Cadet 1st Lt. Daniel Myers of the St. Mary's Composite Squadron was presented the national Frank G. Brewer Aerospace Award during Civil Air Patrol's national conference in Orlando, Fl. (Photo: Capt. Brenda Reed, CAP)
The Brewer award is based on outstanding aerospace achievement or contributions to the aerospace field and cadet awardees must have earned the Gen. Billy Mitchell Award and be a current member of CAP.
“I never expected winning the National award and I was definitely surprised and really excited about it when I did,” said Myers when asked about the award.
Myers, age 16, has been interested in aerospace since he was a small child watching his father work on Army helicopters. That interest has been the inspiration for Myers to provide aerospace education to others.
At his home squadron, Myers helps coordinate the cadet orientation flight program and assists the squadron in hosting the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA)’s Young Eagles program. EAA sponsored his trip to the EAA Air Academy in Oshkosh, Wis., in 2006. Upon his return, Myers briefed the group on his trip and was influential in the group funded one cadet per year to attend the academy.
Myers currently serves as a flight commander at the St. Mary’s squadron and is a member of the squadron’s emergency services ground team, along with being the squadron’s cadet emergency services officer.
“CAP has given me countless opportunities and benefits that many of my friends and others I know don't have, and I am very thankful for it,” said Myers.
In June of this year, Myers flew his first solo flight and is currently working on his private pilot license. He also works at the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum where he teaches children and adults how to operate the flight simulators, which simulate the F-14, P-51, and MiG 17 aircraft.
Myers is a junior at Chopticon High School in Morganza, Md., where he takes honors courses. He is a member of the school’s swim and cross country teams. Myers also participates in the school’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFJROTC) program and is a member of the model aeronautics club.
Myers is the second St. Mary’s cadet to earn the national Brewer Award in as many years; Cadet Lt. Col. David Trick earned the award in 2007.
For additional information about Civil Air Patrol's Brewer Awards, visit: www.cap.gov/visitors/members/aerospace_education/awards/brewer_award/
The Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U. S. Air Force, was founded on Dec. 1, 1941, less than a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U. S. into World War II. CAP is a nonprofit organization with more than 56,000 members nationwide. The organization’s members perform 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, and were credited by the AFRCC with saving 103 lives in fiscal year 2007. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.
Members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 25,000 young people currently participating in the CAP Cadet Program. CAP’s cadet programs provide young men and women with a safe and motivating environment in which to grow and explore opportunities in the military and aviation industries. CAP has been performing mission for American for more than 63 years.
There are approximately 1,300 members of CAP in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 42 search and rescue missions and were credited with 31 finds. For more information, visit www.mdcap.org.