Positive Approaches Toward Legal Responsibilities (M5)

Case Study - *Annotated Version*

As Deputy Commander for Cadets of the Roman Polanski Composite Squadron
of Bliss Wing, you are also project officer for this weekend\'s fly-in
at Big Grassy Field.[^1] Your squadron commander signed the agreement
with the Really Early American Aircraft Association in which he
agreed[^2] to provide cadets to walk security patrols[^3] 24-hours a
day[^4] during the 3-day fly-in, in exchange for REAAA flying each of
your cadets around the pattern.[^5]

It is Saturday night, one day to go. It\'s been tough for you as the
only senior there to supervise some 50 cadets from around Bliss Wing and
you look forward to Sunday night.[^6] You\'re grateful that you\'ve got
some supervisory assistance from some cadet officers (ages 15 to 19) so
that you\'ve been able to get a little sleep.[^7] It doesn\'t help that
Grassy Field is so big, but the local golf club has lent CAP six golf
carts, so cadets can get to and from their assignments fairly
quickly.[^8]

Your daughter has just awakened you in your private office in the FBO
where all the off duty cadets are sleeping in sleeping bags on cots on
the hangar floor.[^9] (The squadron commander got a deal on this, too!
The agreement he signed with them merely required that we indemnify them
if there were any lawsuits arising because our being on the
property.)[^10]

\"\[Dad /Mom\],\" she says hesitatingly, \"I\'ve got to talk with you
about something, but you\'ve got to promise not to tell."[^11]

You explain to her that you can\'t make any such promise.[^12] With a
little effort on your part, you get her to tell her story.[^13]

\"Sgt. Chris Largent just told me about sneaking out of the hangar with
Lt. Larry Flint[^14]. (You know, the cute blonde cadet from Big
Beach?[^15] He just got his driver\'s license and plans to drive both of
them home after the fly-in tomorrow.)[^16] Chris went on and on about
how private and romantic it was for them in the dark, under the wing of
that B-17.[^17] Chris even kept a couple of these as souvenirs.\" (At
that, she hands you an empty condom wrapper.)[^18]

As you silently count to ten, and then to twenty,[^19] she goes on:
\"But now, what happened last year to Julio and Marge Largent has Chris
worried.[^20] Last year, when their father learned that their sister
Marge was no longer \"pure,\" he beat her up and threw her out of the
house[^21]. The same thing happened when he learned what their younger
brother, Julio, was doing down by the schoolyard. It turns out, Julio is
gay. The brother and sister are now 14 and 16. Both of them lived on the
street for weeks until a distant relative took them home."[^22]

You\'ve now counted to fifty. What do you do now?

[^1]: You\'re acting as the sole \"grown up\" on this activity, *in loco
    parentis*.

[^2]: Only a corporate officer - typically the wing commander - is
    authorized to sign such agreements.

[^3]: CAP doesn\'t provide \"security.\" Even if we call it by another
    name, is it within our charter?

[^4]: Do we run afoul of child labor laws doing this? If security is an
    issue, is this a job for children?

[^5]: This would be entrusting the safety of CAP cadets to pilots whose
    qualifications have not been confirmed by CAP, whom the parents have
    not authorized, (they\'ve authorized CAP itself and USAF by way of
    the membership application, CAPF 15, but strangers?), and whose
    backgrounds have not been checked. The pilots are likely not
    commercially rated, and that, too, may be a problem for CAP if
    there\'s an accident.

[^6]: Many organizations impose a minimum ratio of adults to children
    for activities. It varies with the age of the children and the
    nature of the activity, but 1:50 is just too few in anyone\'s book.

[^7]: Although the presence of other supervisors (especially those who
    are legally \"adults\") helps, the 1:50 ratio may establish
    negligence if something happens that more supervision would have
    prevented.

[^8]: Are cadets authorized by regulations to operate golf carts? Cadets
    would argue they\'re not a vehicle and therefore not covered by the
    regulation. The laws of most states will not consider a golf cart a
    \"motor vehicle\" as it isn\'t street legal, therefore, our
    automobile insurance policy does not cover it at all. In keeping
    with the spirit of the regulation, and in recognition that we\'ve
    had several golf cart accidents caused by under age drivers
    misjudging speed on turns or other operator errors, it could be
    argued that regardless of the regulations, one would be ill advised
    to permit cadets to operate golf carts.

[^9]: Supervision? Is it a problem that both male and female cadets are
    sleeping in the same room? Not necessarily, although the question is
    worth asking.

[^10]: It should\'ve been signed by the wing commander (see earlier
    footnote) and, because of the indemnity agreement, only with the
    approval of general counsel. (CAPR 87-1, para. 3b. \"Some lessors
    propose a written lease for CAP to execute. Do not sign leases
    containing \'hold harmless\' or \'indemnification\' clauses unless
    NHQ CAP/GC approves them. Many times lessors will agree to remove or
    modify these clauses and substitute a clause requiring CAP to name
    the lessor as an \'additional insured\' on CAP's liability
    insurance.\" This clause makes CAP the insurance carrier for the
    FBO, and with no policy limits! This is not a good deal.

[^11]: Don\'t sign this \"blank check.\" You\'ll be making promises you
    can\'t keep.

[^12]: Good move.

[^13]: Another good move!

[^14]: The supervision problem just caught up with you. Is Sgt. Largent
    a cadet or senior member? Is she a minor or an adult? Is Lt. Flint a
    cadet or senior member? Is he a minor or an adult?

[^15]: He\'s a cadet. From earlier information, you know his age could
    be 15 to 19. One question answered, three to go. Add one: was he one
    of your supervisors? What care did you exercise in \"hiring\" him as
    a supervisor? Relations between a supervisor and a subordinate may
    trigger concerns about \"sexual harassment.\"

[^16]: The driver\'s license suggests that he\'s at least the minimum
    driving age in Bliss (whatever that age is) and suggests that he
    recently became that age. Limiting the question strictly to the
    cadet driving issue - should you prevent him from driving her home
    tomorrow? Consider this issue later.)

[^17]: Private? So much for your providing 24 hour security. Where were
    the cadets who were on duty? We don\'t know that anything
    \"untoward\" happened just yet.

[^18]: Doubts we had about the degree of \"impropriety\" have nearly
    been discharged with this little bit of information. The ages of the
    participants is now of great importance. Does CAP have a duty to
    report this conduct? Do you? \"Unlawful sexual contact with a
    minor,\" in many states, doesn\'t define its terms by the age of the
    perpetrator - both could be \"victims\" under the law. By
    definition, minors are incapable of \"consent,\" although this may
    be \"voluntary.\" Some states would consider that the minors have a
    right of privacy if they are \"of similar ages.\"

[^19]: Good move.

[^20]: I\'d think that you\'re worried too, at this point.

[^21]: Useful information, not necessarily true. Just hold onto it for
    the moment.

[^22]: At this point, you know that Sgt. Largent is probably about 15
    years of age. The other information, while useful, doesn\'t require
    immediate action. Has anybody considered the possiblity that Sgt.
    Largent may be gay? If this is true, what are CAP\'s policies and
    practices?