| A Message from the Chief of the Chaplain Corps Chaplain (Colonel) Linda Pugsley |
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We just finished honoring those who died in the service of our country. It is a somber but important honoring that I would like to address. We are passing a torch to the next generation, to keep the light of liberty burning brightly. But if they don’t know the sacrifices of those who died fighting for that liberty, they may not be as willing to carry the torch!
But maybe, just maybe, if we teach the truth of our great heritage, that will change, and the next generation will be as brave and strong as the previous ones.
As we honored and remembered those brave souls who have died in the defense of our great nation and our world, let us also remember this: • They are our country’s treasures lying in graves beneath our nation’s soil and in the soil of lands so far away.
• The U.S. has fought to maintain our freedom here by fighting an enemy elsewhere. We have fought in the steaming jungles of the Pacific, the hedgerows of Europe, the jagged hills of China, and the frozen north of Korea, the jungles of Vietnam and the dry, hot deserts of the Middle East.
• If our citizens and those of us who fought in those wars don’t observe a solemn remembrance for Memorial Day, the younger generation will soon forget because their freedom has cost them nothing. I am in hopes that we all will strive to emulate those qualities of strength, stamina and fighting until victory is won and to pass on that sacred legacy to this next generation.
We must also remember the families and friends connected with these heroes who died in defense of the freedom. Our remembrance is fleeting compared to the burden of the loss they must bear for the rest of their lives.
The cost of freedom is high. It is imperative therefore, to remember these heroes. For if we neglect to remember them, we negate and diminish their sacrifice. That is why we must try to be like them and live our lives in a manner worthy of their sacrifice. We must continue on the road to better this nation and maintain it with its highest ideals and with the highest moral code.
Hopefully, we can help each other to see more clearly, to feel more strongly and to know there is a future and a hope.
And may the youth of this nation sense our commitment to moral excellence and determination to bring this country to its full blossom of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
God bless you, and God bless America. |
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Chaplain Corps Education and Training Opportunities |
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Reminder: AXIS is being retired soon and ABSORB will be our new training platform. Be sure to go into AXIS, click on My Transcript. The print button is on the right side of the page to save a copy for your records. More information |
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North Central Region Chaplain Corp College by Chaplain Major Terry McIlvain |
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The North Central Region (NCR) Chaplain Corps Staff College of Professional Development 2024 of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was directed by Ch., Lt Col, Dan Hudson, PhD, 22-25 April 2024 at the Columban Fathers Retreat Center, Bellevue, NE. The NCR Chaplain, Lt Col, Donald Mikitta hosted the college, while Ch., Lt Col Jill Holm served as the Staff Chaplain. We had the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Chief of Character Development Instructor, Lt Col Shirley Rodriquez, and a former CAP Chief of Chaplains, Ch., David van Horn, MO-117 & former Deputy CAP Chief of Chaplains, Personnel, Ch., Lt Col., Ron Tottingham joined in the event. Our key training event theme for the college was: “Emergency Management: Meeting the Need at the Point of Need.” An Emergency Management Familiarization Presentation was led by Horace “Trip” Spiller, Chief of Emergency Management for Offutt Air Force Base. While on Offutt Air Base, the participants also visited the 55th Wing Chapel (Bldg. 463) with a wonderful informational tour led by the 55th Wing Chaplain Assistants TSgt Burgos and SSgt Wilson. A group photo was taken on-site with the Chaplain Assistants in this historic building which includes the Strategic Air Command Memorial Wall for those who gave their lives in duty as Airmen. Some other Air Base tours were scheduled, but due to issues that arose beyond the control of those in leadership, those visits were not able to be conducted. Read More |
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Character Development Instructors Strengthening the Corps |
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CDI Capt Kristie Morris with C/Lt Ben Neal, C/MSgt Kolby Morris (L to R) of MAR-VA-023 providing support to NCWG for a beloved Adult Member's Celebration of Life, Shelle Gonzales. All of the cadets and adult members involved received an Achievement Award from NCWG. We also received an Achievement Award in VAWG. The cadets pictured were able to serve as Honor Guard Guardsmen during the service on November 11, 2023 at NCWG headquarters in Burlington, NC.
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The Chaplain Corps Activity Reporting System (CAPCCARS) is being reinstated |
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Regulation CAPR 80-1 is in the process of being updated to reinstate The Chaplain Corps Activity Reporting System (CAPCCARS). In the meantime the Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain (Col.) Pugsley asks that you begin using the system again as it is now available in the Chaplain menu within eServices under Menu -> Chaplain - Chaplain Corps Reports.
The process of entering information is being streamlined. You only need to enter the activities you do as a Chaplain or CDI. Examples include: teaching a Character Development lesson, serving at an activity, attending a conference or meeting, or participating in a training as a Chaplain or CDI.
Keep in mind, it is important that you log your activities as this provides the information the Chaplain Corps needs for our reports at the Wing, Region and National levels. If you have the ability to go back to the beginning of 2024 and log your entries, please do so. If you find that you don't have access to log your informatin for your unit contact your commander or web security administer or [email protected]
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Strategies for Helping Cadets with Anxiety and Stress at Encampment By Chaplain (Lt Col) Theodore “TJ” Jenney |
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Encampmenbt season is fast approaching with all the excitement, challenge, and yes, stress and anxiety for cadets. Encampment staff often ask for a little more training on how to help cadets who sometimes struggle in the stressful encampment environment. Two mental health issues that cadets often struggle with at encampment are separation anxiety and social anxiety. Both are not uncommon at squadron meetings as well as at school, but encampment sometimes takes these struggles to a new level. Separation anxiety-is anxiety caused from separation from family or close friends beyond the normal hesitation to leave home, and in some sense, is a heightened homesickness. Many cadets have never been away from home for an extended period especially in a more intense and challenging environment like encampment. Separation anxiety can manifest in a spectrum from mild to more serious, even to the point of being a disorder according to the National Institute of Mental Health. However, most of the time cadets at encampment experience mild levels of separation anxiety that often diminish as the week goes on. Social Anxiety-is anxiety caused from social situations that cause anxiety or fear and a sense of an inability to deal with meeting new people, new dynamics in interaction or social pressure as often present themselves at encampment, as well as many other social situations. Social anxiety can also present in a range of seriousness even to the point of a disorder at which point the National Institute of Mental Health defines it as “an intense persistent fear of being watched and judged by others” the person “feels symptoms of anxiety and fear where they are scrutinized, evaluated, or judged by others” (NIMH). Most of the time at encampment social anxiety is mild but can cause anxiety and stress that make it hard for a cadet to interact with others. Complicating factors for both separation anxiety and social anxiety may include family dynamics, experience being away from family (possibly for the first time), any experience being bullied, autism, eating disorders, anxiety, depression, health, or hydration. Most caring adults can offer support and strategies to help cadets cope with separation anxiety or social anxiety or other stress, fears, and anxiety by using this STEP method, as well as calling on individuals with more training such as chaplains, CDI’s, or mental health professionals. Chaplain (Col) John Murdoch and I presented this strategy as a pre-encampment training session prior to the INWG encampment and staff found it quite helpful. Find more best practices and information by following this link
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Find the information you need on the Chaplain Corps Website |
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Are you transferring to a new Wing? |
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Members need to contact their new Commander (sooner than later) and submit both the CAPF 2a and have their Chaplain Corps Reporting access reinstated by contacting their new Commander or Web Security Admn |
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The Transmitter Is Digital and Monthly |
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Official Newsletter of the Civil Air Patrol Chaplain Corps, The Transmitter is digital and monthly. Past issues can be viewed on the the Chaplain Corps website.
Like other Civil Air Patrol e-newsletters we need your stories, articles and pictures. Examples of information that would be good to distribute would be photo's and articles from a CCRSC, an Encampment, NESA, or any of the many other activities we as Chaplains and Character Development Instructors participate in. |
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The Transmitter is published monthly by the Civil Air Patrol Chaplain Corps Please send inquires to [email protected] June 2024 |
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