Achievers

Family, friends and fellow Cadets attended the General Billy Mitchell Award ceremony for five cadets of the Tyler Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

The Cadets, C/2Lt Isaac Niedrauer, C/2Lt Josiah Niedrauer, Cadet Russell Elliott and C/2Lt John Shanahan earned the award after completing the first eight of 16 achievements of the Cadet program. In addition, the Cadets passed an arduous 100 question examination testing leadership theory and aerospace topics. Since its inception over 30 years ago, over 42,000 cadets have earned this honor.

The General Billy Mitchell Award, in existence since 1964, honors the late Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, aviation pioneer, adv

ocate and staunch supporter of an independent Air Force for America.

Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Lou Thomas welcomed Squadron members, family and guests. Lt. Col. Owen Younger, Group III Commander of the Texas Wing, spoke to the Cadets about the core values of integrity, excellence in all we do and service before self.

State Rep. Leo Berman, a retired U.S. Army colonel, presented the Mitchell Awards alongside the parents of each Cadet. In addition, the Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol presented Representative Berman with a Civil Air Patrol Legislative Squadron Membership and a flight suit.

The Civil Air Patrol Cadet program is divided into 16 segments called achievements, involving study and performance in the program areas. Upon completion of each achievement, the cadet earns increased responsibility, decorations, awards, eligibility for national and international special activities, and opportunities for both flight and academic scholarships, as well as opportunities to earn a higher rank.

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 55,000 members nationwide. The organization’s members perform 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions, as tasked by the Air Force’s Rescue Coordination Center, and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 103 lives in FY 2007. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. For more information on CAP, please visit www.cap.gov.

There are approximately 3,100 members of CAP in Texas Wing who have played a leading support role in hurricane relief, damage assessment, humanitarian missions, fire watch flights, and search and rescue missions.

Texas Wing is dedicated to saving lives, safeguarding property, and working with the Texas Emergency Services State Operations Center. Additional information about Group III, Texas Wing can be found at http://www.group3txwing.org.

The Tyler Squadron Civil Air Patrol cadets receiving the Billy Mitchell Award and their commanders are (from left to right) Lt. Col. Lou Thomas, squadron commander, C/2nd Lt. Isaac Niedraur, C/2nd Lt. Russell Elliott, C/2nd Lt. John Shanahan, C/2nd Lt. Josiah Niedrauer, Lt. Col. Younger, Group 3 wing commander (Dallas) and State Rep. Lt. Col. Leo Berman.
((Courtesy Photo))