P started many of the volunteers were men to old to serve or who did not meet the requirements for military service. There were also a large number of members who were women, about 20%, who performed some of the same duties as their male counterparts. College students were also encouraged to join so that they could get valuable experience before joining the military. There was also a cadet corps started as well. On October 1, 1942 CAP opened it doors to junior members. Although volunteers, people could not just walk into the local squadron and sign up. Besides having a skill that was valuable to the organization, potential members had to be of good character, a citizen of ten years, and be fingerprinted and checked by the FBI. Similar requirements were necessary for cadets; however exceptions were made when it came to cadets. Also members had to volunteer for a 30, 60 or 90 day continuous tour of duty, which was eventually changed to 90 days or more. Members wore Army khakis and OD with distinctive CAP markings. Also, due to fears of possible capture if a plane went down, the War Department authorized the CAP to wear the U.S. on their uniforms so that they would be treated as prisoners of war instead of guerillas. As volunteers, the members did not receive pay for their duties. They did however receive a per diem based on their duties; pilots received $8, while ground crews received $7. This per diem covered their meals, uniforms, lodging and anything else they may need. This caused many members to go into debt. Members were not the only ones with financial problems. CAP as a whole had difficulty in the beginning with receiving money. Originally during the 90-day trial period CAP was to receive $18,000 to cover its needs. However, after that it took time to set up a way of distributing the money. Bills began to pile up and units started going into debt. Oil companies, such Sun Oil in Philadelphia, decided to set...
