CAP History Reconstruction Program 1st Lt Frank Blazich, Jr. Chief Historian (interim)

1. CAP History Reconstruction Program1st Lt Frank Blazich, Jr.Chief Historian (interim) History Citizens Serving Communities

2. Overview • Study and review of existing program • Program revisions and changes • Current/ongoing activities • Three Year Plan Citizens Serving Communities

3. Study and Review Problems • What role does/will history play in operations? • How can the historian better serve the commander and unit? • What does the historian need to meet mission objectives? • Questionnaire sent out to membership Citizens Serving Communities

4. Study and Review Findings and Conclusion • Main issues • Command emphasis • Limited/inadequate training and education • Inadequate history resources • Organizational isolation • Conclusion: must modernize and realign program to provide relevance to modern era to maximize resources to assist, improve, and grow CAP Citizens Serving Communities

5. Program Redesign Overview • Align CAP history program with USAF History and Museums Program • Increased staff to address program facets • Overhaul of historian specialty track • Objective: Incorporate best practices of academic and professional historical communities to improve standards and capability of volunteers and historical products Citizens Serving Communities

6. Program Redesign Four Pillars • Familiarity and professional interaction • Improve relations • Four main areas of focus • Research and Archives • Museums/Displays • Publishing • Outreach Citizens Serving Communities

7. Program Redesign Research and Archives • Implement records management program • Select digitization; increase accessibility • Set policies for collection and processing • Assist leadership with historical inquiries in time-sensitive manner • Objective: Save and use records for internal and external operations

8. Program Redesign Research and Archives

9. Program Redesign Museums/Displays • Approach NMUSAF regarding CAP display • Prepare national collection to relocate to permanent location • Accessibility to loan artifacts for CAP use or external displays • Exhibits to share heritage to inform, recruit, educate • Objective: Coordinated, professional effort to educate, advise, and inform public Citizens Serving Communities

10. CAP at NMUSAF Citizens Serving Communities

11. Why Preservation? Citizens Serving Communities

12. Program Redesign Publishing • CAP history journal and monographs for internet/external use • Approach AU Press about publishing • Utilize analytical skills of historians to provide perspective and contextual underpinnings to commanders and units • Objective: transmit quality, informative publications for use by policymakers and military/aerospace professionals Citizens Serving Communities

13. Program Redesign Outreach • Digital archive and updated CAP museum page • CAP re-enacting and “living history” efforts • Recruiting, retention, and public relations • Objective: Increased visibility to educate and inform about organization’s development from Civilian Defense to Homeland Security

14. Increased Staff Management and Reach Research & Archives Museums/Displays Publishing & Outreach

15. Specialty Track Overhaul • Revise all publications; provide new as needed • Foster and improve skills and capabilities • Develop PD classes and/or conference to train and assist with development of historians • Objective: train and develop volunteers to where they are an asset, not an afterthought Citizens Serving Communities

16. Ongoing Activities Archives and Collection • Search for permanent location • Impact on all four areas of history program • Logistical factors • Highest probability is to align with an existing archive and museum/institution • Must have all current items properly inventoried, labeled, accessed prior to any move • Will require additional manpower Citizens Serving Communities

17. Ongoing Activities Research • Organizational lineages • Unit citation database • Digitization of oral histories • Offices of CAP Heraldry and Preservation Citizens Serving Communities

18. 75th Anniversary • Exhibit at NMUSAF, National Air and Space Museum (National Mall or Dulles Annex (or both) • Application for CAP postage stamp • Refurbish and update CAP Hall of Honor • CAP Art Program • Publish new book encompassing CAP history • Edited volume, covering all decades of academic quality • Possible AU Press work Citizens Serving Communities

19. Congressional Gold Medal • Overhaul of online database • Inclusion of cadets • Contact information for living World War II CAP veterans • Preliminary medal design Citizens Serving Communities

20. Three Year Plan • Vision to bring history program up to full-strength by 2016 and the 75th anniversary • Tactical through strategic objectives • Hinges on volunteers Citizens Serving Communities

21. Three Year Plan Year One • Appoint staff • Commence revision of regulations and pamphlets • Initiate 75th anniversary planning and projects • Initiate organization, labeling, database entry, and preservation of archives and collection • Launch CAP history eJournal/eMagazine Citizens Serving Communities

22. Three Year Plan Year Two • Launch revised National CAP Museum website and digital archive website • Coordinate transfer of national archives and collection to permanent location(s) • Launch historian specialty tracking training program for PD conferences • Commence writing special publication for 75th anniversary • Release revised history program pamphlets and regulations • Commence negotiations with NMUSAF, Chief Historian of USAF, and AFHRA and AU Press Citizens Serving Communities

23. Three Year Plan Year Three • Finalize and edit new 75th anniversary book for publication • Finalize development of plans for display of CAP artifacts at various museums • Finalize research publications and presentations of research for 75th anniversary • Develop CAP cadet history program in conjunction with cadet and aerospace education programs • Hold first annual national CAP historians’ conference Citizens Serving Communities

24. Conclusion • Redesigned history program • Best practices and increased staff • Specialty track overhaul • Training and education to develop skills • Command and resources • Goal: Volunteer historians able to advise and assist in present and future endeavors at all levels of the organization Citizens Serving Communities

25. Questions? Citizens Serving Communities

26. Please complete the 2013 conference survey online for a chance to win a FREE registration to the 2014 conference in Las Vegas http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/13CAPConf