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About the Course:
“This course over the last week pushed me to my physical and mental limits, but with my instructors and my cadet family
I pushed myself and I never quit. That is what I came here for.”
“This program not only teaches cadets how to survive, but also places a sense of self pride and confidence in every
cadet. I pushed myself harder than ever before and now I know that I can do it. We as a CSS Cadet Training Group CAN DO THIS.”
“All the instructors and senior staff pushed us to our limits and then pushed us to raise the bar. If this activity
disappears, the Cadet Program will be nothing more than a girl scout troop marching or 8 year olds building model rockets.
I’m 20 years old and this has been the best and most informational and interesting activity, it has made my 4 year career
more worth while.”
“We were challenged and exposed to things that required us to think and work together… I was challenged to think
on my own. This prepares us greatly for the real world.”
“This should be a national activity…this was the hardest week of my life, but it pays off.”
“CSS sells adrenaline rushes to cadets rather than cookies.”
“This course was the best activity I have ever done in CAP! An activity like this should be mandatory for the Cadet
Colonel ranks so those cadets really can handle any situation.”
“This course forced me to think on my own, to break from the “herd mentality” and not only process my surroundings
as an adult, but an adult competent in the ways of the world and well-versed in thought and logic.”
“Cadet Survival School was such an experience for me. When coming up to Camp San Luis Obispo I was thinking about how
the school was going to be. I was thinking yelling, cussing, and a lot of push ups… I thought wrong.”
“In my mind, CSS is ranked right up next to PJOC and COS in value to the Cadet Program and my personal growth. MISSION
ACCOMPLISHED!”
“I can not stress this enough: CAP needs more CSS and less drill.”
“I would recommend this course to every cadet in CAP.”
“You can never stop learning here, no matter who you are or think you are. I train myself personally but never as hard
or tense. I will never be the same ever again. I mean this in a good way.”
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REGARDING CRISIS DAY:
“The stress inoculation should have lasted longer… We can take it, we want to learn it, we want to experience
it.”
“Crisis Day was the best day because it pushed our limits and made us a team.”
“I am going to tell everyone I know in CAP about this program…Even my friends in other wings.”
“Crisis Day is what CAP has been missing.”
WHEN ASKED IF THEY FELT THEY WERE HAZED/HARASSED:
“I was not hazed at all! We were challenged but that was an integral part of useful training… If anything we should
be challenged more in CAP to prepare us for that wild world out there.”
“Absolutely not. All training we received helped me push my limits and learn to think under pressure…helped my
belief that mental strength is more important than physical strength.”
“No. The physical training and team-building activities served to create stress and chaos. It was realistic in that
people often panic in survival situations. These ‘stress’ activities/training tested our mentality.”
“In no way do I think I was harassed or hazed… Was I pushed past where I would have stopped? Oh yeah! And now
I know that I can do more, more than I ever could”
REGARDING THEIR MOST/LEAST BENEFICIAL ASPECTS OF THE COURSE:
“Thinking under pressure…something CAP talks about but never does. [CSS] is distinct for this. It pushed the limits!
Cadets are capable of more than seniors give us credit for.”
“[Show] less concern about whether cadets ‘can handle it.’ CAP needs to be more realistic about the level
of violence and ‘R’ Rated stuff its cadets are exposed to. Life is not rated PG-13, and CSS is an important way
of recognizing that.”
“The mental aspect [of the course] was by far the most valuable and challenging part of CSS because having to think
when you are tired and hungry is a critical skill to have in a real survival situation…Even though I have been to PJOC
I still found it to be a challenge”
“The pool was a great survival training tool…water creates a sense of insecurity for [most] people.”
“[The pool was] absolutely the most valuable training for me personally… ”
“[Signaling] showed the reality of CAP in ES because we actually saw a CAP plane flying…It showed just how hard
it is to signal a real airplane”
“We can handle R rated movies! For God’s sake its 2007!”
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4 MONTHS LATER AND THEY'RE STILL TALKING!
When I first drove through the gate of Camp San Louis Obispo I didn’t realize that I was about to go on the ride of
a lifetime. I felt confident that I was physically and mentally prepared for the challenges that were to be laid out before
me. However, I did not realize that I was about to embark on a journey that would not only make me physically stronger, but
prepare me for life. As a graduating senior, I have been asked to write numerous essays about my ability as a leader. About
80% of my essays have in some way or another included my lifelong lessons that CSS has provided for me. CSS makes you ready
to become a mature, responsible, prepared, aware, and trustworthy citizen. CSS changes you as a person. Every person has his
or her weaknesses and strengths; the problem is how to strengthen these weaknesses. CSS will address so many different scenarios
that WILL happen to you in your life. I’ve applied so much of what I have learned from CSS to my everyday life. To this
day I cannot believe how much more aware I am of my surroundings, how much safer I am, and how much more confident I am to
react to a problem. I don’t really know how to explain it; so many experiences came out of it that I never thought were
possible.
If you come into CSS thinking that you’re only going to take away the knowledge of how to survive in the wild your wrong.
It is more than that; it is the ability to survive in life. The world is changing everyday and it is our responsibility as
citizens of good moral character to be aware of these changes. I urge you to CHANGE! I urge you to change as a leader, as
a son or daughter, as a student, as a friend, and to become a well rounded citizen of tomorrow.
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