A Thunderbolt

Volume 2, Issue 1

Composite Squadron News Letter

SWR-TX-295
March 2013

www.thunderboltcap.org

Cadet Flight Fest and Ground Team Extravaganza 2013

Youve probably read about the Cadet Flight Fest 2012 in the Wings Over Texas publication, but thats OLD news. Get ready for Flight Fest 2013! There will be every activity you can think of from ground training to air operations. Cadets and seniors can choose to participate in O-rides, flight marshalling, Aerospace education, and GTM3 training. It all happens at the YMCA adventure camp, and what an adventure it will be! We will bivouac for 3 nights and everyone is sure to have a great time! Dont you dare miss out!

Thunderbolt Color Guard Takes Texas

By Cadet SrA Dane Printz The Thunderbolt Squadrons Color Guard traveled to Texas Wing Headquarters, February 15 17 for the Texas Color Guard Competition. The Color Guard Team is made up of our commander, MSgt Alessandro Lione, SMSgt Joseph Korona, SrA Damon Printz, TSgt Gabriel Oliver, and myself. Our escorts were 1st Lt Darren Printz and 2d Lt Edward Korona. We competed in 7 events, including, Written Exam, which covers topics in leadership and aerospace, (1st Place Team; Lione and Korona tied for 2nd place individuals), Panel Quiz, aerospace and current events, (3rd Place Team), In-Ranks Inspection (3rd Place), Indoor Practical Drill (1st Place), Outdoor Standard Drill (3rd Place), Outdoor Practical Drill (1st Place), and the Mile Run (1st Place). Our Commander, Lione, was the Outstanding Cadet for the event. Due to our lack of experience we racked up a lot of penalties but because of our outstanding teamwork and military bearing, we were able to overcome the odds and win this competition. The judges liked our consistency, discipline, and precision, which is what we train for every time we meet for CAP. The judges gave us useful feedback and gave us great pointers to get even better. Not only did we learn about drill, we now understand the practical aspect of these flag ceremonies and have a new reverence for our United States Flag. We had a lot of fun and I encourage anyone to ask us questions and get involved. What if next year we had the 1st AND 2nd place teams?!

Special points of interest:

Thunderbolt squadron wins Texas Wing Color Guard Competition!

Orth Earns Spaatz

Commanders Corner Coming Events...

Inside this issue:

Cadet Spotlight Calendar Emergency Services Update Commanders Corner

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Drill as One
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Cadet Spotlight
On Sunday, January 20, 2012 Cadet Colonel Blake Orth received the highest award available to CAP cadets, the General Carl A. Spaatz award from Mayor Israeloff and the Fairview City Council Members.

By 1st Lt Lori S Bray

available in 1964. On average only 2 cadets in 1000 receive this award. When asked what he liked most about Civil Air Patrol, Orth stated that he appreciated all aspects of CAP, but enjoyed the cadet program the most, especially the leadership, team building skills and discipline. He also enjoyed the opportunities for fun activities and friendships.

In order to achieve The Spaatz award, a cadet must successfully complete all phases of the CAP cadet program, and pass the General Carl A. Spaatz Award examination, which includes a compreWhen asked if he found it difficult to hensive leadership and aerospace eduearn the Spaatz, Orth said it took a lot cation examination, an essay and a of dedication physical fitness test. and hard work. After receiving the According to Spaatz, cadets are Orth, he was promoted to Cadet just an ordinary Colonel, which is the cadet and every highest grade possible cadet can in the cadet program. achieve the Finally, the Spaatz Spaatz if they award must be preset their mind to sented by a military or it. CAP general officer, governor, congressHis suggestion Colonel Orth receiving his award man, federal judge or for other cadets cabinet-level official. wanting to earn a C/Col Orth, from Richardson, Texas, has been a part of the Thunderbolt squadron for the past six years. He completed the Spaatz requirements on June 28, 2012. He was 17 years-old at this time. C/Col Orth is the 1847th cadet to achieve this milestone since it became Spaatz is to set goals and work your way up to it. Set long- term, mid- term and short- term goals. Promote quickly and attend the activities, because being active and involved will help you stay motivated. Orth had two goals from the time he joined CAP, to go to an International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE) event and

to achieve the Spaatz award. (He achieved his first goal by participating in the IACE Canada event.) Although Orth will be leaving to do volunteer work in Israel, he believes that the Spaatz is a nice achievement to look back on. The Spaatz award taught me a lot about self discipline and goal setting. Cadets should know that the Spaatz award is looked upon favorably by colleges and employers. Cadets can earn scholarships and grants to universities. So cadets, although challenging, obtaining a Spaatz is highly valued, it can open up a slot for you at the Air force Academy or bring any number of scholarships to colleges and universities. As Orth states, promote regularly, get involved, set your goals high, and one day you too could be receiving a Spaatz ribbon from your favorite congressman, governor, or high level official.

Did You Know...

The Spaatz Award is in honor of Carl Tooey Spaatz, who was the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. In 1929, Spaatz and another pilot set an important flight endurance record of 150 hours and 40 minutes.

Learned from the General Carl A. Spaatz Award Fact Sheet presented by Civil Air Patrol Cadet Colonel Jenny Jones

General Carl A. Spaatz was the First Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force and first Chairman of the CAP National Board.

During world War II, he was commander of the Allied air campaign against the Nazis. Also, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened under his command. After retiring from the Air Force, General Spaatz became the first chairman of the Civil Air Patrol National board.

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A Thunderbolt

Composite Squadron News Letter

By 1st Lt Dwight L Bridges

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Emergency Services
Civil Air Patrol's three-pronged mission includes: 1) Aerospace Education, 2) Emergency Services, and 3) Cadet Programs. The following excerpt from the www.gocivilairpatrol.org site summarizes the Emergency Services portion of this mission. Emergency Services Growing from its World War II experience, the Civil Air Patrol has continued to save lives and alleviate human suffering through a myriad of emergency-services and operational missions. Search and Rescue Perhaps best known for its searchand-rescue efforts, CAP flies more than 85 percent of all federal inland search-and-rescue missions directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fl. Outside the continental United States, CAP supports the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Just how effective are the CAP missions? Nearly 100 people are saved each year by CAP members. Disaster Relief Another important service CAP performs is disaster-relief operations. CAP provides air and ground transportation and an extensive communications network. Volunteer members fly disaster-relief officials to remote loca-

tions and provide manpower and leadership to local, state and national disaster-relief organizations. CAP has formal agreements with many government and humanitarian relief agencies including the American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Coast Guard. Humanitarian Services CAP flies humanitarian missions, usually in support of the Red Crosstransporting time-sensitive medical materials including blood and human tissue, in situations where other means of transportation are not available. Air Force Support It's hardly surprising that CAP performs several missions in direct support of the U.S. Air Force. Specifically, CAP conducts light transport, communications support, and low-altitude route surveys. CAP also provides orientation flights for AFROTC cadets. Joint U.S. Air Force and CAP searchand-rescue exercises provide realistic training for missions. Counterdrug CAP joined the "war on drugs" in 1986 when, pursuant to congressional authorization, CAP signed an agreement

with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Customs Service offering CAP resources to help stem the flow of drugs into and within the United States. Pasted from <http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/a bout/civil_air_patrols_three_primar y_missions/emergency-services/> Thunderbolt is gearing up for active participation in the Emergency Services arena. Several upcoming events like the Cadet Flight Fest and Ground Team Extravaganza will allow members, Cadets and Sr. Members alike, the opportunity to advance their training in select Emergency Services Operations Qualifications such as Ground Team Member and Urban Direction Finding. These opportunities will continue to emerge for our members over the coming weeks and months. If you are interested in Emergency Services and/or advancing in a specific ES qualification, please contact Dwight Bridges or Chad Bray for more information.

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A Thunderbolt Composite Squadron News Letter

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Speed 1199mph Range 1379 miles

The F-35 Lightning is one of our newest multirole fighters under development. It is designed to perform ground attack, reconnaissance, and air defense missions with stealth capabilities. There are 3 variations: The F-35A has conventional take-off and landing, the F-35B has short take-off and vertical-landing, and the F-35C is carrier based. If you get a chance, watch the videos on f35.com and see its awesomeness.

Lt Colonel Chad Bray,Thunderbolt Commander

Just when I thought I could no longer be surprised by the cadets in this unit, they pull off something amazing! To win the Texas Wing Color Guard Competition in the first year is truly amazing! The competition had several tough and seasoned competitors. As we stand victoriously, we must remember our Color Guard unit(s) will be representing Texas Wing. Part of that responsibility is to open up the new Wings Headquarters, open and close the Wings Annual Conference, and to compete in the Southwest Regional Color Guard Competition. It is important to understand that not only will our color guard be looked at as representing Texas Wing, we, as a unit will be looked at as representatives, as well. So look your best, behave your best, and be proud of our accomplishments. It is with great pride that I can now announce the promotions of two of our senior members. Sam Lal and Charlie Moore have been promoted to Captain. Not only have they been promoted, they have completed their Mission Scanner (MS) certification, as well. Both are now working on a Mission Pilot (MP) rating. At the completion of their MP, we will be able to staff three mission aircrews and join in the ES call rotation. So, for the senior members, it is important to complete your MS and Mission Observer (MO) qualifications to staff these crews. As its important to support the air search and rescue, we must also support ground search, as well. This can involve both seniors and cadets. With that said, its my great pleasure to announce 1Lt Ginny Aguilar has completed her Ground Team Leader (GTL) certification. This now allows us to participate in ground crew operations, in addition to Urban Direction Finding activities. We also have a few more GTL trainees close to certification. Soon we should be able to field three teams, as well. This is turning out to be an exciting year and we are not even through the first quarter. We have even more exciting things coming up. Do not forget the Thunderbolt Cadet Flight Fest and Ground Team Extravaganza, and Aprils Wing Conference in Houston. Both are going to have a lot of fun events. Ill be looking forward to seeing you there!
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Coming soon
April 10-14 Texas Wing Conference April 26-28 Mountain Flying Clinic June 8-15 Powered Flight Academy June 16-23 LESA June 25-July 3 Texas Summer Encampment

Cadets and Senior Members:

If you would like to contribute to future issues of Thunderbolt Squadrons awesome newsletter, please do not hesitate to contact senior member Detje Printz at ddddprintz@sbcglobal.net