CIVIL  AIR  PATROL

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Legislative Day Delegations Gather

on Capitol Hill

Cadet Wings’ First Grad Leads the Way

Small UAS Program Takes Flight

Spring 2019

Citizens Serving Communities n www.GoCivi lAirPatrol .com 1

Civil Air Patrol Volunteer is oriented toward both internal (CAP) and external audiences. For that reason, it uses the Associated Press style for such things as military abbreviations. Official internal CAP communications should continue to use the U.S. Air Force rank abbreviations found in CAPR 35-5.

FEATURES

5 From Your National CommanderInclusiveness and Diversity Make CAP Stronger

7 Cadet WingsTexas Cadet Is First in Program to Earn Her Private Pilot Certificate

10 Summer SchoolFour CAP Cadets Joining Junior ROTC Cadets at PurdueUniversity Flight School

12 Skydiving ChampionParachutist with 20,000 Jumps Now Flying with NorthCarolina Wing

16 Seeing DoubleOnce again, CAP Responds to Category 4 Tropical Storms

20 ‘Game-Changers’Newly Tested Camera Pods Enhance CAP’s AerialPhotography

24 Up for the ChallengeVolcano Eruptions, Earthquake ... No Problem for Pacific Region

28 10th AnniversaryCAP Aces Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE)

32 Model DAELynda MacPherson Grows Alaska Wing’s AE Program

35 Small UAS Fledgling CAP Program Gaining Interest Nationwide

38 In MemoriamScholarship Allows CAP Officer’s Service to Continue

41 Legislative DayCAP Delegations Lead the Way on Capitol Hill

45 Civic Leadership AcademyTwenty-four CAP Cadets Learn About the Power ofRelationships

48 Congressional SquadronNew Commander, Vice Commander Chosen for Unit

49 Spaatz Dinner ReunionGen. Goldfein’s Speech Preceded by Surprise Visit fromFormer Rescuer

51 Their Day in CourtCAP Legal Officers Admitted to Practice Before U.S.Supreme Court

Spring 2019

CIVIL AIR PATROL

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52 Codetalker Bahé KetchumNew Arizona CAP Squadron Named for Legendary Navajo Hero

55 Super Bowl LIIIGeorgia, South Carolina Wings Help Prepare for Big Game

57 Providing AquaEffortNational Capital Wing Cadet Creates Nonprofit for Clean Drinking Water

60 Eye in the SkyOregon Aircrew Partners with Veteran Outreach Program

ON OUR COVER

Connecticut Wing cadets participating in CAP’s Legislative Day walk through the 90-foot-high central atrium in the HartSenate Office Building on Capitol Hill, on the way to their nextscheduled meeting with one of their federal lawmakers. Thecadets (from left) are Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Brion Henry,Cadet Capt. Liam Waldron, Cadet Tech. Sgt. Angelina Scrivines,Cadet 1st Lt. Johnathan Bell and Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Kim. Henry and Scrivines belong to the Stratford EaglesComposite Squadron, Waldron to the 399th CompositeSquadron, Bell to the Royal Charter Composite Squadron andKim to the Connecticut Minuteman Composite Squadron. Seepage 41 for full Legislative Day coverage. Photo by Susan Schneider,

CAP National Headquarters

At the Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) Lift-off2018-2019 in Hillsboro, Virginia, the joined hands of BobCorsi (left) and Jim Hannam serve to symbolize the strongrelationship between Civil Air Patrol and the Air ForceAssociation. Corsi is the vice chair of CAP’s Board ofGovernors while Hannam is vice chair, aerospaceeducation, of the AFA board. The AFA has been a majorpartner in the development and growth of ACE. Go to page28 to learn more about ACE and its 10th anniversary. Photo by

Susan Mallett, CAP National Headquarters

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By Jennifer S. Kornegay10ACE Turns Gets Top Marks

2018-2019 Lift-Off (the annual kick-off event for the program across thecountry) after being named 2018National CAP ACE School of theYear. She’s witnessed scores of inquisi-tive expressions on the faces of bothstudents and teachers while watchingACE at work, first in her classroom inFlorida, next in a school she helpedstart in California, and today in Vir-ginia.

“I’m so passionate about ACE andwhat it offers students,” Tucker said.“It opens up many, many aerospacecareer options beyond being a pilot,like robotics, engineering and more.And not all students even want to gointo aerospace, but so much of whatACE teaches is needed across theboard. Thanks to ACE’s hands-on,engaging lessons, they’re all having somuch fun learning that they’re inter-nalizing the information and retainingit so much better.”

Every ACE teacher at each gradelevel gets a class set of manipulativematerials as part of the program. Infirst grade, students learn about theparts of airplanes, so their ACE lessonsinclude balsa wood planes that theyassemble. By fifth grade, they’re learn-ing the basic principles of flight, sothey have propeller planes to illustrate

the concepts of lift, force and drag. ACE program manager Sue Mercer

is also a former teacher, and ACE’sinteractive aspects instantly appealedto her. “It’s something different,” Mer-cer said. “That’s what really sparkedmy interest, watching the kids get soinvolved. They are not passive but are

Seeing children come alivewhen a topic or conceptfinally makes sense is one of

teaching’s greatest rewards. It’s some-thing that those involved in Civil AirPatrol’s aerospace education missionrelish, and the Aerospace Connec-tions in Education (ACE) programprovides continual opportunities tosavor the sensation.

Designed for educators of studentsin grades K-6, ACE provides cross-curricular aerospace lessons that support STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) initiatives. Itlaunched in 2007 in Boaz, Alabama,as the Junior Cadet Program. For thenext school year (2008-2009), the program’s name was changed to ACE,and in the decade since it has growngreatly in depth and breadth.

“That first year, we had 4,500 stu-dents involved in ACE,” said SusanMallett, who founded the programand is the educational outreach coor-dinator at CAP National Headquar-ters. “This year, we’ll hit 50,000students in 340 schools, with over 900teachers implementing ACE lessonsacross 47 states.”

Over its 10 years in existence, ACEhas reached approximately 227,000students.

ACE has racked up some impres-sive figures for its 10th anniversary,but the program is about so muchmore than numbers, as Megan Tuckerstressed. Tucker is the STEAM(STEM plus art) specialist at HillsboroCharter Academy in Hillsboro, Vir-ginia, the school that hosted ACE’s

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This ACE student is helped inside a CAP plane by a cadet from the Auburn CompositeSquadron in Auburn, Alabama. Photo by Susan Mallett, CAP National Headquarters

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ACE students study clouds and learnabout weather with their teacher,Rosanna Chiarella, at Palm SpringsNorth Academy in Hialeah, Florida.

By the NumbersNow in its 11th year, the AerospaceConnections in Education programcurrently involves:

51,170 students and920 teachers at344 schools in46 states, and

1 school on a u.S. Department of Defense base in Japan.

About 227,000 students havebeen impacted by the ACE program in the past 10 years.

CAP took note as well and askedMallett to join its national team so shecould create a similar educational pro-gram for use across the nation. Sheassembled a group of teachers, andtogether they built the ACE program.

The proof of ACE’s effectivenesskeeps coming. “Teachers tell us theyhave seen a 27 percent increase in sci-ence thinking skills on standardizedtests due to ACE,” Mallett said.

ACE makes abstract ideas moreconcrete and easier to absorb — obvi-ous benefits for students. But ACE isalso making things easier on teachers,particularly those without a STEMbackground.

Ensuring everyone would feel con-fident implementing the ACE pro-gram was a goal from the beginning,Mallett said. “We realized lots ofteachers, especially in elementaryschool, were not comfortable with‘aerospace,’” she said. “So we made iteasy for the teachers to learn as they goand not be intimidated by these topics.”

Mercer echoed Mallett: “We’ve triedto make ACE very teacher-friendly.”

The program also encouragesteachers to seek outside assistance.“We want them to invite communityleaders, parents and local CAP and AirForce Association volunteers into theclassroom to help them teach the les-sons and provide aviation-relatedcareer information,” Mallett said.

Tucker has taken this advice toheart, arranging for a parachute teamfrom an area military base to descendon her Florida elementary school asthe finale of her school’s end-of-yearACE celebration. “The kids wereawestruck,” she said. “It was really cool.”

Mallett pointed to the value theseexperiences bring. “Having CAP, AFAand other volunteers in the schoolsconducting demonstrations and coor-dinating aviation-related field tripsmakes the students feel special,” shesaid. “It gets them excited, and itbuilds confidence.”

While these efforts add even moreinterest to the ACE program, they alsoform bonds with the community andwith CAP. “It aids the teachers but alsoincreases wider involvement andengagement in the schools, which isbeneficial to all,” Mallett said.

ACE is also strengthening CAP’srelationship with the Air Force Associ-ation. “AFA is our strongest STEMpartner, as it has a similar aerospaceeducation mission, so we reached outto the association in the beginning,”Mallett said. “ACE has enjoyed suchstrong support from the AFA; manyAFA chapters and CAP squadrons arecollaborating on engagement with theACE program schools and teachers.”

For example, local CAP squadronpilots come into Tucker’s classroom togive flight lessons to her students usingflight simulators obtained through aCAP STEM grant.

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willing participants in the lessons. It’samazing to see the lights turn on intheir eyes.”

The success of hands-on, inquiry-based teaching caught ACE programfounder Mallett’s attention quickly,too, when she was principal of aMontgomery, Alabama, school, nearCAP National Headquarters. “In1986, I started incorporating CAPaerospace lessons into my curriculum,”she said. “CAP volunteers assisted atthe school, which helped make ouraerospace program a great success.”

Mallett saw her school’s overall testscores increase, placing second in thesystem behind the area’s academicmagnet school. “This was a lowersocio-economic school,” she said. “Wecould clearly see the evidence of theaerospace education working in thelives of our students.”

ACE students like these at HillsboroCharter Academy in Hillsboro, Virginia.often get the opportunity to operate aCAP STEM Kit flight simulator. Photo by Susan

Mallett, CAP National Headquarters

fitness are both crucial in developingthe next-generation STEM workforce,”Mallett said.

While ACE includes a pre- andpost-test for each grade level that indi-cates exactly how well the programworks, no hard numbers are availableon how many students participating inACE end up as CAP cadets. But Mal-lett sees a strong link.

“We haven’t been able to track thisin cadet registrations, but anecdotally,we do know that there are ACE stu-dents becoming cadets,” she said.“There is a strong connection to CAP,and we know it’s working when it

AFA has also provided grant moneyto CAP to use in the ACE program,including funds for the annual ACEawards, which recognize the work ofstandout ACE educators and students.AFA has provided funding for uniqueACE shirts for the participants, too.“The ACE program has solidified thealliance between all of CAP and AFA,which is exciting,” Mallett said.

Maintaining a close-knit connec-tion between ACE and local CAPunits is particularly important, sinceanother ACE purpose is to fosterinterest in CAP’s cadet program.

“ACE was designed to serve as afeeder program for the cadet program,”Mallett said. “Squadron adults andcadets are working with fifth- andsixth-grade ACE students to provideawareness of and interest in the cadetprogram. We have also had wing commanders, region leaders and othertop-level CAP leaders engage withACE schools.”

Building the cadet program wasalso the inspiration behind ACE’sarchitecture, which was modeled onthe program’s focus on aerospace,physical fitness and character. Charac-ter education messages are embeddedthroughout the ACE lessons.

“Character education and physical

comes to better outcomes for students.”Mallett continually hears success

stories that bear this out. Ninety-eightpercent of ACE teachers say the ACEprogram skills fit well with the contentskills they have to teach. “We knowthat ACE days are days that studentsare much less likely to miss school,and it’s also been shown to decreasebehavior issues,” Mallett said.

And the future of ACE is movingbeyond the school walls and schoolhours. After-school, summer, churchand museum ACE programs are now offered.

“It’s really exciting to see ACEexpanding and impacting studentsacademically, morally and physically,”Mallet said. “If our program continuesto help introduce young students topotential aviation and/or otherSTEM-related careers, we will viewour efforts as successful.” s

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ACE students at Wetumpka Elementary in Wetumpka, Alabama, enjoy experimenting with parachutes. Photo by Susan Mallett,

CAP National Headquarters

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