Hopefully your child (cadet) has told you of the upcoming Summer Encampment to be held this year Aug. 23 - 30 at Camp Ripley in Minnesota.

We are fast approaching the deadline (postmarked by August 6) for getting applications in for Encampment. Please visit the website: www.wiwgcap.org/encampment/ for a letter to the parents, application form, and a message to the attendees. Any questions that you have should be answered in those letters.

As a parent of two cadets - one attending Basic School and the other Wisconsin Cadet Academy - I encourage you to sign your child up for encampment as it promises to be something that they will never forget.  They will come home with more of an understanding of what CAP is and does.  I cannot speak highly enough of it.

Please do not let money or transportation be an issue. There are scholarships available for every chilld and family in need of financial assistance. Scholarship directions are also listed in the application form. Transportation arrangements are currently being made to ensure transportation for every cadet that wishes to attend.

Has your cadet already been to an encampment?  Then have him or her sign up for WCA (Wisconsin Cadet Academy), the next level in the training for cadet leaders.  It is held at the same time and place as the Basic encampment.  

Have your child fill out the encampment application form, along with a copy of his or her CAP ID and your health insurance card.  Include a check (if not applying for a scholarship) and return to your squadron commander for his or her signature by Aug. 4, so you can mail it by August 6.  If it is postmarked after that date, there is a $15 late fee added onto the payment.

As a side note, the cadets will come home tired, however they will have many stories to tell and new friends that they will have come to know.  It is a rare cadet that has not loved the program.  And, with it being held at Camp Ripley this year, there are opportunities for exciting activities unique from Volk Field.  It truly does promise to be a wonderful learning experience for everyone! 

---