Three cadets in the St. Mary's Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) received awards and promotions during a recent squadron open house and ice cream social.
The awards were presented to cadets Daniel Brand, Andrew Miller, and Victor Traven, by Maj. Wes LaPre, acting commander of the Maryland Wing's Group III.
They all received the Gen. Billy Mitchell award and were promoted to cadet second lieutenant.
Brand is a sophomore at Leonardtown High School in Leonardtown, Md. He has attended the Air Education and Training Command Familiarization Course, National Search and Rescue School, and cadet encampment. He joined CAP in February 2003.
Miller is a junior at Chopticon High School in Morganza, Md. He has attended Aerospace Education Academy and cadet encampment. He joined CAP in April 2003.
Traven is a freshman at St. Mary's Ryken Catholic High School in Leonardtown, Md. He has attended glider academy and cadet encampment. He joined CAP in October 2002.
Activities for the 10 prospective cadets and their parents who attended the ice cream social included a demonstration by the squadron drill team, a tour of the squadron aircraft, briefings by the cadet staff detailing summertime cadet activities, and a display of emergency ground team equipment by ground team members.
During the activities for the prospective cadets, the squadron chaplain, Capt. Kraig Smith, delivered a briefing to the parents of the prospective cadets about cadet moral leadership training and answered general questions about CAP.
The ice cream social portion of the program began at the mid-point of the evening, with the cadets serving ice cream and ice cream floats to more than 40 guests and squadron members.
St. Mary's Composite Squadron meets Wednesday evenings from 7-9 p.m. at the Capt. Walter Francis Duke Regional Airport and is commanded by 1st Lt. Donald W. Cone Jr.
CAP, the official U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, is a nonprofit organization with more than 60,000 members nationwide. Its volunteers perform 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as well as homeland security, disaster relief and counter drug missions.
The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 25,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. Cadets in CAP participate in a structured program through group and individual activities that include aerospace education, physical training, leadership, and moral and ethical values. The program encompasses 16 achievement levels that include study in these four areas.
There are approximately 1,300 members of CAP in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 31 search and rescue missions as assigned by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and was credited with 19 finds. For information, visit http://mdcap.org.