"Document, Document, Document." We hear it all the time, especially as upper-ranking cadets in Civil Air Patrol. But how do you properly do it? In this article, I'm going to present to you different situations, how to properly document the situations, and what to do with the documentation. Please note that every situation is different depending on the cadet you are dealing with the severity of the situation. The following described situation is very basic and should be used only as a general guideline for documenting.

Say, for instance, you are a Flight Sergeant in your squadron, and Cadet Smith is in your flight. Upon becoming Flight Sergeant, you notice that Cadet Smith does not follow Customs and Courtesies and calls you by your first name. The first action is to correct him privately. You need to pull Cadet Smith to the side and inform him of his wrong doing and how to correct it. This meeting should be documented, in a non-formal way, in a binder, notebook, etc that you keep for your flight. It shouldn't be anything more than "[Date] Spoke to Cadet Smith about his Customs and Courtesies and failure to address the Flight Sergeant with his proper rank and title." I would suggest keeping notes on all of the cadets for the week, regardless of their behavior is good, bad, or normal. If this behavior still continues, continue to correct Cadet Smith, and keep notes as you do so. Use specific examples to document Cadet Smith's lack of Customs and Courtesies.

So Cadet Smith still wants to be best friends with you and continues to call you by your first name. You now have notes that describe specific situations in which you corrected Cadet Smith, and you need to write a Letter of Counseling based on this situation. A Letter of Counseling (LOC) should be written in proper Memorandum form using the United States Air Force Tongue and Quill (page 133). The LOC should be submitted up your proper Chain of Command, and should be signed by yourself and the Cadet Commander or Squadron Commander, depending on which your squadron prefers. With the LOC, you should have a counseling session (Chapter 4 and 12 in the Leadership Books discuss different types of counseling sessions) with Cadet Smith in which you go over the LOC section by section and explain to him, in detail what was wrong with his behavior using the examples from your notes. Allow Cadet Smith to talk also, because that is the purpose is the purpose of a counseling session. The LOC should also state what corrective action will be given to Cadet Smith, such as suspension from extra squadron activities, if his problem continues. Afterwards, if Cadet Smith agrees to what was said in the LOC and the counseling session, he should sign the bottom of the LOC. Explain to Cadet Smith that by signing the LOC, he agrees everything that is stated in the LOC. A copy of the LOC should be kept in your flight files at home, and a copy should also be placed in Cadet Smith's squadron files.

Say that the problem has escalated and has still not been fixed by Cadet Smith. Now a Letter of Reprimand should be written and submitted. The Letter or Reprimand (LOR) should be written in the same form as the LOC (a formal memorandum) and state that whatever consequence for the continuance of the problem given in the LOC is now going to be implemented. The Letter of Reprimand should also state specific examples in which the problem has escalated and how you, as the Flight Sergeant, have tried to fix the problem, including passing the problem higher on the Chain of Command. The LOR should also be presented to Cadet Smith in another, more formal, counseling session. After this counseling session, the LOR should also be signed by Cadet Smith, and the consequence should be implemented at the time of the staff's discretion. You should also keep a copy of the LOR in your flight files at home, and a copy of the LOR should be placed in Cadet Smith's file.

One of the most important reasons to document positive, negative, and normal behaviors is that these documentations are of great assistance when filling out a CAPF 50. Here are some guidelines for filling out a CAPF 50, whether it is used in a promotion board or just a periodic Cadet Progress Review:

• A CAPF 50 with just letters circled provides absolutely no information about a cadet's current standings in the Cadet Program. A year down the line, when somebody reading the old CAPF 50's, a circled "O" will tell them nothing. For starters, whether a cadet has fulfilled something as Satisfactory or Outstanding is somewhat subjective. In other words, even though there are vague definitions of these terms on the CAPF 50, what may be Outstanding to you may only be Satisfactory to me. So after deciding the degree of a cadet's progress, you should use the "Notes:" section immediately beneath to say why you are giving the cadet what you gave him for that section. Where do you find this information? In the notes that you have kept on the cadet both informally and formally.


• The Additional Positive and Negative Feedback sections in the back are used to document other information that did not fit in the sections given already on the CAPF 50 or to elaborate on sections where you did not have enough room on the other sections. These sections should be used and not left blank.


• The CAPF 50 does not help the cadet unless it is shown to the cadet and discussed with him. Say, for example, you fill out a CAPF 50 during a promotion board and give a cadet a Satisfactory on Military Bearing, he will not know that he needs to work on this for his next promotion board unless you review the form with him. If you do not review a CAPF 50 with the cadet being evaluated, it is safe for the cadet to think that he achieved an Outstanding in every category and does not need to improve on anything. We all know that there is no "perfect cadet," so you need to review the CAPF 50 with every cadet being evaluated.


• It is also a good idea to show cadets a CAPF 50. Many cadets, especially those not on Squadron Staff, have no idea what a CAPF 50 is, much less if it even exists. By showing them the form, the cadets know what they are being evaluated on specifically, so they can ensure that they excel in these aspects.

Documenting everything is also essential in cases where a cadet needs to be removed from a position. Without properly documenting, when it comes time to remove him, it is your word against his. But, with the proper documentation such as LOC's and LOR's, you are able to explain to him "For this and this reason, we are removing you from your position. On [Date on LOC or LOR], you accepted what you were doing wrong, and agreed to fix it. Since you have failed to do so, we are removing you from your position, as stated on the LOR." Since the cadet had signed the LOC or LOR, he is not able to say that he was never corrected on it or even know he was doing something wrong.

On the other hand, documentation is useful when suggesting a cadet for a promotion in either grade or rank. The documentation of the positive items the cadet has done will allow you to say to your superior "Cadet Smith went above and beyond on this day and continues to show superior performance, so I believe he should become the next Flight Sergeant."

Nobody is ever going to remember every little detail that happens, and by documenting situations, you won't have to. In short, by documenting everything, you will cover your own back in many different situations in the future. Document away!