CAP Knowledge: Phase I

Phase I cadets are cadets that hold the grade between C/AB (Cadet Airman Basic) and C/SrA (Cadet Senior Airman). When a cadet earns the Wright Brother's Award, he/she enters into Phase II. Below are some resources that will help you as you progress through Phase I.

Leadership: 2000 and Beyond

If you have been waiting on your books to arrive and they have not yet done so, you can access the necessary reading in the "Leadership: 2000 and Beyond" textbook by clicking Here.

Drill and Ceremonies

To get through Phase I, you will need to know how to drill (facing movements, marching, etc.). Because the staff will not always be able to show you exactly how to do it, you can read the Drill and Ceremonies Manual (sometimes referred to as the "D & C") by clicking Here. Although most of the reading is extremely dry and boring, you can learn how to do every drill movement using this manual. You can also learn about how to properly use your command voice and how to march in larger units. The information you must know to succeed in Phase I is found in Chapters 1-3 and some of Chapter 4. You are strongly encouraged to read through this material and ask the staff if you have any questions.

The Civil Air Patrol Uniform Manual

To succeed in Phase I, you will also need to, as you state in your Cadet Oath, "wear [your] uniform properly." Unfortunately, there is no single chapter on which you can focus. You must   be familiar with   all of it. This may seem daunting, but remember, it is a manual. You will never be required to recite from memory the entire uniform manual. However, you will be expected to have a general idea of where almost all of the information it contains. You should look through this manual and find out what it says (and where it says it) about grooming standards, cutout placement on the uniform, patches, and order of precedence for ribbons on the blues uniform. Use the table of contents to find out what other information "CAPM 39-1: The Civil Air Patrol Uniform" contains. You can download it in its entirety by clicking Here.

Customs and Courtesies

You will additionally need to master Civil Air Patrol Customs and Courtesies. This includes when and where to salute, what to do during the national anthem under different circumstances, and how to properly address your superiors. This Civil Air Patrol Pamphlet - CAPP 151: Standards, Customs and Courtesies - can be downloaded by clicking Here.

Chain of Command

You should also work on memorizing your Chain of Command: the hierarchy of supervisors coming   from the President of the United States all the way down to you. During Phase I, you are going to be required to know your Squadron Chain of Command (up to the Squadron Commander). As you progress further, you will need to know the National Chain of Command as well. If you know the National Chain of Command by your first encampment, you will far ahead of the majority of cadets there. To download both the Squadron and National Chain of Command, please click on the links below:

• Squadron Chain of Command
• National Chain of Command

Cadet Oath, Motto, and Honor Code

There are three additional pieces of information that you should memorize: the Cadet Oath, Motto, and Honor Code. We will be using the first sentence of the Air Force Academy's Honor Code for our squadron. You can find all three of these pieces of information by clicking Here.