Civil Air Patrol Professional Development Guide
As your Professional Development Officer, it is my responsibility to ensure that each one of you progresses in the
Professional Development (PD) track and receives assistance and guidance along the way. Should you ever have
questions or need assistance, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Promoting
First I'm going to talk briefly about promoting. To join as a senior member you must be 18, however, that does not
mean you will join as a CAP officer. Prior to turning 21 you will follow the Flight Officer grade structure as outlined
below:




SM -> the rank given to you upon receiving your CAPID.
Flight Officer (FO) -> complete Level I and 3 months as SM
Technical Flight Officer (TFO) -> attain a technician rating in a desired specialty track and 6 months as FO
Senior Flight Officer (SFO) -> complete Level II and 12 months as TFO
However, if you are 21 years of age or older upon joining, you will follow the CAP officer grade structure. The
following is a rundown of the requirements for promoting as a CAP officer and I want you to pay special attention
to the requirements for 1Lt.







SM -> the rank given to you upon receiving your CAPID.
2Lt -> complete Level I and 6 months as SM
1Lt -> attain a technician rating in a desired specialty track and 1 year as 2Lt
Capt -> complete Level II and 18 months as 1Lt
Maj -> complete Level III and 3 years as Capt
Lt Col -> complete Level IV and 4 years as Maj
Col -> this rank is earned ONLY by becoming Wing or Region Commander
It is important to note that there is a difference between PD and promoting and in the case of promoting from 2Lt
to 1Lt and from Flight Officer to Technical Flight Officer, completing a level is NOT required. While it is not
required that you promote, we do encourage it and will do all we can to help you.
Levels
Below is a listing of each Level and its subsequent requirements to complete said level. I have provided links
where available and notes on how to complete the task if a link is not provided.
Level I
1. *CPPT
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
2.
Print pretest
Read CAPR 52-10, CAPs Cadet Protection Policy
Read CAPP 50-3, CPPT Student Guide
Review Cadet Protection Slides
Review pretest, meet with Squadron Commander to discuss/correct score to 100% using
references above
f. Review two scenarios with Squadron Commander
Foundations Modules
a. CAP History and Organization
Iowa Wing Professional Development Guide
Last updated: 5 Apr 11
3.
4.
5.
b. Policies
c. The CAP Uniforms
d. Customs and Courtesies
e. CAP Core Values
f. Foundations for Volunteer Leadership
*Intro to CAP Safety -> Found in eServices Under: CAP Utilities/Online Safety Education
*OPSEC
*Equal Opportunity
Level II - Benjamin O. Davis
1. Complete Level I
2. Officer Basic Course (OBC) -> this is an online course
3. Squadron Leadership School (SLS) -> typically is offered as a two-day class at the wing level, though you may sign up online
via the link provided if you wish to complete it via that route
4.
Attain a technician rating in your respective specialty track
Level III - Grover Loening
1. Complete Level II
2. Corporate Learning Course (CLC) -> typically is offered as a two-day class at the wing level, though you may sign up online
via the link provided if you wish to complete it via that route
3.
4.
5.
Attain a senior rating in your respective specialty track
Attend two (2) Wing, Region or National conferences
Complete one (1) year of a command or staff assignment
Level IV - Paul E. Garber
1. Complete Level III
2. Attain a master rating in your respective specialty track
3. Complete Region Staff College (RSC) or approved equivalent
4. Serve on staff at a wing level course or conference (Ref CAPR 50-17)
5. Complete two (2) years of a command or staff assignment
6. Present a public presentation to a non-CAP group or an internal or external AE presentation, or
Yeager AE award
Level V - Gil Rob Wilson
1. Complete Level IV
2. Complete three (3) years of a command or staff assignment
3. Complete National Staff College (NSC) or equivalent course
4. Conduct a summary conversation for a Level I Foundations Course
5. Serve as director or staff member of a CAP course or educational activity (additional to Level IV - Ref
CAPR 50-17, para 7-1)
6. Serve as staff member for a RSC or NSC
The following are additional tests that are available outside of PD and promoting requirements - anything marked
with an * means it is required.
Iowa Wing Professional Development Guide
Last updated: 5 Apr 11
Emergency Services related:
 CAPT 116
 CAPT 117 parts I, II & III
 FEMA IS 100, 200, 700 & 800
 SET
 *Aircraft Ground Handling -> log in to e-Services -> under Utilities, click on CAP Multimedia -> Video Courses -> under Video
Options, select "View." to watch the video. Once you've watched it, click on the "take test" button to complete the 10-question test.
-> once done, under Video Options select Download Certificate -> please send a copy of the PDF to your squadron Personnel Officer
so the can file it in your records.
Safety:
 *Basic, Intermediate & Advanced Operational Risk Management (ORM)
 Additional Safety education tests -> Found in eServices Under: CAP Utilities/Online Safety Education
Aerospace Education related:
 The Yeager Award
 Wing Runner
Iowa Wing Professional Development Guide
Last updated: 5 Apr 11