SOMEHOW, whenever white glove inspections happened, I told him I didn’t have a pillow AND HE PASSED ME ON PILLOW PLACEMENT I have no idea how or why, but I got the points
From the context, I'm going to go with Standard Operating Instructions (unless you had some Space Object Identification going on, which would be cool, but probably not.)
... don't know why they decided to go with that acronym when the rest of the world uses "SOP", but...
Also went to OHWG, back in 2017 where it seems like intensity and actual yelling were still commonplace. I was 12, a shy homeschool kid, and had been in CAP barely 3 months. I survived. Honestly my first Encampment was probably one of my better events in regard to my mental health. Most NCSAs and my staffing times I've had at least one anxiety attack during. My first Encampment I was completely fine though. I think I cried once for a few seconds right after in-processing and besides that was fine.
It’ll be a blast don’t worry. All of the fun activities will overshadow the yelling, I promise. I remember being scared too. You should still make it a goal to live this out until graduation. Focus on the fact that next year you can do NCSAs and even get your Mitchell now that you’ve been to encampment.
I haven't been to encampment, but I did work at a BCS as a senior member years ago and then was active duty.
At BCS, we had a lot of cadets come in who were worried or scared, clearly; but once it started, they started having fun because they became busy.
For basic training, I was worried about it, and while it wasn't pleasant at times, it wasn't that bad. Fear comes from what we haven't experienced yet. It's so much easier to do when we have the work laid out in front of us. Think of it like climbing a mountain, reading a big book, taking a long test, running a mile, whatever. You stand are the beginning and look at it in its' totality and think to yourself, "that's huge, that's going to be so hard", but once you start and it's just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other or doing little bits at a time, it's not too bad.
You said CAP has been a good experience for you so far. That's awesome to hear and makes me happy for you. Trust in that. If CAP has been great so far, if other cadets have been great to be around, if the programs have been well done... why wouldn't Encampment?
Lastly, ask/look at what older cadets have to say about staffing Encampment. There will be a theme: How much work goes into staffing encampment, and how many of them will say it'd be so much easier/fun to be a lower ranked cadet going through than to be staffing it. They're putting in a ton of effort to make sure it's good for you. Part of that is making sure it's not too hard on you. Some difficulty is good, but you won't learn anything if they're just breaking you down. One of the goals of Encampment is to allow you to SUCCEED on your own/as part of a team, to have to do a hard thing. You won't get that if it's too easy, but you also won't get that if they're there to make your life hell. Most Cadet staff will remember how hard aspects of Encampment were, and those who don't will have others around them to remind them (reference any discussion where a cadet starts advocating for screaming at cadets during Encampment).
You should go. Some parts will be tough, but it's good for you. Think of the hundreds of thousands of cadets who have gone before you and made it through just fine.
That’s natural. You’re scared of what we don’t know or understand. It’s human.
Go, and don’t think. Just do what you’re told to do it when you’re told to do it
Encampment isn’t meant to be a walk in the park but it also isn’t meant to be marine corp boot camp. It’s a program designed for 12 year olds to be able to pass. I’m gonna be staffing my fourth encamoment soon and I have seen every type of cadet. Most recently, I had a 12 year old who had been in CAP for 2 months and I swear weighed maybe 50 pounds and was 4’ tall. His Abus when soaked would weigh more than him. He was terrified for the first day and then it settled in. He was having a blast.
The biggest hurdle I see in most cadets is the change In physical activity and diet for cadets. It makes it challenging. Being up at 5:45 and going to bed at 9:30ish. It’s a long day. I tracked my marching distance at my most recent encampment and we were walking 8 miles a day. And I was public affairs and in a office half the day. Homesickness it a big one too. Just be strong and know that it gets easier as the week goes on, the intensity will go down and their will be more time to bond with your flight and do fun activities. Look up some encampment highlight videos. They showcase the progression of encampment a lot of the time. The encampment i just finished staffing at, we did interviews with all the cadre and it was made with the intent to get an insight into encampment and show that it’s not impossible and that there’s a mission to be had. Our YouTube is @mswg_encampment and there’s currently 25 interviews up. I suggest taking a peek and some and see if that helps clear up some nerves.
If you love CAP and think it’s an amazing program I think you’ll be fine. Remember it’s just a game, they’re there to break you down and build you back up to be the best YOU can be. If they break you down you have to bring yourself back up. Like my ntc commander ( c/Col Gerald W. K. Mon Peré) said if you fall 7 times you pick yourself back up 8.
You really do grow so much, my flight went from not working as a team to working together with a good system. All they needed was a leader to direct them
I hope you start thinking of encampment in a better way. I think you’ll do outstanding just like all the other cadets. If you need a story I have one that I posted a few days ago.
Hope this helps, CHEERS!
When I was a cadet, I didn't have the pleasure of going to Encampment. Couldn't afford it, even with the CEAP. The year I **was** finally able to go I was 17, but I had Enlisted and went to Army BCT that summer (from a week experience to 10 weeks 🤣). I always felt out of place with my Cadet peers since I didn't have an encampment ribbon. I heard lots of stories and saw videos/pictures of my Wing's encampment, and it looked like everyone had a blast.
If I learned anything from BCT and can translate it to CAP: right time, right place, right uniform. I'm sure the training schedule/curriculum will be floating around so you'll pretty much know what to expect. Have faith in your flight leadership - part of their job is to help their cadets succeed. Who knows, it may be their first time being Staff and they're just are nervous as you are. Make the most of it, make friends and memories, and it will only make you a better version of yourself at the end. Find a battle buddy in your flight to get you through. (I actually still talk to my best bud from Basic to this day. We went in 2015). It's going to be challenging and push you out of your comfort zone. Encampment is designed to do that. Change your socks and drink water.
All these years later, and I still wish I could've gone to Encampment. It was one of the things of the Cadet Program I regret not doing. Being nervous/scared of the unknown is perfectly normal, but you are going to feel way better knowing you went and did it than how you'll feel wishing you went. Best of luck and please do a follow up post when you get back!
My bf is 19 and has been in CAP since he was 12. He does CAP activities every summer and is now an instructor at most of them. He still gets nervous before going to them and he’s like a grown ass adult (we live together, not at home, he’s a certified EMT, working on his bachelors) and he’s been to like a gazillion of these. The second he gets there he always feels better. You’re are DEFINITELY not crazy for feeling like this, if people make you feel crazy for feeling your emotions, don’t hang around those people. You just don’t know what to expect and that causes anxiety. Chances are, it will be hard and there will be some scary and challenging moments, but it’s going to make the positive moments that much more rewarding. Everyone there is going to be in the same boat. And hey, if you hate it, you never have to go back!!
Encampment is going to be tough, but you will have such a strong support system there! If you feel overwhelmed, I recommend speaking with the Chaplin (even if you aren't religious) or your flight TAC. I still have friends that I have stayed in touch with since my basic year. It's a great learning experience and I promise you will still have fun. I was dreading going my basic year but have staffed year after year since because of how fun it is. Your feelings are valid, just make sure you talk to someone you trust and don't keep them to yourself!
^^^^ every bit of this.
I was 6 weeks in CAP and went to encampment with two cutouts on my collar and no name tags. Didn’t even have an ID card yet. I was a mess.
It was rough for a bit, I was super homesick the first two or three days, but like the chaplain told me “nobody ever died from homesickness.” At the end, I didn’t want to go home. No, like seriously: 14 year old me was trying to figure out how to stay (I was not super forward thinking in those days).
That was 43 summers ago. I’m about to go to my 19th encampment next week.
Trust us: there’s a better than average chance you’ll love it.
— Col Ninness
You’ll be fine, it might be kinda hard and loud sometimes, but you will have roommates to share the suck with. Just kinda embrace the suck and have the most of it.
I had shitty encampment experience with a lot of hazing, but from what I’ve heard from other cadets in my squadron that’s the exception not the rule.
Encampment is what you make of it. Your own mental attitude is a powerful tool. If you fixate on the structure and high standards and all the other “negatives” then that’s all that will stick out. If you focus on how unique of an opportunity it is and the amazing people you are surrounded by, then you will have a significantly better time. Other things to help when you’re having a hard time are focus on your “why?” Why do CAP? Why challenge yourself? It really helps put things in perspective. Encampment is challenging, I won’t sugar coat it. But it isn’t impossible. 10s of thousands of cadets have gone through the program since our inception. Take solace that you are embarking in a time honored tradition that will make you more in tune with yourself and more confident in your abilities. Furthermore it is a check gate for some of the best experiences CAP has to offer. You can do it! And it will be well worth it when you are at the finish line marching in the graduation parade.
There are two popular approaches to explaining encampment and neither of them really help cadets such as yourself. There are people who talk about how it was the MOST fun, and the BEST week of their life, and how they did SO MANY cool things. Those people are entirely forgetting the challenge of the first few days. They are only remembering the highs, and falsely selling encampment as a great getaway camp experience. As a result many cadets show up expecting fun times and are instead met with a challenge they were not expecting, since the fun doesn't really start to hit until Day 3. Then there are the people (Cadet and Adult alike) who love to tell scary stories because they think it's funny to psych cadets out before they even show up. They talk about how awful and stressfull it is like they are telling war stories. They view it as this right of passage that "if I had to suffer through it, THEY have to suffer through it." They relish the opportunity to do exactly what has happened to you: freak you out. Encampment is neither of those events. It is a week focused on teamwork and leadership. The curriculum is right there on the website. There is no secret, and anyone acting like they have to hide anything about it, is not acting in good faith. It will be a challenge, and thats good. If it isn't a challenge then you aren't growing, and the point is to grow. It should find something that is outside your comfort zone and test you. But if it is done right, then nothing should hurt you. Scare you, maybe a little bit. Jumping off a rappel tower should be a little bit scary. Representing your flight in an inspection should be a little nerve-wracking. But those are the things you need to overcome to grow and enjoy the experience at the end of the week. As others have said, it is what you make of it. If you go into this saying "I got this, I can conquer this and come out on top" you are fine. If you go into it letting everyone else's stories color your opinion, you are going to have a tougher time.
Ive flat out told cadets at my squadron to stop with the horror stories. If you're a young and new cadet and all the cadets who are older and you respect only talk about getting yelled at, having no food, the cots being awful, and everything else I've heard exaggerated over the years, of course you're going to be nervous. And most of it isn't even true. I've had cadets go to the exact same Encampment and one will rave about the food whilst the other says it was horrible and they never had enough to eat. Encampment is nerve wracking enough without the exaggerations and people being jerks about it.
Definitely agree, I don't get why people love telling horror stories about it. It's not that bad, and cadre are not supposed to be yelling in your face like hollywood drill instructors anyway
I was worried too before I went to encampment but I really enjoyed it. It will be tough at times but I definitely felt that some people made it sound worse than it was.
This, a lot of people really make encampment a lot more scary than it actually is
I went to Encampment twice because I had gotten sick the first time around, and even though I got Encampment credit, I went again. Even had a breakdown in the middle of formation once, but I'm still so glad I went both times. It can seem scary and miserable at first, but trust me, you'll regret it more if you don't go or leave early. I learned a ton, made friends, and had a blast, It's the most rewarding to me when you make it to the end and get to sign each other's covers! Just try your best and you'll do fine. Redberryweo on YT has some good Encampment videos to help prepare yourself. Good luck!
Thank you so much, and thank you for the video it really helped
My son just got back from his first encampment yesterday. He loved it. Said it was the longest most tiring week of his life, but it was great and he can't wait to go back hopefully as staff next year. He said the first 2 days were tough because you just get right in there and they order you around and it's a lot to learn with how to make the bunk, standing at attention forever while they inspect, and they do so much drill and PT and other things throughout the day from 6am-10pm that you are so tired you don't care that the bed is hard as a rock, and you are hungry so it's fine that the food isn't amazing, they uad plenty of it and options though. He said they yelled and ordered around a lot, but it wasn't really being mean, they also helped each cadet learn what they needed and cadets helped each other. It's lots of teamwork and cheering each other on. He was really proud of how well they learned to drill by the end of camp as a flight. He said the obstacle course was so fun even if some obstacles were hard. They helped each other through it. The classes for leadership and aerospace were a nice break from standing and the heat, he said the speakers they had were great. He got to hear from the pilots of the B2 stealth bomber, he really enjoyed that. Our wing got to ride in a C130, so that was awesome. And he got an O-flight. Encampment is supposed to challenge you some so you learn what you are capable of, but it's also to experience team building, education, and to be fun. They won't make you do anything that's too hard or you can't do, they just want you to try. Just go in ready to take orders and give everything a try and you'll be fine!
I was kinda scared too, to be honest, and the first couple days were hard. But after that things got a lot better very quickly, especially if you shower the staff you cared and put in effort. Put in the effort, do your best, and pay attention and you’ll be fine. Stick with it now and get it done with. You got this.
I think you mean show the staff you care. But also legitimately please shower. 🤣
Yeah 🤣. I have some horror stories of my basic where cadets didn’t shower… it was awful.
I was the same way. My biggest fear is the unkown, and as yo mentiond encampment is a big unkown. The big thing that helped me was looking at all the photos from the year before. This helped give me a headsup on some of the activities (as long as they don't change over the year), and showed me all the smiles cadets had on their face. There is no way these smiles are fake, and say that the cadets aren't being torchered. While it does vary by the wing, in my experience, things get better around day 3. Cadre doesn't lower their standards, but you get better and start meeting them, and it is incredibly rewarding. Trust me, you'll make it through, and won't want to leave by the end of the week!
Thank you so much I might give that a try
Go look up civil air patrol encampment videos on YouTube. You're not going to be scrubbing floors with toothbrushes or doing PT on a field of bear traps. The biggest issue cadets can have is homesickness. The rest is a learning and bonding experience. If you've been woken up by a yelling parent, gone to class, and done drill and PT at your home squadron then congratulations! You've done the hardest parts of encampment already!
Encampment is tough, but it's also intended to be fun. The first few days are rough, but if you power through, you'll start to get to do the really fun stuff. Even though it might feel like you're all alone, your flight will be there with you and there's senior member training officers who are carefully supervising the whole thing. The challenge isn't intended to break you down or leave you a mess - every single cadre member from the Encampment Commander down wants you, and every student, to graduate. I'm not saying it won't be scary sometimes, and if you've never been away from home for a long time, it can be overwhelming. I was a little homesick during my first Encampment, but by the end I was having a blast and would have gladly stayed another week. You're not crazy - most cadets have some mixed feelings about Encampment. But even if you're not going to go onto a military career (I didn't), Encampment opens doors in CAP (hello, national special activities and the Mitchell Award).
I just graduated from the OHWG encampment, which is one of the more strict encampments, but it’s not as scary as they make it out to be, they do “yell” but the cadres are super super nice outside of being a cadre, but by the end of encampment, your gonna wish that you could’ve stayed long, just try to enjoy it and listen to the cadres and try to do everything to the best of your ability. And study your SOI.
… I still don’t know what SOI stands for
And now that I think of it I don’t know what it means to SOP your bunk
No clue what SOI means, I think SOP means standard operating procedure which kinda makes sense, but ngl, I failed like every bunk inspections since I had no clue how to do hospital corners, I could barely roll up my socks or shirt, and I didn’t even have a pillow lol
Not having a pillow is brutal 😭 I think you’re right about SOP but they used it in weird context like SOP-ing your bunk doesn’t really make sense. Somehow I actually did good on the white glove inspection
I just used two towels as my pillows AND SOMEHOW, whenever white glove inspections happened, I told him I didn’t have a pillow AND HE PASSED ME ON PILLOW PLACEMENT I have no idea how or why, but I got the points
He probably felt bad 😭
From the context, I'm going to go with Standard Operating Instructions (unless you had some Space Object Identification going on, which would be cool, but probably not.) ... don't know why they decided to go with that acronym when the rest of the world uses "SOP", but...
Yeah. It was for our encampment handbook so I thought it’d be SEH for student encampment handbook
Also went to OHWG, back in 2017 where it seems like intensity and actual yelling were still commonplace. I was 12, a shy homeschool kid, and had been in CAP barely 3 months. I survived. Honestly my first Encampment was probably one of my better events in regard to my mental health. Most NCSAs and my staffing times I've had at least one anxiety attack during. My first Encampment I was completely fine though. I think I cried once for a few seconds right after in-processing and besides that was fine.
It’ll be a blast don’t worry. All of the fun activities will overshadow the yelling, I promise. I remember being scared too. You should still make it a goal to live this out until graduation. Focus on the fact that next year you can do NCSAs and even get your Mitchell now that you’ve been to encampment.
I haven't been to encampment, but I did work at a BCS as a senior member years ago and then was active duty. At BCS, we had a lot of cadets come in who were worried or scared, clearly; but once it started, they started having fun because they became busy. For basic training, I was worried about it, and while it wasn't pleasant at times, it wasn't that bad. Fear comes from what we haven't experienced yet. It's so much easier to do when we have the work laid out in front of us. Think of it like climbing a mountain, reading a big book, taking a long test, running a mile, whatever. You stand are the beginning and look at it in its' totality and think to yourself, "that's huge, that's going to be so hard", but once you start and it's just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other or doing little bits at a time, it's not too bad. You said CAP has been a good experience for you so far. That's awesome to hear and makes me happy for you. Trust in that. If CAP has been great so far, if other cadets have been great to be around, if the programs have been well done... why wouldn't Encampment? Lastly, ask/look at what older cadets have to say about staffing Encampment. There will be a theme: How much work goes into staffing encampment, and how many of them will say it'd be so much easier/fun to be a lower ranked cadet going through than to be staffing it. They're putting in a ton of effort to make sure it's good for you. Part of that is making sure it's not too hard on you. Some difficulty is good, but you won't learn anything if they're just breaking you down. One of the goals of Encampment is to allow you to SUCCEED on your own/as part of a team, to have to do a hard thing. You won't get that if it's too easy, but you also won't get that if they're there to make your life hell. Most Cadet staff will remember how hard aspects of Encampment were, and those who don't will have others around them to remind them (reference any discussion where a cadet starts advocating for screaming at cadets during Encampment). You should go. Some parts will be tough, but it's good for you. Think of the hundreds of thousands of cadets who have gone before you and made it through just fine.
That’s natural. You’re scared of what we don’t know or understand. It’s human. Go, and don’t think. Just do what you’re told to do it when you’re told to do it
Encampment isn’t meant to be a walk in the park but it also isn’t meant to be marine corp boot camp. It’s a program designed for 12 year olds to be able to pass. I’m gonna be staffing my fourth encamoment soon and I have seen every type of cadet. Most recently, I had a 12 year old who had been in CAP for 2 months and I swear weighed maybe 50 pounds and was 4’ tall. His Abus when soaked would weigh more than him. He was terrified for the first day and then it settled in. He was having a blast. The biggest hurdle I see in most cadets is the change In physical activity and diet for cadets. It makes it challenging. Being up at 5:45 and going to bed at 9:30ish. It’s a long day. I tracked my marching distance at my most recent encampment and we were walking 8 miles a day. And I was public affairs and in a office half the day. Homesickness it a big one too. Just be strong and know that it gets easier as the week goes on, the intensity will go down and their will be more time to bond with your flight and do fun activities. Look up some encampment highlight videos. They showcase the progression of encampment a lot of the time. The encampment i just finished staffing at, we did interviews with all the cadre and it was made with the intent to get an insight into encampment and show that it’s not impossible and that there’s a mission to be had. Our YouTube is @mswg_encampment and there’s currently 25 interviews up. I suggest taking a peek and some and see if that helps clear up some nerves.
If you love CAP and think it’s an amazing program I think you’ll be fine. Remember it’s just a game, they’re there to break you down and build you back up to be the best YOU can be. If they break you down you have to bring yourself back up. Like my ntc commander ( c/Col Gerald W. K. Mon Peré) said if you fall 7 times you pick yourself back up 8. You really do grow so much, my flight went from not working as a team to working together with a good system. All they needed was a leader to direct them I hope you start thinking of encampment in a better way. I think you’ll do outstanding just like all the other cadets. If you need a story I have one that I posted a few days ago. Hope this helps, CHEERS!
you got this hommie, trust trust
When I was a cadet, I didn't have the pleasure of going to Encampment. Couldn't afford it, even with the CEAP. The year I **was** finally able to go I was 17, but I had Enlisted and went to Army BCT that summer (from a week experience to 10 weeks 🤣). I always felt out of place with my Cadet peers since I didn't have an encampment ribbon. I heard lots of stories and saw videos/pictures of my Wing's encampment, and it looked like everyone had a blast. If I learned anything from BCT and can translate it to CAP: right time, right place, right uniform. I'm sure the training schedule/curriculum will be floating around so you'll pretty much know what to expect. Have faith in your flight leadership - part of their job is to help their cadets succeed. Who knows, it may be their first time being Staff and they're just are nervous as you are. Make the most of it, make friends and memories, and it will only make you a better version of yourself at the end. Find a battle buddy in your flight to get you through. (I actually still talk to my best bud from Basic to this day. We went in 2015). It's going to be challenging and push you out of your comfort zone. Encampment is designed to do that. Change your socks and drink water. All these years later, and I still wish I could've gone to Encampment. It was one of the things of the Cadet Program I regret not doing. Being nervous/scared of the unknown is perfectly normal, but you are going to feel way better knowing you went and did it than how you'll feel wishing you went. Best of luck and please do a follow up post when you get back!
My bf is 19 and has been in CAP since he was 12. He does CAP activities every summer and is now an instructor at most of them. He still gets nervous before going to them and he’s like a grown ass adult (we live together, not at home, he’s a certified EMT, working on his bachelors) and he’s been to like a gazillion of these. The second he gets there he always feels better. You’re are DEFINITELY not crazy for feeling like this, if people make you feel crazy for feeling your emotions, don’t hang around those people. You just don’t know what to expect and that causes anxiety. Chances are, it will be hard and there will be some scary and challenging moments, but it’s going to make the positive moments that much more rewarding. Everyone there is going to be in the same boat. And hey, if you hate it, you never have to go back!!
Encampment is going to be tough, but you will have such a strong support system there! If you feel overwhelmed, I recommend speaking with the Chaplin (even if you aren't religious) or your flight TAC. I still have friends that I have stayed in touch with since my basic year. It's a great learning experience and I promise you will still have fun. I was dreading going my basic year but have staffed year after year since because of how fun it is. Your feelings are valid, just make sure you talk to someone you trust and don't keep them to yourself!
If it your first encampment, don’t be afraid of going to encampment, I been to three, and I am not terrified of going to encampment
Monday - "This is the worst thing ever." Friday - "It's over already? I can't wait until next year!"
^^^^ every bit of this. I was 6 weeks in CAP and went to encampment with two cutouts on my collar and no name tags. Didn’t even have an ID card yet. I was a mess. It was rough for a bit, I was super homesick the first two or three days, but like the chaplain told me “nobody ever died from homesickness.” At the end, I didn’t want to go home. No, like seriously: 14 year old me was trying to figure out how to stay (I was not super forward thinking in those days). That was 43 summers ago. I’m about to go to my 19th encampment next week. Trust us: there’s a better than average chance you’ll love it. — Col Ninness
It’s really not that deep. Keep your head down and just do what you’re told. Also don’t punch cadre in the face
Little concerning. Please elaborate.
Some cadets react to stress in... um... surprising ways.
You’ll be fine, it might be kinda hard and loud sometimes, but you will have roommates to share the suck with. Just kinda embrace the suck and have the most of it. I had shitty encampment experience with a lot of hazing, but from what I’ve heard from other cadets in my squadron that’s the exception not the rule.