Civil Air Patrol

Events

Hey y'all, back for another chapter I'm very excited! So here are a few things you might want to know before going to events. This is probably going to be a fairly short chapter but I don't know. 

So wether you're going to an Airmen School, Great Start Weekend, or the big one, Encampment, always, and I mean ALWAYS bring what the packing list says to bring and if you think you need extra of something, bring it. Trust me, it is better to be over prepared for an event than under prepared. One thing I recommend bringing more of to every event is socks, because sometimes you will spend most of your day on your feet and you will want to change your socks. Also for ladies, anything you might possibly need for your hair, bring it and a lot of it because you might end up sharing gel, bobby pins, hair ties, and hair spray with someone who did not come prepared. 

One big thing about events is the welcome, different events have different welcomes but just be prepared for anything. Unfortunately that's all I can say about those.

Time is another thing to be prepared for. At most events they will not allow you to wear a watch, so learn to tell time by the sun or something. I will also warn you that because you don't have a watch you will sometimes feel like it is 3:00 in the afternoon when its really only 11:30 and afternoon hasn't even started yet. 

Also, the schedule will most likely change day to day so don't be like "Oh we did this yesterday so we must be doing that today" I'm sorry but it doesn't work that way. You always need to be on your guard.

Make sure you're hydrating, I cannot stress this enough. I'm often dehydrated and it sucks when you're just at home but at an event it is even worst. Also make sure you start hydrating a few days before the event.

Make sure you are eating enough food. I know it's hard sometimes to eat breakfast right after PT but you are going to need that energy for your day. I recommend, if possible that before the event you go run a little every morning and then go home and eat. You should probably do this for about a week before the event. 

Caffeine. Make sure if you intake a lot of caffeine, stop before the event because if not you will have severe withdrawals. I personally have never had this happen because I don't really consume that much caffeine, but I've watched some of my friends go through this at events and it doesn't look fun. 

The wake up. If you do not get up early on a regular basis, start or your event will be a nightmare. You generally wake up at 6:00 in the morning and get up and go strait to PT. Learn to enjoy mornings, it will help you tremendously.

This is one of the best parts of events, make friends. The friends you make at events are some of the best friends you will ever have. I have a few people that I've made friends with that I still keep I touch with.

Always make sure to never give up. I know that sometimes the training is intense depending on what event it is and who the staff is, but don't give up. Something I've learned both inside and outside CAP, is to help other people. Help your team mates that are struggling. If you help other people you will stop focusing so much on what hard for you and more on helping them succeed and that will often, even without you realizing it, help you succeed as well. Now sometimes you actually can't do something and if you can't that's ok. Sometimes it's good to know your limits and not be stubborn and push those limits. Just do your best and never give up.

Be sure that before the event, especially long events, you get a haircut. This is mostly for guys but ladies if you have things like bangs or side swiped hair then make sure that it is cut so that it stays in regs the whole time. 

That's all I've got, I hope y'all found it helpful and good luck on y'all's next events. If you have anything you would like me to write about then please comment or message me. Stay safe and soar high!