How Do We Begin?

Unit commanders are responsible for establishing a mentoring partnership in their squadron. This partnership is not a program! Indeed, it is better not to have a mentoring partnership if there is no one willing to invest of their time and energies to help guide and tutor the cadets. However, the most common style of mentoring, informal and short-term, is relatively easy to initiate. Below are some examples on establishing this type of mentoring.

1. The unit commander should begin with an awareness session with those that express interest in becoming a mentor. The unit commander may call upon an experienced adult, like the unit chaplain, to discuss this guide with the potential mentors. This could be a group effort or one-on-one. The purpose of the awareness meeting is to discuss the potential pitfalls and rewards of becoming a mentor. CAP’s National Staff Chaplain has a free booklet entitled, The Gift of Mentoring that may provide some additional practical tips on growing the mentoring relationships along with an excellent bibliography.

2. The unit commander should appoint a mature cadet to mentor a cadet recruit. This authority may be delegated. The commander should allow as many cadets as possible to assist in this mentoring. The purpose here is to provide the cadet recruit with a person close to his or her own age that would be available to answer any questions and to guide the recruit towards membership.

The mentor would assist the cadet recruit in understanding the program materials and our organization. This relationship should last longer than just one meeting; otherwise, this relationship is more like a “sponsor.” The mentor, in this example, will need to guide the cadet recruit through the initial stages of membership and should help the new cadet prepare for Phase I of the cadet program.

3. The unit commander should identify senior members, cadet sponsor members, and Phase III or Phase IV cadets to serve as aerospace education mentors. This authority may be delegated. The purpose here is to guide the cadets towards mastery of the aerospace education texts. This relationship should last longer than just one AE achievement; otherwise, this relationship is more like a “substitute teacher.” The tutoring relationship should last for as long as the cadet takes to complete Phase I (about 6 months to 1 year) and/or Phase II (another 10 months to 2 years) of the cadet program. Mentoring the cadets, in this example, may be accomplished through a variety of methods, to include:

a. The mentor works with the cadet one-on-one in reviewing the AE chapter before the cadet tests.

b. The mentor works with the cadet to go over text sections of the questions missed on the AE achievement exam. The mentor will not have access to the test or answers. Rather, the testing officer will give the cadet the corresponding AE section areas of the questions missed. These section areas are listed next to the question answer on the answer key. The cadet should then work with the mentor on the section area(s) that needs review prior to the cadet re-testing to obtain the 100% score.

REMINDER: Cadets currently working towards completion of Achievement 8 through completion of the Earhart Award must satisfactorily serve as an aerospace education mentor.

4. The unit commander should appoint senior members serving in functional staff positions (like administrative officer, public affairs officer, aerospace education officer, (etc.) to also act as mentors to the cadet officers studying these staff positions as part of their Staff Duty Analysis (SDA) requirements. The cadets studying their SDA should learn from their senior member counterparts the duties of the staff positions as they work together. This relationship should last for as long as the cadet is performing the job function or is actively reviewing the job area as part of the SDA requirements; otherwise, the relationship is simply “on-the-job training.”

Mentoring, in this example, involves a real desire to help the cadet master the position.

The successful mentor will have a good grasp of CAP’s norms, values, and procedures. This knowledge is helpful in guiding the cadet in meeting his or her objectives. But, there are also personal characteristics that contribute to being an effective mentor:

• Listen.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Value the cadet as a person.
• Provide constructive feedback,
• Focus on the cadet’s needs.
• Help the cadet solve the problem for him/herself.

As a result of being under the tutoring of a good mentor, the cadet will be better able to

• grasp the materials of the cadet program,
• assume greater responsibility,
• be receptive to constructive feedback,
• make better decisions, and
• become a mentor to others.