This month, I'm going to cover three personality types that could hurt your unit. These attitudes are really more like diseases than personality types; they spread like an infection when not contained. Like a disease, the best prognosis happens when the attitudes are diagnosed and treated early.

The Ignorant

The ignorant person isn't bad, per se. He just doesn't bother to read the regulations, and relies on what other people told him. This is the guy that, when corrected, responds with "but I WAS TAUGHT..."

Who cares how you were taught? If you were taught to drill differently than AFR 36-2203, then, guess what, you were taught WRONG.

Sometimes, the ignorant will do things specifically forbidden by the regs just because they didn't know any better. Years ago, the Cadet Programs Manual used to specifically frown on Spaatz presentations at National Special Activities, or the National Cadet Competition. (The exact wording was "The Spaatz award should not be presented at …")

Of course, some Cadets had their awards presented at these activities anyway. The message was simple: Either they didn't care about the regs, or, more likely, they'd never read them.

Ignorance is not bliss. Don't fall into that trap.

The Lazy

Lazy Cadets are worse. An ignorant Cadet who is taught the right things to start out with might be of little harm; and the worst of that ilk generally just repeat what they were told. They slow down improvements, but they generally don't create immediate destruction.

Lazy Cadets don't care, don't do work, let people down, and influence others to quit/give up. Lazy Cadets need more than a talking-to, they need a mentor. They may need a challenge and, quite possibly, a wake-up call.

Many CAP Cadets (and many adults!) go through life taking the easy way out; the path of least resistance. Water takes the path of least resistance; it always flows downhill. If you follow water far enough down, you often find a pool of stagnant, disgusting mucky water. That's what laziness produces. As I have said before, self discipline is like a muscle; if you don't exercise it to experience slight pain now, you will be weak later and experience more pain when it fails. Lazy Cadets need attention, effort, and inspiration. Do not allow them to "sit on the bench" and how they'll stick around because you gave them an easy job. Instead, Provide opportunities for them, and give them a gentle kick to get going.

The Dangerous

To quote from Boulle-Normans Guide to Promotion Boards:

"A second, more critical caveat to simple ignorance is this: Does this Cadet really understand the responsibilities of command to the ones they lead? How easily authority can be abused and confused, and the special trust and confidence they are given when they assume Command? By the Spaatz level, A Cadet MUST understand these things at the level of a responsible Senior Member. A ranking Phase IV Cadet is bound to eventually be "in charge" when no Senior is around, or, just as bad, when the few Senior Members present defer without question to the more-experienced Cadet Colonel. A Phase IV Cadet is going to make some key decisions. They had better make the right ones."

Dangerous Cadets may have earned awards and been promoted consistently. They may advance to positions of increasing responsibility, and succeed in those positions. They may have generals present them certificates and talk about how wonderful they are. All of that, however, can be a time bomb. If the Cadet doesn't understand how easily authority can be abused, if the Cadet feels that he/she has "something to prove", or seeks the approval of his/her peers, that Cadet can be in trouble. When that Cadet "shows off" his authority to impress others, something is wrong. Dangerous Cadets are attempting to fill a need that authority and power won't fill; when they get those things, they can abuse them all too easily.

Conclusions

All of these problems are best dealt with in Phase I, can be dealt with in Phase II, and can be nearly impossible to fix in Phase III+. Ignorant Cadets will usually start to read the regs if someone they respect does it and shows it useful; Lazy Cadets can be mentored and motivated. Dangerous Cadets can actually turn out VERY badly. Catch them in Phase I and correct them when you can. By Phase IV, it might take a massive hit to shatter their world view. Try to get to them before they do it to themselves.