One sure fire way to get "in the know" in Civil Air Patrol is to eavesdrop on or to participate in one of the several mailing lists set up specifically for Civil Air Patrol use. What is a mailing list? Does this mean that you will be forever opening envelopes? No. A mailing list is simply an electronic mail address that any e-mail user can subscribe to, and get letters forwarded to them, which have been "posted" to the mailing list. The Civil Air Patrol has several lists, which I will discuss, and give instructions for subscribing to. In the following discussions, the "myuser@mynode.com" is your own e-mail address.

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The first list, and one that EVERYONE SHOULD subscribe to is CAP-INFO. Below is an excerpt from the sign-on memo from CAP-INFO, explaining what the list is about, and how to subscribe.

CAP-INFO

"The Official Source"

The CAP-INFO mailing list is an official Civil Air Patrol Inc. source for news and announcements of importance and interest to CAPmembers and supporters across the globe.

Inputs for CAP-INFO are provided by both national headquartersdirectorates and unit representatives in the field.

The following "rules of engagement" apply for all CAP-INFO inputsfrom the field:

-- Must be screened and approved for CAP-INFO release by the appropriate commanders/leaders in a unit's chain of command. Approval must be notated by sender, listing names of all officials in the chain of command, who have seen and approved the item for distribution.
-- Must include the sender's name, unit and phone number for verification as necessary. Failure to provide this information will result in non-publication.

CAP-INFO is a one-way list. No replies will be accepted for re-posting via the list.

To subscribe to CAP-INFO, send mail to "Majordomo@cap.af.mil" with the following command in the body of your email message:

subscribe cap-info myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-ANNOUNCE

The second list, that will give you interesting announcements and information, but is not an official source, is CAP-ANNOUNCE.

The CAP-Announce mailing list is for news and announcements of interest toCivil Air Patrol members and supporters. CAP-Announce is NOT intended for discussions; discussions should take place on CAP-Talk, CAP-ES, CAP-Comm, CAP-Cadet, or some other relevant lists.

CAP-Announce is not an official fixture of Civil Air Patrol, Inc.

Subscribe to CAP-Announce by sending mail to majordomo@ca0408.cap.gov, including as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-Announce myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-TALK

The most widely used mailing list is CAP-TALK, where discussions can get quite lively, and may take on any CAP subject and any flavor. I might note at this time, that these lists ARE NOT TO BE USED to circumvent the chain of command. Below is the "Official" description of the list, from the sign up welcome letter:

Description of CAP-Talk
=========== == ========

This list is for discussions of CAP related issues. This list was formed to give CAP members a place to discuss CAP issues other then in the rec.aviation newsgroups. This list is open to anyone, not just CAP members. This list is an un-official CAP list. Please do not interpret anything posted in CAP-Talk as CAP policy, or the opinion of CAP-NHQ, unless it is stated as such.

To subscribe to CAP-TALK, send mail to majordomo@ca0408.cap.gov and include as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-TALK myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-CADET

For personnel interested in discussing matters regarding the Cadet Program, subscribe to CAP-CADET. To subscribe to CAP-CADET, send mail to majordomo@ca0408.cap.gov and include as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-CADET myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-COMM

Personnel interested in Communications can subscribe to CAP-COMM by sending mail to majordomo@ca0408.cap.gov, including as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-COMM myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-ES

For emergency services related discussions, subscribe to CAP-ES by sending mail to majordomo@ca0408.cap.gov, including as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-ES myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-PAO

For public information related discussions, subscribe to CAP-PAO by sending mail to majordomo@ca0408.cap.gov, including as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-PAO myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-WEBMASTERS

For unit webmasters and related discussions, subscribe to CAP-WEBMASTERS by sending mail to majordomo@cap.af.mil including as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-WEBMASTERS myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-IS

For information system developers and related discussions, subscribe to CAP-IS by sending mail to majordomo@cap.af.mil including as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-IS myuser@mynode.com

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CAP-FREQ

For frequency managers (Communications Officers) and related discussions, subscribe to CAP-FREQ by sending mail to majordomo@cap.af.mil including as the body of the letter, the command:

subscribe CAP-FREQ myuser@mynode.com. There are some additional lists relating to communications issues also.

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There are several additional lists available on ca0408.cap.gov of interests to specific regions and wings. You can get a tabulation of them all by sending a message to Majordomo@ca0408.cap.gov with the body of the letter as LISTS.

There are several additional lists on the cap.af.mil server

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For those who pay for their network access by the letter, or by the page, the first two lists (CAP-INFO and CAP-NEWS) are low volume, and should be OK to sign up to. CAP-TALK, on the other hand, is quite lively and can generate between 30 and 50 letters or more per day, so beware if you have to pay by the page, but if you can afford it, or do not have to pay by the page for it, and have the time to weed thru tons of cap related letters and opinions, then CAP-TALK can be one of the most fun of the lists around. All of these lists are available in digest form, where all the letters are bundled into one message per day. They are accessed by subscribing to CAP-XXX-DIGEST at either of the Majordomos where XXX is the list you want the digest of.

See you on the net.

Submitted by: James D Beauchamp Jr
Squadron: Decatur Composite Squadron 01059
Telephone: 205 351 8397
E-Mail: ks4au@Hiwaay.net
Packet Id: AL0173