Aim high, astronaut encourages Spaatz cadets

 

 

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Air Force Col. Eric Boe (left) receives two new Spaatz award coins to carry with him when he returns to space as the shuttle pilot for STS-133, targeted to launch in September. Brig. Gen. Richard L. Anderson, Spaatz Association president and former Civil Air Patrol national commander, made the presentation following Boe’s appearance as the featured speaker at the association’s 2010 Annual Dinner and Awards Event in Arlington, Va.

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The Spaatz Association’s president, Brig. Gen. Richard L. Anderson (right), presents Air Force Col. and Civil Air Patrol Senior Member Eric Boe with a framed montage displaying a new copy of the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award coin Boe earned as a Georgia Wing cadet in 1983 and  carried on his Space Shuttle Endeavour flight in 2008. The original coin, signifying Boe as Spaatz award winner No. 648, is slated to be hung in the foyer of CAP National Headquarters once the building’s refurbishment is complete this year.

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Brig. Gen. Richard L. Anderson (right) thanks Daniel B. Ginsberg, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs, after his comments at the Spaatz Association’s 2010 Annual Dinner and Awards Events. Ginsberg praised the Air Force and its auxiliary, CAP, in his speech and encouraged Spaatz cadets to think about a career in the Air Force. “We need the best of the best. We need you,” he said. “Our Air Force is more capable now than ever, but we cannot afford to lose this fight for talent so we can remain the most powerful and capable Air Force in the world.”

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Col. Gerry Weiss (left), Maryland Wing commander, presents Cadet Col. Anna Bladey with her Spaatz coin following the annual dinner at Arlington. During the dinner, Bladey, a member of the Maryland Wing’s Frederick Composite Squadron, received Spaatz award No. 1751, making her the most recent CAP cadet to earn the honor. Cadet Col. Paul McNiel of the California Wing’s San Francisco Cadet Squadron 86 also was presented with his coin and certificate as the recipient of Spaatz award No. 1728.

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Cadet Maj. Kira Swerdfeger (second from left) of the California Wing’s Saddleback Composite Squadron 68 is recognized as one of two recipients of The Spaatz Association’s Aerospace Leadership Scholarship. Cadet Col. Stasia Rogacki of the New Jersey Wing’s Curtiss-Wright Composite Squadron was the other recipient. The $2,500 scholarships, given each year by the association, will help the recipients earn their private pilot’s licenses.

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Eight members of Gen. Carl A. Spaatz’s family pose with a portrait of him at the annual Spaatz Association dinner in Arlington — (from left) daughter Carla Spaatz Thomas; granddaughters Raechel Thomas Andreassi, Katharine Burell Gresham, Rebecca Thomas Palo, Rebecca Wayne Gresham and Edith Gresham Laver; grandson Carl Andrew Spaatz Thomas; and granddaughter Carla Barrett. During the dinner, Katharine Gresham, the Spaatz family historian, shared details from her grandfather’s war diaries.

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Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter, Civil Air Patrol national commander, pins the Distinguished Service Medal on Col. Andrew E. Skiba for outstanding performance of duty as CAP’s senior adviser for operations. Courter made the presentation at the 2010 Winter National Board meeting in Arlington. Over the past two years, Skiba was directly responsible for the nine advisory teams established to provide advice and assistance to CAP’s national commander, National Board and National Executive Committee. Under his leadership, these advisory teams worked diligently to ensure the membership’s operational expertise continued to grow as CAP’s mission capability expanded. During his tenure, the online National Check Pilot Standardization Course was developed as an innovative approach to updating much needed standardized training. Skiba was also responsible for establishing safety requirements, water skills and overwater flight and survival skills required for flight crews participating in South East Watch II, which has become the standard for all CAP overwater flight crew training.
 
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Members of CAP’s National Board cast their votes on an amendment to the organization’s governing constitution and bylaws at their annual winter business session. The 69 members of the board – representing each state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia – considered a full agenda during the two-day meeting.

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As is customary, Col. Lisa Robinson (left) of the Alabama Wing is welcomed to the 2010 Winter National Board as one of 10 new wing commanders. Others included Cols. Cassandra Huchko, Connecticut Wing; William Meskill, Massachusetts Wing; Jay Lindler, South Carolina Wing; Dennis Barron, West Virginia Wing; Richard Griffith, Indiana Wing; Tonya Boylan, Georgia Wing; Teresa Schimelfening, South Dakota Wing; Art Scarbrough, Louisiana Wing; and Jerry Wellman, Utah Wing. It is also tradition to recognize National Board members meeting for the last time – in this case, Cols. Ken Andreu, New York Wing commander; Gerry Weiss, Maryland Wing commander; Don Haffner, Wisconsin Wing commander; Robert Todd, Nebraska Wing commander; Karl Altenberg, North Dakota Wing commander; Carl Brown, Alaska Wing commander; and Dave Maxwell, Washington Wing commander.
 
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Col. Charles L. Carr Jr. (left), Great Lakes Region commander, presents a packet to Civil Air Patrol’s national historian, Col. Len Blascovich (right), for the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum in England. Blascovich, with the assistance of CAP National Vice Commander Brig. Gen. Reggie Chitwood (center), collected unit, wing and region patches from each of CAP’s eight region commanders for a CAP display at the museum.
  
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With the assistance of Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter (left), CAP national commander, Capt. Grace Stapf of the Maryland Wing’s Mount Airy Composite Squadron, a former member of the National Headquarters Squadron, is promoted to major during a break at the 2010 Winter National Board meeting.
  
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Retired Air Force Col. David T. “Buck” Buckwalter, executive vice president of the Air Force Association, addresses CAP’s National Board during its annual winter meeting. Buckwalter talked about AFA’s involvement in helping prepare for the nation’s cyber defense. Over the past two years, the association has sponsored a CyberPatriot competition for teams from the nation’s CAP and Air Force Junior ROTC units.

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Cadet Col. Zach King of the New Jersey Wing, chairman of the National Cadet Advisory Council, updates National Board members on the council’s activities. Like the National Board, the council was in session for two days during the week of the 2010 Winter National Board meeting. As chairman of the 16-member NCAC, King serves as Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter’s No. 1 source for cadet perspectives on challenges facing CAP. Collectively, the council represents more than 24,000 youth in CAP’s Cadet Program.

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Col. Brian Bishop (right), Oregon Wing commander, addresses fellow members of CAP’s National Board during their annual winter business session. Beside him is the Pennsylvania Wing’s commander, Col. Mark Lee.

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U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (left), D-Mich., visits with a large entourage from Civil Air Patrol on Legislative Day. The senator’s guests included the Michigan Wing’s commander, Col. Michael Saile (third from Levin’s left) and CAP’s national commander, Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter (to Levin’s right), who lives in Michigan. Following the members’ presentation, Levin commented, “These missions that you perform are a great service to the nation. Your energy and commitment are reassuring.”

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Lt. Col. Paul Tweden (left), CAP’s national government relations adviser; Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter, CAP’s national commander; and Col. Herbert Cahalen (right), Montana Wing commander, present U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., with his Congressional Squadron Certificate, a lifetime membership card and a  CAP polo shirt during Legislative Day activities on Capitol Hill. Tester responded, “Does that dog hunt or what,” adding, “We very much appreciate the work that you do.

Photos by Susan Robertson, CAP National Headquarters 


ARLINGTON, Va. -- Astronaut Eric Boe brought a familiar message Saturday to Civil Air Patrol’s most-honored past and present cadets when they gathered for The Spaatz Association’s 2010 Annual Dinner and Awards Event.

“Dream big! You have to be able to dream it before you can do it,” Boe said, offering words of encouragement to a convention hall filled with recipients of the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award – CAP’s highest cadet honor.

Like many of the former and current cadets attending the dinner at the Crystal Gateway Marriott, Boe is also a recipient of the Spaatz award. He earned Spaatz award No. 648 as a Georgia Wing cadet in 1983 and retains his CAP membership today as a senior member. He credits CAP for first sparking his interest in flight and is a staunch supporter of the organization, serving as the motivational featured speaker for the Spaatz dinner.

Boe, a U.S. Air Force colonel, reached great heights in 2008 as pilot of Space Shuttle Endeavour. The 16-day mission, STS-126, was a great success, delivering equipment and supplies to expand the capacity of the International Space Station in late 2008.

He expects to return to space later this year as the shuttle pilot for STS-133, scheduled to launch in September. The eight-day mission will carry a pressurized logistics module to the space station.

The Spaatz dinner marked the end of a full week of activities for CAP members in Washington, D.C. ON CAP’s Legislative Day, Thursday, the organization’s 52 wing and eight region commanders, as well as cadets involved in CAP’s weeklong Civic Leadership Academy, personally briefed their congressional representatives on how CAP’s primary missions – search and rescue, emergency services, aerospace education and cadet programs – have made a difference in their communities during fiscal year 2009.

“Our legislators, and the citizens they represent, are CAP’s stakeholders,” said CAP’s national commander, Maj. Gen. Amy S. Courter. “We want them to know what an incredible job CAP volunteers are doing in their communities both in the air and on the ground.”

CAP resources were put to work in 2009 across America, making the organization of citizen volunteers a true force multiplier for the U.S. Air Force. CAP’s flying operations increased 6 percent last year, with volunteers logging 112,000 hours in the organization’s versatile fleet of 550 aircraft.

Members were credited with saving 72 lives through search and rescue missions, many using advances in technology in which CAP is the known leader. Through the use of cell phone forensics and radar technology, many lives were saved by getting search and rescue personnel to survivors quickly. This was accomplished entirely by dedicated volunteers using their talents and education to help others. 

CAP’s disaster relief teams also provided critical support to communities nationwide. Personnel flew reconnaissance flights to assist emergency personnel in combating forest fires, managing the effects of winter ice storms and dealing with massive flooding.

Legislative Day was conducted in conjunction with CAP’s Winter National Board meeting Friday and Saturday at the Marriott Crystal City in Arlington. CAP’s National Board consists of 69 members representing each state, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The board is CAP’s policy-making arm and, in conjunction with the Board of Governors, proposes amendments to the governing constitution and bylaws.

Speakers for the Winter National Board included retired Air Force Col. David T. “Buck” Buckwalter, executive vice president of the Air Force Association, who talked about the association’s growing relationship with CAP. Buckwalter praised CAP for its recent participation in CyberPatriot II, an international cyber defense competition sponsored by the AFA.

Besides Boe, other speakers at the Spaatz dinner included Courter, who introduced keynote speaker Daniel B. Ginsberg, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower and reserve affairs; and Brig. Gen. Richard L. Anderson, Spaatz Association president and former CAP national commander, who also serves on CAP’s Board of Governors.

Katherine Gresham, the Spaatz family historian, also visited and shared details from her grandfather’s war diaries.