Photo By Robert W. Mitchell | U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael G. Cox, a Civil Air Patrol pilot, left, and U.S. Space...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – Military members from the Air Force, Space Force and the Defense Intelligence Agency assigned to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Washington, D.C., provided professional military leadership, guidance, and mentorship to more than 100 Civil Air Patrol youth cadets at the 2024 CAP National Capital Region Summer Encampment held on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., from June 23 – 28, 2024.
The week-long activity, designed to prepare young cadets for future leadership roles, focused on team building, physical fitness, aerospace /aviation knowledge and emergency services. The cadets took on a real-world obstacle course, toured a military airfield, flew on an Air Force C-130, piloted drones and interacted with advanced military technology systems and devices via multiple STEM classes by instructors from the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command out of Fort Belvoir, Va.
U.S. Space Force Honor Guard member Spc. 4 Nicholas Ames, a CAP first lieutenant and deputy commander of the Tuskegee Composite Squadron on JBAB, provided leadership oversight and hands-on guidance as a volunteer training officer during the encampment. As a prior CAP youth cadet, he embraced the opportunity to share his knowledge and expertise to the organization where he started his journey.
“I have been in Civil Air Patrol for going on six years,” Ames said. “I was a cadet, so I was in these cadets’ shoes years ago. I went through encampment as a requirement for promotion and I advanced high about halfway through the program. Now, having gone active duty and being a senior member, I am able to give back to the program,” Ames said.
Ames assisted basic cadets and cadre through different stages of the encampment ensuring the young aspiring leaders adhered to organizational standards and completed their tasks in an appropriate and safe manner.
“Going from Civil Air Patrol to the Air Force and now the Space Force has definitely set the stage for my foundational principles of leadership, followership as well as discipline,” Ames said. “I think the most important thing is attitude when working with the youth, helping them to develop their self-confidence and how to change their morale in different situations and showing them how to challenge themselves. This approach has helped me in my six years as a cadet and this is what I would call the backbone of my conduct on active duty to this day.”
Ames said taking advantage of the unique leadership training at CAP as a youth put him on the right track for success in the military.
For U.S. Air Force Honor Guard members Senior Airman Chase McNutt, a head trainer for the Firing Party Element, and Airman 1st Class Sara Wilson, one of its newest members, volunteering as training officers for the encampment provided a unique opportunity to share their professional expertise with the young cadets.
“I think this is a great experience for the cadets because they can say they got to work with the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard,” McNutt said. “For me, it’s nice being able to help teach and help mold future leaders who are going to be taking on those roles when they get older.”
Wilson, who recently began volunteering with CAP at the urging of her fellow Honor Guard colleagues, expressed a similar feeling.
“I absolutely love this,” Wilson said. “Not only are the cadets growing, but I am growing with them. I am learning so much stuff I never thought I would learn (as a volunteer) like leadership, tactical skills, and handling everyday situations. It’s a blessing.”
Preparing young CAP cadets for future leadership roles requires careful planning and setting leadership training milestones throughout the encampment, according to U.S. Air Force Maj. Carlos Wilkinson, the commandant of cadets for the 2024 encampment. He oversaw the curriculum, cadet training and safety, and ensured key leadership objectives were achieved throughout the training activity.
“I'm here to develop leaders of leaders,” Wilkinson said while monitoring cadet and leadership performance at the obstacle course. “I want to ensure the proper development of our cadre as this is the first opportunity for some of them to lead.”
Though Wilkinson recognized that some elements of the encampment are challenging for the young cadets, he stressed the importance in having them learn and grow from the experience.
“We are giving them the opportunity to figure things out, giving them a little time to either succeed or fail,” Wilkinson said. “We are here, however, to pick them up and make everything a learning process.”
CAP works with cadets as young as twelve years old and it is important for the organization’s approach to leadership training and skills development to connect with this unique demographic, Wilkinson pointed out.
“We deal with different generations,” Wilkinson said. “For many of our twelve-year olds, it is their first time going out somewhere, their first time being away from home, some are feeling homesick, some have never done this before, and we just have to be there for them to make it a challenging experience as well as a fun experience.”
Wilkinson is the deputy division chief of the Collections Assessment Division at DIA on JBAB and a 25-year CAP member (as a volunteer and former cadet).
JBAB military and civilian personnel who volunteer with CAP play a key role in furthering the installation’s effort to deliver mission support and contingency operations from the Nation’s Capital.
“The Civil Air Patrol has a big presence on JBAB, the National Capital Wing is headquartered at JBAB, and I know they have a very good relationship on the base,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Michael G. Cox, reserve forces director of the Civil Air Patrol-United States Air Force Mid-Atlantic Liaison Region Detachment 2 and a CAP pilot. “CAP conducts a lot of activities on the base, but really with the National Capital Wing there, they are helping to serve the whole NCR (National Capital Region), so it really has a good working relationship with all of the units in the area.”
Cox acknowledged that the cadet program is primarily the face of CAP and seeing youth in uniform is something the public can easily engage with. However, he pointed out, the organization does have a separate, unique mandate.
“Civil Air Patrol has this whole other mission set where they are flying one-on-one with the District of Columbia Air National Guard at Joint Base Andrews, doing aerial reconnaissance with the U.S. Coast Guard, and acting as targets for the some of the Air Force assets,” Cox said. “So, CAP has this whole other functioning mission that is completely unrelated to what the cadets are doing.”
Cox coordinates military assets for CAP such as the Air Force C-130 and use of the obstacle course for the CAP encampment.
With CAP being the Air Force’s auxiliary organization that supports communities throughout the nation with emergency response capabilities, aviation and ground services, youth development, aerospace/aviation education, and by flying a range of operational missions (among other valuable capabilities and services), the annual immersive encampment furthers its mission readiness and significantly enhances its effort to recruit and retain cadets and volunteers.
| Date Taken: | 06.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.12.2024 12:00 |
| Story ID: | 476048 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 305 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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