National Cadet Special Activities of the Civil Air Patrol
National Cadet Special Activities are Cadet Programs conducted by Civil Air Patrol. NCSAs are designed to give cadets direct hands on experience with various aspects of the Civil Air Patrol program and provide meaningful insight into several aviation-related careers. There are approximately 30 different special activities that a cadet may attend. Each activity is approximately a week long, and all but two are offered during the Summer.
The variety of NCSAs offered by CAP gives cadets a diverse experience. Activities focus on career exploration, leadership development, search and rescue skills, aeronautical training, Air Force familiarization, government, and a variety of other topics.
The popularity of NCSAs has led CAP to implement a selection process for cadets. Cadets must be approved to attend NCSAs by their Squadron and Wing commanders. Cadets must also achieve a certain age and rank before attending an NCSA (varies) and have completed a Basic Encampment.
National Cadet Special Activities for the following year are announced each November via the CAP Website. NCSAs for 2009 were announced on 10 November 2008.
After the list of NCSAs for the upcoming year is published, interested cadets must file their application online at Civil Air Patrol's e-Services website. Cadets have until the 15th of January to file their applications. If a cadet wishes to attend more than one NCSA, the cadet should indicate each activity he or she wishes to attend, and rank them in order from highest to lowest. Cadets should indicate any activity in which they wish to participate, even if the dates overlap.
On 16 January, each wing headquarters will process the applications from that wing. Beginning in 2009, cadets will be assigned to one of three categories: Green-Light, Approved, and Red-Light. At least one and up to 10% of cadets from each wing will be given the Green-Light, with the remaining cadets being slotted as approved. Cadets can be assigned to the Red-Light category because of poor conduct or an unsatisfactory attitude, and are thus ineligible to attend NCSAs.
Some wings hold selection boards to determine NCSA eligibility. Prior to 2009, these selection boards would rank and stack each cadet, producing a numerical order for cadets. However, in 2009, CAP has implemented a new Objective Scoring System to standardize the process across all wings. Wing selection boards now meet to determine whether a cadet will be slotted as green-light, approved, or red-light.
The Objective Scoring System was designed to evaluate cadets in a fair, impartial, and standardized manner. Cadets earn points based on their age, rank, years of service, and prior activities. Ties between cadets with the same score are broken by age. These scores are calculated on February 18, so changes made after February 18 (such as promotions or birthdays) are not accounted for.
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