File #1248: "2014 New York Wing History"

2014 New York Wing History

U.S.

AIR FORCE AUXILIARY

NewYork Wing

New York Wing Finds No Mission Too Difficult

I tr fith more than 2,300
VV -..uers, the New
YorkWing is the largest in
Civil Air Patrolt nine-state
Northeast Region. With a
strong emphasis on emergency

operating its Search and Rescue Academy and successfully
held aircrew, ground team and
mission base staff training
schools.

ln addition, the wing

TiiWing

participated in the

services, disaster relief and

Disaster Response Exercise in

cadet programs as well

August and received

as

counterdrug missions and

Successful" rating

homeland securiry the wing

the region

continues to set the standard
for others to follow.

"Highly
highest in

a

Force evaluation in

-

-

after a U.S.

Air

National Guard Base in Scotia
was again well-attended, and
10 squadrons were recognized
as Qrality Cadet Units. For
the fifth straight year, a wing
color guard team presented the

colors on the floor of the New
York Senate for the opening
legislative session. Another
color guard team traveled to a

April.
The NewYorkWing's

college color guard competi-

emergency services program

earned second-place honors.

flying hours in201.3, including

held five wing-wide search and

Wing squadrons

search and rescue missions and

rescue exercises, which con-

training exercises, homeland
security tasks such as fighter

Guard. Aircrews flew 406.8
counterdrug mission hours

sisted of 114 flights and more
than 100 ground missions,
both involving more than 400
members. The wing also successfully carried out 11 emergency locator transmitter

assisting law enforcement

searches.

Wing aircrews logged 2,453

intercept missions and military
support for the state Air National

agencies in keeping $3.5 million

in illegal drugs offthe

streets.

The wing also continued

Citize

tion in Jacksonville, Fla., and
aiso took part
in the CyberPatriot national
high school cyber security

competition.

L

Squadron One cadets assemble

at the 2013 NeutYork Wing
Encampmenl at Stratton Air
NationaJ Guard Ba.ee in Srutia.

The wing's annual cadet
leadership encampment and

flight academy at Stratton Air

ns Sarving

Cammunities

chnology
lEtnces in technology

High-Prof ile

including digital electronic
rection fi nders, i nfrared
as that register heat

,isignatures, real-time fu l-motion
':.,:video, in{light chat capabilities
, ,qnd airborne public address

-

I

',':

gystems

-

CAP's SAR

have enhanced
l

capabili[91

:

M*$ions
tutt

t:::

Oklahoma Torriadoes
:,i.,

,,:.teams

ground
- cAP sites.
photographed 13,000 property

Colorado Flooding

-

rzsorties

and 2,163

man-hours to capture 10,061 images for FEMA.

South Dakota Blizzard
photos documenting

1

440
- deadgeotagged
5,000-30,000
livestock

a $1.5 billion blow to the state's economy.

Nevada SAR

-

Six people stranded

in subzero weather saved.

de
Core Values

cAP instills

the organization's core values
in its cadets
respect, integrity,

9rc

-

volunteer service and excellence.
Cadets are drug-free role models
in their communities and schools.

il
II
CAP annually offers more

than 30 National Cadet
Special Activities, ranging
in focus from how to fly
powered airplanes or gliders

to mastery of emer-

ncy services skills and

to fly is the
offers
P'S

Community Service

CAP cadets serve their communities
in a myriad of ways, including collecting and distributing food and
clothing to the needy, carrying out cleanup campaigns and meeting
logistical needs for aviation-related events like air shows.

Wreaths Across America

Every December, in all 52

wings and even overseas, cadets participate in WreathsAcross
America observances, presenting the colors and placing wreaths
on veterans' graves in national cemeteries and at war memorials.

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eros

CivilAir Patrol's award-winning
aerospace education program

promotes aerospace history

flight principles and careers.
Many of the nation's astro-

-l

nauts, pilots, engineers and
scientists first explored their

..' ,

careers in CAP.

eA|l,s,A-erospace Education (AE)

proqram, consisting of

inQlirybised:siience.'technOl Ogy; en gineeri n g

ahndly
i',

:

a n d m ath (STE M ) p rod u cts,
insp[res over25.000 cade* and about 250,000 K-l2 students to

,,,,,,More,than 2,0.000youth:'in.z8 states are K-6

, ' 'Co- ectiOns in Education

Agrospace

(ACE)

program kids.The
no-cost program enriches academics, character education and physical

,

,fitnesi*ith an engaEing grade-specific curriculum.

Teacher Orientation Program (TOP) Flights
provide educators the opportunity to experience firsthand the
exeitement of flying and to expand their aeronautical
knowledgg which benefits 25,000 students annually,

STEM Education
More than 30 no-cost aerospace education products and
programs generate interest in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics careers for about 275,OOO
cadets and youth nationwide.

STEM Kits
Nearly 50,000 K-12 youth across the country were exposed

to career exploration programs associated with astronomy,
flight simulation, model and remote-controlled aircraft,
robotics and rocketry, thanks to free STEM kits funded
by the National Defense Education Program.

A Civil Air Patrol Aer*spe#* HCu*ati*n Mcment
Did you know:

The NY Wing Sadet of the Year award aetually represents twc generations of dedicated
CAF service. The l.lY Wing Cadet of the Year award is ntficially titled the Captain James Burr
Reddig Memorial Award. Captain Reddig was the comrnander *f a B-47 bomber, with the
Strategic Air Command. l-le was killed on 26 Fehruary 1965, when his aircraft collided with a
KC-135A tanker while refueling.
Prior to his Air Force service, Captain Reddig joined CAP at age 14 rising to the position of
Cadet Commander of the Rochester Cadet $quadron" [-{e became a Senior Menrber and
Mission Pilot. Following hris death, Captain ReddiE's parents established the memorial award to
honor their son's service to our country and his shared passion and dedication to CAP.
Captain Reddig's father, James Clendenin Reddig, was also a long tirne CAP member, having
joined shortly following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Janres C. Reddig was an aviation pioneer
having studied Aeronautical Engineering at MlT. Reddig worked in aircraft design for such
notable cornpanies as Loening Aircraft and Fleetwings Co. l-'le was instrumental in the design of
the Fleetwings $ea Bird - the first all stainless-steel production aircraft. Reddig joined Hastman
Kodak in 1939 where he worked on aerial reccnnaissance systerns. Reddig's final project prior
to his retirement was the development CIf the camera and film processing system for the Apollo
Lunar Crbiter that mapped the moon's surface in preparation for futurre landings.

ln his lifetime, Reddig had the opportunity to meet and w*rk with Orville Wright, Charles
Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Jirnmy Doolittle and Anthony Fokker. Reddig was often found
sharing his many aviation experiences with CAF cadets and senior rnembers of the Rochester,
NY and surrounding squadrons. At the time of his death in 1993, James C. Reddig was a
charter CAP member with over 51 years of seruice.

whgslsUp!
.. NY WING HOSTS

GONGRESSIONAL
GOLD MEDAL FOR
WWII MEMBERS

]. REGIONAL GENTER
. FOR DISASTERS
],

9,,.i.i,.

$,

Contents
3
4
5

Wing Hosts Region Command Center
A 2-Hitter for Mid-Eastern Group

NY Cadet Garners National Honor
Cadets Go to D.C. for Hill Day

6

Vheels LIp!

17 Teams Compete

SPzuNG 2015
New York !iling

Central NY Group Taps 3 Top Cadets
Wing Receives Aerospace, Disaster Awards

Civil Air Patrol
Lr.S. Ai-r Force

Auxiliaty

7

187 Participate in SAR Exercise
NY Jets Treat Cadets As VIPs

I

Search Team Tracks Distress Beacon to UPS
CAP Chaplain Is NYPD's Newest

Commander
Col. StevenJ. Petta

Vice Commander
l.t. Co1. Tom Carello
Lt. Col. Patrick N{agee

Chief of Staff
Lt. Col. Diane \X/ojtowicz

Editor/Wing PAO
Capt. Robert Stronach
EditorRob@yahoo.com

9
10
11
12

Headquarters
\Westchestet County Airport
\X/ingJ

24Loop Road, Bldg

in CyberPatriot

1

'i(/hite Plains, NY 10604 1218
Phone: 914-683-1000
Fax:912[-683-10056

v/w$lnIVcaP.ofg

13
14
17

Academy Preps Members for SAR Roles
100 Cadets Graduate from Encampment
6 Solo at Encampment Flight Academy

Rochester Cadets Savor Washington Trip

'Bull's Eye'for Rifle/Ropes Bivouac
Pilot Spots Downed Sport Aircraft
Wing Spotlights Top Performers
NY MemberAccepts Gold Medal for CAP
Cadet of YearAward Marks 50thAnniversary

CoI. STE\IE PERTA

In the Left

Seat

GET INVOLVED!

COVER:

Aviation Up Close
NY Wing cadets get to experience aviation up close
and personal, thanks to
o rientatio n fl ig hts, i nvolvement in search-and-rescu e
exercises, and participating in the annual Leadership Encampment at Stratton Air National Guard
Base in Scotia, where
these cadets got up close
to a C-17 Globemaster.

A special welcome to new members who
have joined Civil Air Patrol within the past
year. As I approach the completion of my
first year as commander of New York Wing, I
wish to extend a note of thanks to the Senior
and Cadet members who are actively involved

in CAP's day-to-day missions of Emergency
Services, Aerospace Education and Cadet
Program. In all parts of the state, uniformed

mernbers of CAP can be seen participating
in parades, bivouacs, veteran's events, coTot/
honor guard activities, field trips, museum
tours, orientation flights, training exercises,

leadership tra:lrring, model rocketry, Cyber
Wheels Up!

.2

Patriot, science fairs, legislative days, airport
and community events. These activities are
conducted professionally with "Safety" and
Risk Analysis at the forefront.
This past year we celebrated our heritage
through the award of the Congressional Gold
Medal to members who served CAP in World
War II. In2016 we begin the celebration of
75 years of service to America. In looking
ahead I would encourage all members to be
actively involved in all aspects of CAP including unit staffing, professional development,
emergency services, aerospace education and
aviation. Thank you for all you do!

NY WING HOSTS NER REGIONAL GOMMAND GENTER
NER.RCC TO COORDINATE FUTURE DISASTER RESPONSE
By Capt. BOB STRONACH
The Northeast Region is
preparing for the next major
disaster with the development of a Region Coordination Center (RCC) to coordinate customer tasks that
cross multi-wing boundaries.

New York Wing Headquarters at Westchester

County Airport in White
Plains was selected as one
of fwo locations to host the
NER RCC when activated,
Wing Commander Col.
Steve Perta announced.

The other location selected
was New Hampshire Wing
Headquarters at the Munici-

pal Airport in Concord, NH

Members from the Northeast Region Staff and multiple wings gathered at the New York Wing
Headquarters in 2014 to conduct a tabletop Regional Coordination Center Exercise.

(which served as the NER
command center for the Super Storm Sandy response).
Noting that large scale
disasters require prolonged
disaster relief operations

involving multiple wings
and regions, Perta said: "Lessons learned from Hurricane
Katrina and Deep Water
Horizon missions indicated
that a centralized command
concept worked best in assimilating mission tasking
and coordinating resource
deployment. This has led the
Northeast Region to develop
the RCC concept, whereby
Incident Management Teams
(IMT) would staff and operate the center on shifts."
Region Commander Co1.
D an Leclair assigned Region
Director of Operations Col.
Dave Braun with the task
of developing an operations
plan to identify the organization, staffi ng and facrliq
requirements for the coordination center. This center

when activated will assign
tasks and move assets as
needed between individual

Wings as well as draw assets
flom other CAP Regions as
necessary to meet the needs
of customers and mission
management.
Under the plan, each wing
in the Northeast Region is
charged with developing an

IMT consisting of mission
base personnel who canbe
cal1ed upon to staff and operate the RCC on arotaling
basis. These teams will be
ready to deploy within24
hours notice andfor aperiod

of up to seven days once
alerted. Wings that do not
have enough mission base
personnel to form their own

join with another
wing to form a combined

IMT

can

team.

Colonel Braun noted
that NER plans to conduct
Region-wide CAP-RCC
training events eachyear to

3.

be ready to meet future disaster tasking. Specific areas of
training will focus on:
. Training Core IMT to
operate using the techniques
and procedures in the RCC

operations plan.
. Training Wing IMTs to
operate in a centralized command and control environment during large multi-wing
missions.

. Training a cadre of Finance Section Leaders to
effectively track expenses
against aL array of accounting classifications.
The two wings selected to
host the RCC sites - New
York and New Hampshire
-- are raising a "cofe team"
(Core IMT) that will respond
for the first few operational
periods. During that period
the Core IMT Planning Section will determine a need
for augmented support from
other wings. Other wings

will raise a relief IMT for

Wheels Up!

deployment.

A Tabletop Exercise (TTX)
was conductedin2}T4 at

New York Wing Headquarters "with the purpose of
defining the techniques and
procedures to make the Region Coordination Center
operational," Perta noted.
" P articip ants fr om Northeast
Region staff, and New York,
New Jersey, Maine and New

Hampshire wings toured
facilities and reviewed and
discussed the draft. operations
plan." A similar exercise is
planned for the NH Wing
site.

"New York Wing is in the
process of adding additional
technology at its Headquarters faciliry in preparation to
serve as a Regional Coordination Center when tasked,"
he added.

The next phase of the
RCC concept willbe tested
at each selected location in
2015.

A 2.HITTER FOR MID.EASTERN GROUP
SHERIFF'S OFFICES BRIEFED AS NEW COMMANDER IS INSTALLED
ALBANY

-- Mid-Eastern

Group took advantage

Senior Member Jackie W.
Vogel (above) of Manorville
is the new Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) Otficer for the

9th Suffolk Cadet Squadron
(Westh

a

m pto n Beac h), bri n g-

ing a wealth of experience to
the position. He is an intelI i g en ce resea rc h specra/isf
at the NY Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms, and
is an $-year veteran of the
U.S. Army Reserve. He joined
CAP in 2014.

S

uffo I k

Co u

of

its March lTth Change of
Command event to provide a
Group and Wing capabilities
briefing to fwo special guests
- Greene County Sheriff
Greg Seeley, and Albany
County Sheriff 's Investigator
Lee Bormann representing

its Critical Incident-Emergency Management Office.
"Both were invited to a
presentation on the CAPa-

bilities of the Mid-Eastern
Group and NY Wing. in-

Wing Commander Col. Steve Perta swears-in Maj. Susan Neal.

cluding assets and manpower to request CAP services and
plus technology that we have the MOU process.
Neal added: "We were
av allable," noted former
Group Commander Lt. Col. able to combine a scheduled
Sean Nea1. Wing Command- training mission with some
sample work of Albany
er Col. Steve Perta led the
briefing, which included how Counry over the weekend

nty Leg i sl ato r

Tom Muratore (4th Legislative
District) was inducted into

the CivilAir Patrol Legislative Squadron last A,ugust.
Col. Jack Ozer, former Wing
commander, and Lt. Col. Pat
Magee, Wing vice commander
south, presented Muratore
with a Legislative membership and the grade of major.
The ceremony took place
as paft of the Suffolk Cadet
Squadron 10 weekly meeting
at lslip MacArthur Airport,
Ronkonkoma, NY. Also present for the ceremony were Lt.
Col. Michael Mooney, Long
lsland Group commander, and
Lt. Col. Ben Nodar, Wing govern ment rel ati o n s assistant
After the ceremony, Muratore
toured the facility and spoke
with CAP cadets.

Maj. Susan Neal at podium during part of capabilities briefing.

Sheriff Greg Seeley (left) and lnvestigator Lee Bormann (riSht).
Wheels

Up!.4

of 21-22 March. We expect
to do the same for Greene

Counfy in the near future."
The briefing followed the

installation of Maj. Susan
Neal as group commander.

GADETS ATTEND LEGISLATIVE DAY IN D.C.

..,'&
€-**i
e fiF-

*,

5€-:
:i

By Lt. Co1. DIANE WOJTOWICZ

*

Each February, the Civil
Air Patrol conducts its Winter National Command
Council, Senior Advisory
Group, and Cadet Advisory
Council meetings in Washington, D.C. These activities
are held in conjunction with

the CAP's anrual Legislative
Day on Capitol Hill where

adult and cadet members
visit their elected representatives to discuss CAP's missions and activities.
Nicholas Krupa
This year New York Wing
National Cadet NCO of Year participants included: Cadet Lt. Col. Meghan Duell,

CENTRAL NY'S
KRUPA IS TOP
CADET NGO

Cadet 1st Lieutenant Krystin
Stewart, Cadet Senior Master Sergeant Rebecca Hartman, along with Lt. Col. Bill
Hughes, Lt. Col. Diane Wojtowicz, Major Brian Benedict, Captain Valerie Duell,
Lt. Col. Thomas Carello, Lt.
Col. John Jones, and New
York Wing Commander
Colonel Steven Perta.
Cadets Duell and Parker
visited various Congressional
Representatives along with
Wing Commander Colonel
Perta. Cadets Stewart and
Hartman visited the offices
of: Congressman Higgins,

Collins, Slaughter, Stefanik
and Reed, accompanied by
Major Benedict, Captain Duell and Lt. Col. Wojtowicz.
As a special activiry Cadets
Duell and Stewart, along
with Major Benedict, were
able to tour the Pentagon on
Thursday evening with fellow CAP member Lt. Col.
Falvo (USAF) who is stationed there.
The cadets attended the

morning session of the CAP
National Command Council
on Friday, and then visited
various sites in Washington

well as the National
and Space Museum.
as

Air

GADET RECEIVES EAKER AWARD DURING D.C. VISIT
By Lt. Col.

Three members of Central
New York Group received
awards for their perfor-

Cadet Major Andrea Parker,

DIANE WOJTOWICZ

Cadet Lt. Col. Meghan
Duell received her Gen.
Ira C. Eaker Award from

mance, training and profesCongressman Chris Collins
sional development.
during a visit to his office in
Cadet Master Sgt. NichoWashington, D.C. on Feb.26
las Krupa received anational
withNYWing Commander
CAP honor, being named the
Col. Steven Perta.
2014 Air Force Sergeants AsShe was in Washington
sociation Cadet NCO of the
to participate in the annual
Year. The cadet is with F.R.
Sussey Composite Squadron

(NY-408) in Oswego.
Wing Commander Col.
Steve Perta presented the

award at January's Group

Staff meeting at Hancock
Air National Guard Base.
Perta also presented the:

. Grover Loening Award
for completion of Level III
of the Senior Member Professional Development Program to Maj. Shawn M. Her-

Legislative Day, where CAP
members visit elected representatives in Congress.

The General Ira C. Eaker
Award recognizes comple-

tion of all 16 achievements
in the cadet program.
Less than l% of all cadets
earn the Eaker award and on
average only 200 cadets earn

this award in ayear.

Congressman Chris Collins, Cadet Lt. Col. Meghan Duell
and Wing Commander Col. Steve Perta.

rmann of Mohawk-Griffiss

NYG GROUP REGETVES ${0,000 GRANT
New York City Group has operational costs and also to done in the name of general

Senior Squadron (NY- 1 56)

received one

in Rome.
. Gill Robb Wilson Award
for completion of Level V to
Maj. Robert R. Ormsbee of
Fort Drum-Watertown Composite Squadron (NY-406).

of ten2014 assist its cadetprogram and
"Giving Back" grants for
help New York City inner$10,000 announced by the city youth understand and

Aircraft. Owners and Pilots appreciate aviation.
Association Foundation. "The Giving Back grants
The New York City Group arethe foundation's way of
plans to use the money for
recognizingthe good that is

5.

Wheels Up!

aYiation," said Jim Minow,
AOPA foundation president.
"These individuals and organizations provide a variety

of services and benefits
to their communities, all

through aviation."

17 TEAMS GOMPETE IN GYBERPATRIOT
By CaPt, CHARLES ERCKERT

III

This past year,lT teams
from New York Wing competed in the CyberPatriot
National Youth Cyber Education Program's National
Youth Cyber Defense competition in locations across
the state. The teams were
comprised of high school
aged students from different
schools and Civil Air Patrol
squadrons.
After the two regular
rounds, teams were divided
into three different Tiers
Platinum, where teams still
had a chance at the National
finals, Gold and Silver. During the State Round, where
teams competed based on
their tier, five NY Wing
teams competed in the Platinum tier, four in the Gold
and fwo in the Silver tier.
Two of the five teams took
first and second in the State
with the First Place team
adv ancing to the Category
Round in Platinum while one
team in Gold and two teams
in Silver also advanced to
the category round in their
respective Tiers. For the
top three in each tier, CAP

2 New York Wing Teams Grab
Top Spots in State Cyber Round
Two NY Wing teams were awarded 1st and 2ndPTace
in NY State for the CyberPatriot competition.
lst Place went to Captainluke C. Wullenwaber
Squadron coached by Steven Schiher. The team scored
high enough to be one of the top six Civil Air Patrol
teams going to the Platinum tier category round.
2ndPlace went to the Western NY Group 1 Team
coached by Charles Erckert IiI.
Other teams went on to the Category round in January

in the Gold and Silver tiers.
In Gold, Western NY Group 2Teamwent to the category round after finishing lst in NY State, 1st in Civil
Air Patrol and2nd Overall in the Gold tier.
In Silver, Western NY Group Teamwent to the category round after finishing 1st in NY State, 1st in CAP
and2nd Overall in the Silver tier, as well as another
team, Mohawk-Griffiss Squadron, that finished 2ndin
NY State, 2ndin CAP and l2th overaTl in the Silver tier.

-

took both lst and 2ndin all
of them. Advancing into
Category round is based on
all CAP teams in the nation

and only the Platinum teams
were able to place in the
three for the State recognition round and are receiving

top

State

certificates.

During the Category round
in January, New York Wing

have eight teams in fwo and
seven teams in one. The one
NY Wing Platinum team fi.nished in Tthplace while the
Gold team finished in2nd.
The two silver teams finished
in 1st and 6th. The one Gold
and one Silver team are each
receiving a category certificate for placingin the top 3.
So out of the nine category awards won between
the three category tiers, NY
Wing took 2 out of a possible 4.

in
at
the
category
of
in
one
in Gold, allowing CAP to

had one team compete
the Platinum tier, one
the Gold tier andfwo at
Silver tier. For the
round, CAP earned two
the six wild card spots
Platinum and Silver and

je

j

Aaron Dostie
Outstanding Cadet of Year

CENTRAL NY
GROUP TAPS
3 CADETS
OF YEAR
SYRACUSE

-

Central

New York Group is honoring
three cadets of the year for
2014, Groltp Commander Lt.
Col. John Jones announced.
They are:
. Outstanding Cadet of the
Year: C/Capt. Aaron Dostie,

NY-162.
. Cadet Officer of the Year:
C / 2d Lt. Kimball Henderson, NY-406.

. Cadet NCO of the Year:
C/MSgt. Benjamin Miller,
NY-162.
"This year, in addition to
the Cadet Officer of the Year

NY WING RECEIVES
Col. Steven Perta accepted
two awards on behalf of New
York Wing at the National Conference and Command Council
Meeting from outgoing National

and Cadet NCO of the Year
awards, we decided to add a
third award for Outstanding
Cadet of the Year," Jones

noted. "That award recipient
was chosen by the board from
all the submitted packages."
Members of the Cadet of
the Year Board included: Lt.
Col. Dean Anderson, Lt.
Col. William Shafer, and
Maj. Shawn Herrmann.

Commander Major General
Charles Carr (1) and New National Commander Major General Joseph Vasquez. One was
the Northeast Region Aerospace
Award and the other was the
Northeast Region Excellence in
Disaster Relief Award.
Wheels Up!

.6

SEARGH FOR MISSING AIRGRAFT FOCUS OF TRAINING
187 MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN NOVEMBER SEARCH-AND-RESCUE EXERCISE
ByLt. Col. ANITAMARTIN
ALBANY - New York
Wing conducted a search-andrescue exercise in November

looking for a mock aicraft
that went missing somewhere
befween Buffalo and Long
Island.

Twenly seven members of
the Capital Region's Middle
Eastern Group participated in
the weekend exercise, working out of a mission base at

Albany International Airport.
Other mission bases were set
up across the state, with a total
of 187 members f,rom nine
groups being tasked to coordinate a quick search response
with both aircrews and ground

lncident Commander Trainee Capt. Linda Sheridan, CAP, briefs members of Middle Eastern
Group on details of the search-and-rescue exercise.

teams.

The training scenario had
Air Force Rescue Coordinarion Center (AFRCC)
contacting New York Wing to
begin a search-and-rescue operation for a missing Buffalo
atcraft.. The pilot was schedthe

uled to fly to Westhampton
Beach with stops at Rochester,
Rome and White Plans. A
fliend of the pilot called Buf-

falo to see if the aircrafthad
left since it had not arrived at
its destination.

New York Wing conducts
such exercises several times a
year to trajn and make sure its
members are qualified to perform in real-life emergencies
as well as to provide seamless
coordination between mis-

sion bases and air and ground
teams. In the November exercise, teams successfully found

the simulated downed plane
after tracking the expected
flight path and conducting air
search grids.

NY JETS GIVE VIP TREATMENT TO BROOME.TIOGA SQUADRON
Cadets from the BroomeTioga Composite Squadron
NY-292 in Binghamton
have provided a color guard

for the opening ceremonies
at rwo NY Jets exhibition
games at Met Life stadium
in the Meadowlands in New
Jersey during the past two
pre-seasons.

On Sunday, July 27 the
Iets organrzation invited the
cadets to watch a practice
game and meet some of the
players at SIINY Cortland
in upstate New York. Twelve
members of the squadron
were given VIP treatment.

NYJefs took CAP members aside for special autograph signing.

Upon arriving the CAP
members were escorted to
the VIP tent and bleachers.
The cadets enjoyed a brunch
buffet. After the practice

many of the players walked and the VIPs.
along the practice freldbar- The CAP members, howricade to sign autographs for ever, were ushered out on
the Meet and Greet crowd to the practice field and the
7

. Wheels Up!

players signed their items
before going over to the VIP
area.It was a day to remember.

SEARCH TEAM FINDS DISTRESS BEACON AT UPS FACILITY
By Capt. BOB STRONACH
SYRACUSE -- A UPS
facility in Syracuse last
November got a surprise
evening visit from a Civil
Air Patrol search-and-rescue
team lookingfor an emergency locator beacon (ELT)
that the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center
(AFRCC) was tracking after

from pilots and air trafftc

New York Wing search team met with UPS managers after tracking a distress beacon to the Syracuse
facility. From left are: UPS Security Manager Mark Kellish; First Lt. Mark Swing, CAP; UPS Transportation Manager Lucia Camarda; Maj. Earl Holdren lll, CAn and CAP Cadet Capt. Brian Williams.

control.
The distress beacon, like
an airbag, is activated automatically when a plane goes
down.

facility it was like looking
for a candle in a house of
mirrors with metal trailers,
walls, machinery and a high

The reports of the distress
signal were in the vicinity of
the Syracuse International

level of activity. There were
109 semi-trailer bays alone
where trucks were loading

receiving multiple reports

Force Base in Florida.
UPS management forwarded the information
about the ELT to the Oneonta faclliry. The following day

Airport. An aircrew from

or unloading, not to mention

alocal delivery driver with
apackage from that ftaller
made a delivery to a custom-

Syracuse was launched to

the fleet of local delivery

er at the Sidney Airport.

help pinpoint the signal. With
guidance from the aircrew
above, a ground team led by

trucks."

"The local delivery driver
told the customer about the
ELT signal that had been

Maj. Earl Holdren from Fulton arrived near a UPS facility. Major Holdren noted that
the aircrew "did a fantastic
job putting us on the target
and communicating via CAP
VHF" while maneuvering in
close proximity to Hancock
International Airport.
"This was a great help as
it quickly put us where we
had a strong signal," Holdren said. "Once in the UPS

The beacon was traced to a
UPS trailer that was headed
for Oneonta, NY. As the trailer was due to depart shortly
and as it was nearly ful1, it
was deemed impractical to
offload the truck and locate
the exact package. With the
help of UPS management
on site, the exact times, route
and destination information about the trailer were
obtained and relayed back to
the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air

traced to the Syracuse facil-

ity and asked if he could
please open the package,"
Holdren said. "Upon opening the package, it was found
to contain an ELT and it was
turned ON." It was deactivated and the driver reported
the find to management, he
said. "The ELT had been
shipped from a company
that appar ently makes ELT
batteries, according to the

UPS manager. He said that
UPS corporate would likely
fol1ow-up with them about
propff shipping of an ELT
so as to avoid furure disruptions. While he found the
whole thing very interesting,
it did create a distraction
that they would rather not
repeat."

Central New York Group
Commander Lt. Col. John
Jones praised the air and
ground crews for "stepping
up on really short notice"
when the Air Force tasked
CAP's New York Wing with
the search mission.
In addition to Holdren,
the ground team included
First Lt. Mark Swing and
Cadet Capt. Brian Williams.
The air crew consisted of
Lt. Col. Dean Anderson, Lt.
Col. Tom Carello, and Maj.

GAP'S REV. WILLIAMS.HARRIS
IS NEWEST NYPD CHAPLAIN
New York Wing's Rev. Dr. Barbara WilliamsHarris is the newest member of the New York Police
Department Chaplains Unit.
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton welcomed
her to the unit Sept. 13, describing the unit as "always there for our members." He said her promotion to department chaplain was effective Sept. 29.
Capt. (Chaplain) William-Harris has served as
a CAP chaplain on the squadron, group and wing
levels.

Commissioner William Bratton welcomes Chaplain Barbara Williams-Harris.
Wheels

Up!,8

AGADEMY PREPARES GADETS, ADULTS FOR GROUND TEAM ROLES

Trainees practice first aid and CPR at the NY Wing Search-and-Rescue Training Academy.

By 2nd Lt. NELKA COTTO

30 cadet and senior member

mental principles and concepts of Emergency Services.
what equipment is required,
and how to use the equipment.
Trainees learn how to build
improvised shelters, employ
safe fire building practices,

trainees from five different

and obtain CPR and

LONG ISLAND -The
New York Wing Search-andRescue Training Academy

(SARTAC) put more than

Groups through various levels
ol emergency services training during its annual summer
session in August.
The week-long academy at
Sears Bellow Park on Long
Island featured five different levels of training -- from
Ground Team Member Level
3 through Ground Team Leader and even Ground Branch
Director.
SARTAC Director Maj.
Josh Lebenns notes that the
academy challenges trainees

physically, mentally and socially, allowing them to hone
skills, build teamwork and
spur dedication to the mission

while emphasizing CAP Core
Values and promoting esprit
de corps.

SARTAC offers basic,
advanced, expert and master
GSAR (Ground Search and
Rescue) training.

The "Basic GSAR Training
School" focuses on funda-

FirstAid

certifi cations, amalgamating
the CAP Ground Team Member Level 3 qualification with
that of NASAR Q.{ational
Association for Search and
Rescue), American Red Cross,
and NY State Department of
Environmental Conservation

training.
The "Advanced GSAR
Training School" builds upon
the basics and emphasizes

land navigating and survival
techniques, promoting unassisted mission deployment
for up to 48 hours. Graduates
qualifz as a Ground Team
Member Level 2.
The "Expefi GSAR Training School" is a rigorous
course that takes place in
the field more than in the
classroom. It was conducted
under the watchful eye of
a SARTAC alumnus, AlC
Ian Kuhn, USAF. who is a
Survival, Evasion, Resistance
and Escape (SERE) Special-

9.

ist Instructor with the 106th
Rescue Wing of the NYAir
National Guard. "It's great
to be back!" saidAlC Kuhn,
who attributes his success as a
SERE instructor to his humble
beginnings as a SARIAC
instructor. A1C Kuhn specifically tailored the expert
course to adhere to the CAP
Ground Team Member Level
1 curriculum, as well as extra
knowledge that would help
them on future missions.
The "Master GSAR Training School" takes all the
skills previously leamed from
basic, advanced, and expert
to elevate the trainee to a
Ground Team Leader position. By leading a ground
team through the simulated

missions, the trainees leam
to apply all of their training
and skills to meet goals and
objectives, and use innovative
strategies and resources to
lead and complete missions.
Ground Team Leader graduates are invited back each year
to participate as an "Assistant

Training Instructor" (AII).
AIls are tasked and guided by
"Lead Training Instructors,"
aka "Black Hat Instructors."
AIIs that prove themselves ca-

Wheels Up!

pable and competent instructors after having attended two
Academy training sessions in
such capacity may earn their
Black Hat, the highest honor a
staff member can achieve.

SARTAC Director Major
Lebenns awarded black hats

to C/Maj. Samael O'Brien
and C/lst Lt. Mitchell Klass
and welcomed them into
SARTAC's exclusive Lead
Training Instructor group.

C/CMSgt. Coryn Porter
was named Most Motivated

Trainee and C/CMSgt. Brenna Chen was named Most

Inspiring Trainee.
Major Lebenns was assisted by 1st Lt. Tyler Mealey
(Planning Section Chie|;
Capt. David Collins (Operations Section Chief); Capt.
Stephanie Collins (Resource

Unit Leader): Lead Training
Instructors

AlC

Ian Kuhn,

Capt. David Cotto and Capt.
Jason Somers; Support Staff
and Public Affairs Officer 2nd

Lt. Nelka Cotto.
2015
1Oth

will

be SARIAC's

anniversary having

trained over 400 CAP and
Non-CAP personnel from
over five different Wings and

two Regions.

6 GADETS SOLO AT ENCAMPMENT FLIGHT AGADEMY
By Col. STEVEN PERTA

It has often been asked,
"When does a person become a Pilot ?" I believe
that allwill agree that the
milestone achievement of a
"First Solo" is the day that
marks a person's achievement of commanding an
aircraft alone and without
the help of others, thus beingrecognized as a pilot. Al1

six cadets of the 2014 New
York Wing Flight Academy
achieved this. They are:
. C/Col. Luke Bickley
. C/Maj. Andrea Parker

Capt Roger Teck with as-

Lt. Col James
Piersonn. To Lt. Co1. Diane
sistance from

Wojtowicz, Lt. Col. Bill
Hughes and the Flight Acad((Job
emyWell Done".

. C/lst Lt. Kristyn Stewart
. C/1st Lt. Paul Dowty
, C/2nd Lt. Alexandar Knecht
. C/CMSgt. Brianna Pichey
These cadets achieved this
milestone under the training

of Flight Instructors Col Jack
O zer, Maj Brian Benedict,

Cadets Luke Bickley and Andrea Parker with Maj. Brian Benedict.

Cadefs Kristyn Stewart and Alexander Knecht with Col. Jack Ozer.; Cadets Brianna Pichey and Paul Dowty with Capt. Roger Teck.

1OO

GRADUATE FROM LEADERSHIP ENCAMPMENT

Some 100 first-time cadet
attendees completed the
2014 New York Wing Leadership Encampment last
July at Stratton Air National
Guard Base in Scotia. Plus
all six cadets in the encampment's Flight Academy
soloed.

'A moving graduation
ceremony along with a
Pass and Review" capped
the weekJong event, noted

Wing Commander Co1. Steven Perta.

'A sincere note of thanks
and congratulations is extended to Lt. Col. Charles
Mi1ler, encampment commander, and the dedicated
senior and cadet staff of
the Leadership Encampment, and to Lt. Col. Diane
Wojtowicz, Flight Academy
director and the dedicated
Flight Academy staff."

The encampment agenda

included leadership, problem solving, physical fitness,
fl ight orient ation, char acter
development, and aerospace
education activities.
After visiting the encampment, National Depury Director for Cadet Programs
Curt LaFond praised the
New York Wing program,

noting in a letter: "Boy, the
Scotia facility is incredible.

You guys have built a tremendous relationship with
the Air Guard. It's hard for
me to find something constructive to say on how to
improve your program. It's
fundamentally sound every
way you look at it."
Because the encampment
is so worthwhile, he encouraged the wing to try to get
as many cadets through the
program as possible.

LEFT: Cadets line up in prepartion for graduation. RIGHT: Getting to see the inside of Air National Guard aircraft was a hightlight for cadets.

Wheels

Up!.10

ROCHESTER SQUADRON VISITS WASHINGTON
FROM WAR MONUMENTS TO AIR & SPACE MUSEUM TO ARLINGTON
by C/CMSgt DAVID

MADIGAN

ry

Rochester Composite
Squadron in August took

its annual trip to Washington D.C. Ten Cadets were
chosen to participate. Over
the weekend, we saw many
of sites that Washington has

to offer.
Perhaps the most sobering was our visit to the
Korean War and WW II
monuments. Both of these
sites showed just how many

American soldiers have
sacrificed for the sake of our

country, and just how much
they continue to sacrifice.
These monuments helped us
realize what freedom means,
andthat it is truly not free.

After visiting these areas we
had the pleasure of meet-

ing a group of Honor Flight
soldiers. It was amazing to
meet them and to shake their
hands and to thank them
for their service to thrs great
country.
In addition to the serious
side of our trip, we were also
able to see the Smithsonian
National Museum of American History. It gave us a
picture of our American heritage. We visited the Smithsonian, Udvar-Hazy Air and
Space Museum, where we
had the privilege of getting a
guided tour from retired Air
Force pilot Col. Joe Kinego.
Colonel Kinego has over 900
hours on the SR-71 aircraft.
We took the subway to the
National Mall, where we saw
the Washington Monument,
the Lincoln memorial, and
the reflecting pool. We then
drove to Mount Vernon, and
sat on George Washington's

-*#
{":ti

'""

i
)

:
I

r_:<i€

Rochester cadets at World War ll monument.

front lawn.
Lastly, we drove out to

visit one of the most sacred places in this country,
Arlington National Cemetery. Four cadets (Noah
Fargo, Devonte Johnson,
David Madigan and Julia
Mcmaster) had the honor of
laying a wreath at the Tomb
of the Unknowns. This was
one of the most humbling

experiences. Seeing the prectsion and dedication of the
tomb guards gaYe a feeling

Capozz\ Josiah
Fargo,

of humiiity beyond words,
and it was by far my favor-

Heroux, Francis C/Smsgt

ite stop on the entire trip. I
highly recommend that every
squadron visit Washington
D.C., to get an idea of what
Civil Air Patrol represents.
Squadron members who

Knapp, Sierra

made the trip were:

Johnson, Devonte C/SrA

Mcmaster, Julia C/lLt
Nickelson, Ryan C/SrA

Zappia,Peter C/A1c
Rocco, Laurie Major
Gleason, Jeffrey Capt.

l

will! That is success rn my
book."
Dr. Laurie'A. Rocco;.,[najo.r;

squadron

Cadefs march to Tomb of the Unknowns, escorted by a Tomb guard.
11

. Wheels Up!

C/Alc

Madigan, David C/SMSgt

say that this crosses off
many items on my bucket
list and I am so very proud

-

Noah C/MSgt

Graham, Nicholas C/SSgt

"This trip is so very important... I will know that I have
helped to raise greatfuture
American citizens who now
have a great appreciation
for the United Sfafes of
America. I guess you could

to be a member of this amazing organization! One of the
cadets sfafed on the trip
back home that he fett tike
he got ta experience things
that most Americans never

C/Alc

ANOTHER IBULL'S EYE' FOR RIFLES/ROPES BIVOUAG
learn to trust each other and

By Capt. JOHN C. JENSEN

push themselves."

LAFAYETTE, NY

A Cessna 172wrth a crew

-

Senior members and cadets

of three conducted air-to-

from around New York

ground communications with
Bivouac participants. Radios,
mirrors, and symbols were
used to communicate with
the aircraft. Aerial photo-

gathered at Adam's Eden

Camp in Onondaga Counfy
from27 through 29 Jwe,
2014, }ust south of Syracuse
for the fourth installment of
the New YorkWing Rifles
and Ropes Bivouac.
Some 93 members participated in a split course that
included the choice of either
a challenging high and low
ropes course or the chance to
qualiff as an National Rifle

Association (NRA) marksman with the .22 rifle.

graphs of the campsite were
taken as part of the exercise.

Maj. Matt Mallory, deputy
commander of Central New
York Group and former
commander of Syracuse

Cadet is congratulated by CAP and NRA instructors after completing the Rifles Course.

A total of 54 sfudents took
the Rifles course. The vast
majority qualified after two
and a half days of training
and tar get shooting. NRA

handling and firing a rifle
are things they will take with
them and remember for the
rest of their lives," said Capt.
Glenn Gabriele, Rifle Course

instructors conducted much

of the training with the assistance of CAP staff. Groups
rotated to the range with 10
students shooting at atime.
"The fundamentals taught.

commander.
For 21 members, the adventure and challenge of the
Ropes Course made for an
exciting weekend. Instead of
taking to the air in a Cessna

and safe attitude toward

17

2, these participants took

Cadet Squadron, served as
overall commander of the
bivouac and coordinated
both courses with the help of
C aptain Gabriele and Lieu-

flight powered by fellow
CAP members. The course
included a " fly ing squirrel"

tenant Falbo. Major Mallory
assembled ateam of 18 staff

The Ropes Course gave
both adults and cadets "the
opportunity to grow as

The Rifles and Ropes Bivouac has been growing from
year to year. For details on
how to get involved as a student or part of the staff, visit
rifl esandropes. org for details.

from across the Wing, with a
and a " zip-7ine" among other majority coming from Central New York and Finger
obstacles the cadets needed
Lakes Groups.
to overcome together.

individuals and as members
of ateam," 1st Lt. Joel Falbo
said. "Most importantly they

GAP PILOT SPOTS DOWNED AIRDRAFT TN WESTERN NEW YORK
to spot. The downed pilot
"was trapped in the cockpit."
Emergency personnel extri-

By Capt. BOB STRONACH
GASPORT - New York
Wing pilot Capt. Robert
Wantuck was on aproftciency flight near Royalton
Airport in western New York
on July 5 when the airport's
TINICOM station asked
for assistance in locating a
downed light-sport aicraft..
'After several orbits I was
able to spot the wreckage" in
a heavily wooded area just
south of the airport, Wantuck

-year-old p1lot,
who was conscious, and
taken by Mercy Flight to Erie
County Medical Center for
ffeatment of multiple injuries,
cated the

79

Niagara County Sheriff's Office told news media.
The sheriff's office said
the small, two-seater crashed
shortly after takeoff andthat
trees cushioned the plane's

Capt. Robert Wantuck

said. He notified emergency
personnel who were conduct-

"The stand of trees and
foliage were so thick," he
said, it would have been dif-

ing a ground search.

ficult for ground searchers
Wheels

descent.

A backhoe was used

to clear apath about 150
yards into the woods so the
pilot (John Schnabel) could

Up!.12

be carried out. (He died in the
hospital 11 days later.)
"What was a practice session turned out to be the real
thing," said Captain Wantuck,
who was doing a practice sec-

tor search.
During a recent SAREX he
became aware that funding was
available for mission pilot proficienry. "Had it not been for the
training made available, I may
not have been flying that day;'
In addition to being a mission pilot, Captain Wantuck is
the aerospace education officer
for Niagara Frontier Senior
Squadron (NY-343).

NY WING SPOTLIGHTS TOP PERFORMERS
LAKE GEORGE

--

New

York Wing turned the
spotlight onto some of its
top performers during the

2074Wing Conference at
Lake George, honoring highachieving members and units
with a wide range of awards.

Two 70-year members
who joined Civil Air Patrol
during World War II received
special recognition for their
longevity of service - Lt.
Col. Frank Crisci, a member
since June 28,1944, and
Col. Johnnie Pantanelii, a
member since Dec. 28,1944.
Recognized with awards
were:
. Senior Member of the
Year - Capt. Richard Ware,

ABOVE: Cadet Maj. Benjamin Pfuhl, Cadet of the Year, with Lt. Col. Stephen Samuels (left),
Wing Cadet Programs director, and Col. Jack Ozer, outgoing wing commander.
BELOW: Capt. Richard Ware, Senior Member of the Year, with outgoing Wing Commander Col.
Jack Ozer. Photos by Maj. Robeft Elwood.

. Professional
Development Officer of the
Year - Maj. Robert Ormsbee,
Central New York Group

commander, Lt. Anthony L.
Willsea Cadet Squadron.
. Cadet Noncommissioned

Chief Master Sgt. Nicholas
Krupa, F.R. Sussey

and Fort Drum-Watertown
Composite Squadron.
. Wing Staff Officer of the
Year - Maj. Brian Benedict,

Composite Squadron.

standardization/ evaluation

. Cadet of the Year Cadet Maj. Benjamin Pfuhl,

offlrcer.

cadet commander, Suffolk
Cadet Squadron.

of the Year - NY City Group.
Quality Unit Awards:

Offlrcer of the Year

-

Cadet

. Squadron Of Merit

*

Suffolk Cadet Squadron 10,
commanded by lst Lt. Frank

Zarharas.

. Senior Chaplain of the
Year - Lt. Col. BarbaraY.
Williams, wing staff.
. Squadron Chaplain of
the Year - Capt. Andrew R.
Hart, Long Island Group.

.

Char acter D evelopment

Instructor of the Year - Lt.
Col. Janet Schachner, TAK
Composite Squadron.
. Cadet Program Officer

of the Year - Capt. Michele
A. Renneberg, Leroy R.
Grumman Cadet Squadron.
. Check Pilot of the Year
- Capt. Roger Teck, Mid-

. Empire Award for Group

Eastern Group.
. Most Cadet Orientation
Flights - Long Island Group.
. Aviation Excellence
Propeller Award for Most
Hours Flown * South
Central Group.
. Communicator of the
Year - lst Lt. Bruce Koppe,
wing staff and Rochester
Senior Squadron.
. Outstanding Emergency
Services Program - MidEastern Group.
. Aerospace Education
Officer of the Year - Capt.
Andrew Woodbridge,
Floyd Bennett Composite
Squadron and New York
City Group.

. Inspector of the Year
lst Lt. William McCauley,

wing staff.
. Safety Officer of the
Capt. Thomas Szekely,
Phoenix Composite Squadron.

Year

-

. Counterdrug Officer
Award - Finger Lakes
Group.
. Drug Demand Reduction
Officer of the Year * Lt. Col.
Judith Hewett, wing and
Northeast Region staff.
. Legislative Offlrcer of the
Year - Lt. Col. Benjamin
Nodar, wing staff and
Suffolk Cadet Squadron.
. Logistics Officer of the

Year-

1st

Lt. John McKellaE

Finger Lakes Group.

13. Wheels Up!

. Batavia Composite

Squadron.

. Broome-Tioga
Composite Squadron.
. Orion Composite
Squadron.
. Rochester Composite
Squadron.

. Williamson Composite
Squadron.

. Brian M. Mooney Cadet
Squadron.

. Leroy R. Grumman
Cadet Squadron.

.

Lt. Anthony L. Willsea

Cadet Squadron.
. Southtowns Cadet
Squadron.

. Suffolk Cadet Squadron

10.

NY WWII MEMBER AGGEPTS GOLD MEDAL FOR GAP
WASHINGTON, D.C. --

!1

World War II New York Wing
pilot Lester Wolff accepted the
Congressional Gold Medal on
behalf of the Civil Air Patrol
in a Dec. 10th ceremony on

*i:

f.i

CapitolHi1l. Wolff, a former
U.S. congressman, was among

46 founding CAP members at
the ceremony.

During WWII more than
200,000 CAP volunteers
helped protect U.S. shipping
against German U-boat attacks and carried out other vi- Lesfor Wolff accepts Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of the Civil Air Patrol from Speaker of the
House John Boehner. At left is CAP National Commander Maj. Gen. Joe Vazquez. At right are other
tal wartime domestic missions.
Congressional leaders (then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McSpeaker of the House John
Connell, Rep. Michael McCaul, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Photo / U.S. Congress.
Boehner presented the medal
. Phyllis Fay Young of
to Wolff and CAP National They also escorted more than
Some otherWWII members
Commander Maj. Gen. Joe 5,600 convoys and reported from NY Wing:
Scio, NY. She was a cadet in
. Col. Johnnie Pantanelli of the newly formed Wellsville
Yazqtez.
17 floating mines, 36 bodies,
Wolff noted that the Coastal 91 ships in distress and 363 White Plains. After serving in Squadron at Wellsville AirPatrol mission "began in the survivors in the water.
the Marine Corps, she joined port from 1942 to 1944.
. Jack Arthur Jr., who
dark days following Pe arlHarIn all, 65 CAP members lost CAP in l944andneverleft. A
joined at 15 and trained at
bor, when submarines were their lives in the line of dury by squadron she commanded for
sinking oil tankers within sight the end of the war, including decades now bears her name. Mitchell Fie1d, Long Island.
. Lt. Col. Frank Crisci, a His experience led him to
of East Coast cities."
26 Co astal Patrol participants.
"For 18 months we pa- Along with the 46 members member since June 28,1944. become an Army pilot flying
. Wallace Higgins of Alfred the Stinson L-5 Sentinel and
trolled the Atlantic and Gulf present, more than 50 other
coasts hunting submarines, pioneering CAP members Station. He was a cadet in Cessna L-I9 Bird Dog as a
escorting thousands of ships were represented by family Rochester until he turned 18 cartographer in post-World
and searching for aftack sur- members - including the sons when he enlisted in the U.S. War II Germany. He later
vivors," said Wolff, who flew of NYWing's Glen Cookof Army Air Corps and went on returned to NY Wing, active
out of Coast Patrol Base 17 East Greenbush.
to become a Tuskegee Airman. until he was in his 70s.
. Lt. Col. Clive Goodwin . Isaac W. Burnham II of
at Riverhead, NY "...The fact
The gold medal is to be
thatwe were armedwith small placed on permanent display Jr., who joined h 1942. He Scarsdale.
. Paul C. Halstead of Cinbombs indicates just how seri- in the Smithsonian Institution. flew missions out of Cortland
ous the threat was."
Three-inch bronze replicas are Municipal Airport. He re- cinnatus.
. Harvey C. Rousseau of
Coastal Patrol pilots spotted being presented to veterans mains active inNorth Carolina
173 U-boats and attacked5T. and families.
Macedon.
Wing.

At the Gold Medal ceremony, Lt. Col. Sean Neal of Mid-Eastern Group
poses with Robert Cook (l) and David Coo& sons of ltrlWll CAP pilot
Glen Cook of East Greenbush, NY. Photo by Ma| Robert Elwood.
Wheels

Wallace Higgins

Up!.14

Col. J oh

n

nie Pantanel I i

Celebrating 50 Years of New York Wing's
Jame.s. Burr Reddrg Cadet of the Year Award
THts sectiog

,ug.!lt

,'

Lt. Col. Thomas Vreeland was the first Cadet of the Year - 1965.

{965

Institute. Tom went on

Lt. Col. Thomas
Vreeland, CAP

earn his Spaatz and

Tom Vreeland joined CAP

in1960.In1965, he was
a cadet major in Yonkers
Composite Squadron when
he received the first Captain
James Burr Reddig Memori-

al Cadet of the Year Award,
at the Wing Conference at
the Waldorf Astoria in New
York City.
He had participated in
the International Air Cadet
Exchange the prior year,
earned his observer wings,
was very active in searchand-rescue operations, and
was a college freshman
at Rensselaer Polytechnic

to

Falcon

Awards, atterrded the

first

CAP National Staff Co1lege, and was founder and
became Squadron Commander of Westchester Cadet Squadron #1.
He worked for 20 years
in the U.S. Government and
the military, serving in U.S.

Army Civil Affairs units and
in the 19th Special Forces
Group. After that for the
next 15 years he had his
own advanced technology
companies. He authored 11
technical books.
For the last 15 years he
was a teacher and professor,
and worked in non-profits

on educational technology,

The NY Wing Cadet of the YearAward is named after
Capt. James "Burr" Reddig, a former CAP member and
Strategic Air Gommand (SAC) bomber pilot. He died in
February 1965 in the North Atlantic after a KC-135 refueling tanker blew up, taking his bomber down with it. His
body was found the next day in the cold ocean, floating
in his life preserver and attached to an inflatable raft.
His father, CAP Lt. Col. James C. Reddig, was director of
emergency services for NY Wing at the time.

15, Wheels Up!

cyber-security, atd philanthropy. Currently he is director of the Vreeland Institute.
Lt. Col. Vreeland served
as director of information
technology for New York
Wing, director of the CAP
Advanced Technology
Group, and on National HQ
staff as advanced technology program officer.

1967

1971

1972

1973

Frank C. Pirz

Col. (Dr.) Sharon
Falkenheier, USAF(ret)

Lt. Col. Patrick J.
Magee, CAP

Suzanne (Rapp) Strauss

Sharon A. ("Shari")
Falkenheimer, MD, MPH,
MA, earned her MD from
the State University of
New York Upstate Medical
College, Syracuse, in 1978.
She is board certified in
Aerospace Medicine. Dr.

Pat Magee joined Bronx
Cadet Squadron 2 in 1967,
attended seven NY Wing
encampments and was the
cadet encampment commander at Stewart AFS,

Newburgh in 197 2. He participated in the I97 7 Interna-

her father, Lt. Col. Wilson
Rapp (USAF), Suzanne was
a member for approximately
seven years -- six years as
a cadet in the Rochester
Cadet Squadron. At the
age of 21, while attending

Falkenheimer is a retired
USAF colonel with over 26

tional Air Cadet Exchange
(IACE) with Peru.

years of USAF service in a
variety of roles. From 198991, she was assigned to the
Air Force Surgeon General's

As a senior member he has
served in various key staff

Introduced to CAP by

Frank was 19 years old
and aheady a Junior at-

tending college at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn when he received the
Reddig Award.

While he was academically advanced, he sometimes thought the only
thing that helped him survive was the discipline and
training he had received as
a cadet in Civil Air Patroi.
He joined the ROTC unit
at Brooklyn Poly, which
had the only Corps of Engineers ROTC unit in the

country.

When he graduated in
1968, with a BS in Electri-

Office. Froml99l-1994,
she served in the Office

of the Assistant Secretary
of Defense (Health
Affairs). Her final USAF

cal Engineering, he decided
to attend graduate school
at University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. He
ended up getting master's
degrees in both EE and
computer science (a new
field at the time).
That skill set got him a

assignment before her 2000
retirement was as Director,

position in 1972 at what
was then called The Bell

of Regents of Uniformed
Services University (USU)
of the Health Sciences in
Bethesda, MD.

Telephone Laboratories,
the research arm of AT&T,
in New Jersey. It was the
start of a27 year career.
ht 1999 he moved to
Rochester NY and wound
up managing Xerox's data
center for five years before
he final1y retired.

International Medical
Training at USAFSAM.
In 2003, President George

'W.

Bush nominated and
the Senate confirmed
Dr. Falkenheimer for
appointment to the Board

Dr. Falkenheimer holds
an appointment as Clinical
Assistant Professor of
Preventive Medicine and
Community Health at the

University of Texas Medical
Branch in Galveston.

Wheels

roles on the region and wing
1evels, was senior member
of the year in 1983, and was

Bronx Group commander
before moving to Florida in
1986. He attended IACE as a
senior member escort in 1989
(Singapore), 2072 (Canada),
and2013 (Turkey).

SLrNY Albany, she became
a senior member, and joined

the Schenectady Composite
Squadron,.
She attended Cadet Officers

School and the International

Air Cadet Exchange
(LA.C.E.) program in Austria.
She served on the NY Wing
CadetAdvisory Council for
several years, including as

chairperson. She was selected
for a CAP National College
Scholarship. In addition to
His law enforcement cabeing Wing Cadet of the Year,
reer began in 797 3 as a New
she was named Northeast
York City cop. He went on to Region Cadet of the Year. She
become a Special Agent with earned the rank of Cadet Lt.
Col. As a senior member, she
US Immigration & Naturalization Service, then with US attended I.A.C.E. as an escort
Customs Aviation Program
to cadets traveling to Belgium.
in Florida and in New York
Suzanne went on to get
before retiring in 2009.
a master's in education at
Magee received abachSUNY Albany, teach in the
Lake George School District
elor's degree from Regents
College, and completed the
and then join the State
Executive Development ProEducation Department in
gr am at Columbia University
Albany as a professional staff
Graduate School of Business. member in the vocational unit
A resident of Westhampton until her retirement in 2008.
Beach, NY, Magee is marShe has lived in Saratoga
Springs, NY with her husband
ried to a former Long Island
of 37 years, Richard.
Group cadet, Cherie Carter.

Up!.16

ffr,.

ts;,

1976

1972

1979

1981

Capt. William G. A. Betz,
CAP

Thomas J. Lennon

Lorraine (Swift)
DiMarco

Lt. Col. Robert J.
Kantor, CAP

Thomas joined CAP in
William Betz, also National 1.972whenhe was 13. He
Lori was a member of Far
Cadet of the Year tn 7976,
became cadet commander
Rockaway Cadet Squadron,
joined in May of 7977 and
of Squadron 10, chairman
Queens Group. She obtained
attended his first Wing Enof Suffolk County Group
the rank of C/Lt. Col. She
campment at Plattsburg AFB
Cadet Advisory Council,
chaired the NY Wing Cadet
in August where "I knew
cadet commander of SufAdvisory Council, and went
from that point I was hooked folk County Drill Team and to four NY Wing Encampon CAP." He participated in
a member of the Suffolk
ments at Plattsburg AFB.
encampments, bivouacs, drill
County Search and Rescue
Lori was cadet commandteams, wing and region comTeam. He attained the rank
er of the Queens Group
petitions, and International
of Cadet Lt. Co1. and atCadet Competition Team.
Air Cadet Exchange (IACE)
tended six New York Wing
ln1918 the team went to the
to Netherlands, Transitioning Encampments at Plattsburgh National Cadet Competition
to senior member in 7977
Air Force Base (3 as a cadet and placed 2nd overall. Lori
he assisted with various wing
and 3 as a senior member).
was named the National
,

cadetprograms over the next
five years. He served 20062009 as Brooklyn's Floyd
Bennett Composite Squadron

tional Air Cadet Exchange
(IACE) to Great Britain.
As a Senior member Tom

commander.
He joined the NYC Battery

held the rank of lst LT, obtained his private pilot's li-

Park Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) in
2004, and when Hurricane

Katrina hit in August2005,
hejoined rescue efforts - usingZodiac boats to search the
water-filled streets for people
needing assistance.

He a deputy director in
the Information Technology
Infrastructure Department of
the New York Ciry Housing
Authority. He holds an associate's degree in data processing
& business management and
a BA in public administration
from C.U.N.Y.
William and his wife Laura

He attended the Interna-

Very Rev. Robert J. Kantor,
LCDR, CHC, USNR (ret.)
has more than22 years of

Navy service

as a

public

affairs officer and then

as

a chaplain in the reserves.

This included a tour in
Afghanistan from2004
to 2005. He served in the

Arabian Gulf four additional
times (2003-2006). He has
trained flag officers as part
of a media training team and
served on the public affairs
staff of NATO. In his final
duty assignment, he served

Competition's Outstanding
Team Commander.
with Marines as chaplain to
Lori was the Region Cadet the 4th Marine Division, 4th
of the Year.
Assault Amphibian Battalion
The flrst female to attend
until his retirement in 2008.

Aviation High School, she
Fr. Kantor is active in
pilot for went on to become a FAA
the Florida Wing. In NY
Suffolk County Group. After licensed Airframe and Power- Wing he had served as wing
the Civil Air Patrol, he went plant Mechanic. Lori started
director of public affairs and
cense and became a

on to college, gradttating
from SUNY Stony Brook
with a BA degree. He then
became afederal air ffaffic
controller, assigned to the
Chicago Air Route Trafftc

Control Center in Aurora,
Illinois. He has been a air
traffic controller for over 29
years.

Tom continues to fly in
a local flying club and says
CAP gave him leadership

tools that are respected by
supervisors and peers a1ike.

live in Staten Island.

a 1.5-year career at FedEx,

working through the ranks to
become managing director of
Maintenance Planning, Con-

trol and Performance. After
serving as director of maintenance for other aidines,
Lori and her husband have
settled in Atlanta, Georgia,
where she is general manager
of Base Maintenance Operations for Delta Air Lines.

Lori has

a B.S. in Education
from The City College of
New York and an MBA from

Dowling
17

. Wheels Up!

Col1ege.

as squadron commander
for both Ithaca and TAK
Composite Squadrons.
As a Catholic priest, Fr.
Kantor is pastor of St. Agnes
Catholic Church, Naples, FL
Before entering seminary,
worked in radio and was a
partner in a radio production,
syndication and media
consulting firm in Ithaca. He

earned a BA in journalism

andbroadcasting from
Buffalo State, and his M.Div.
degree from Christ the King
Seminary, East Aurora, NY.

1982

1982

1985

{986

Lt. Col. Edwin
Rabassa, CAP

John T. (Tom)Wilson Jr.

Jonathan Himmelwright

Maj. Miguel Arroyo, USAR

Jonathan joined the Schenectady Composite Squadron in 1978. During his cadet career, he served in many

Miguel grew up in Brooklyn,
under the shadows of
airliners on final approach to

Tom achieved the rank
Ed Rabassa migrated to

Brooklyn from the Domini
can Republic in 1972,joined
Academy Cadet Squadron in
1977 and in 1980 transferred
to the Jamaica Cadet Squadron where he became cadet
commander. Ed attended four
Wing Encampments at Plattsburg AFB.
Cadet Competition

"Drill

Team" was his favorite activity. He joined the Queens
Group team, and also participated in Suffolk Group and
Bronx Teams. After becoming
a senior member, Ed continued working with the Bronx
Drill Team. ln1991, he was
senior trainer for the New
York City Drill Team, which
won the National Cadet

Competition.
He joined NY Wing Cadet
Program staff and

inl99l

was named Wing Staff
Member of the Year.

ln1982 while visiting a
squadron in Manhauan he
met Cadet Airman Maggie
Perez. They married in
1989. Ed and Maggie live in
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. From
1985 to this past February,

Ed worked for Citibank as
an IT field engineer, ffainer,
and compliance officer. He
recently transitioned into a
start-up company as a senior

IT engineer.

of cadet major and was
cadet commander of the
Niagara Frontier Group's
TAK Composite Squadron.
He attended Para-Rescue
Orientation Course. He was
Niagara Frontier Drill Team
commander his final year in
the CAP, before joining the

leadership roles including
the Cadet Advisory Council,
cadet squadron commander,
leader of the Cadet Leadership School, and cadet

commander of the 1985

NY

Wing Encampment.

Army.
He served fwo years enlisted in the Army as an MP
right out of high school. He
then attended SUNY Buffalo State, and completed a
BS in Business Administration at SUNY Empire State
College.
After his initial active dufy
period, he joined the New

York Army National Guard,
becoming awaffant officer
and helicopter pilot. He flew
Bell UH-l Iroquois AH-1
Cobra helicopters. He mi
grated to North Carolina,
where he joined the North
Carolina Army National
Guard and flew Sikorsky
UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. After 9 / Il he was
deployed to Kuwait, Iraq,
and Afghanistan as a Blackhawk pilot and Tactical Operations Officer. He retired
from active duty as a CW4

in 2073 with a total service
time of 30 years.
Tom is married and lives

in Northern Maryland.

In

1981 he successfully

completed training and obtained his private pilot
license. After transitioning
to senior member in 1986,

LaGrardia Airport and with a
passion for aviation. Today he
is a First Officer on the CRJ900 for Endeavor Air, a Delta
Connection carriet, based at
LaGuardia.
Miguel joined Manhattan
Cadet Squadron 4 in March
1981 and rose through the
ranks to C/Lt. Col. He was
a mernber of the Bronx
Group Drill Team in 1984

Jonathan continued to sup-

through 1986, which included
two consecutive National

port several cadet programs.
That same year he became

Championships ( 1 984-1 983).
He attended four Encampments

at Plattsburgh AFB.
After his cadet career, he
joined the U.S. Army Reserve
and the New York Army
National Guard and gradrated
raising a son and daughter.
from the Army ROTC Program
In7997 his wife of 10 years
passed in a tragic automotive at St. John's University in 1989.
He was commissioned into
accident.
the Army National Guard as
Over the years he has
a second lieutenant. He served
served in many business
roles, started several busion active duty with NY State
nesses, and provided consult- and in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom. He is currently
ing and speaking services.
The skills and leadership
a major in the Army Reserve.
training provided in Civil
Miguel worked for the New
Air Patrol, he says, have
York City Human Resources
Administration fr om 199 3 .lnt1l
been the foundation of his
2006 when he followed his
success.
passion for ayiation and became
Today, Jonathan resides
a professional pilot and flight
in Florida with his wife,
instructor. Miguel is married to
two children and two stepthe former Marisela Fermin.
children.
a business owner, opening a

retail ski shop in Schenectady. The following year he
married and began afamlly,

Wheels Up!. 18

{987

{988

{989

1992

Dr. (Lt. Col.) Raymond
W. Staats, USAF (ret)

Maj. Gabriel D. Gong,
CAP

Maj. Costas Leonidou,
USAF (ret)

Musa K. Johnson

Raymond joined the North
Syracuse Cadet Squadron
in 1980. He served as the
squadron's cadet commander
from1982-1984, and then as
cadet commander of the LTC
Robert S. VanKeuren Cadet
Squadron from 1985-1986.
He also served as cadet commander for the 1984 Fort
Drum Encampment and the
1986 Plattsburgh Encampment. He earned the General
Carl A. Spaatz Award (#734)

in 1985.
Raymond earned his commission through Air Force
ROTC at Syracuse University

Gabriel joined Academy of Aeronautics Cadet
Squadron in1982. He attended four NY Wing Encampments, serving as cadet

commander in 1987 . He received an appointment to the
US Air Force Academy in
1985. He was a member of
the 1986 Northeast Region
Champion Bronx Group
Drill Team. He attained the
grade of Cadet Colonel and
received the General Carl A.
Spaatz Award (#892).
As a senior member, Gabe
continued his encampment
participation and served as
commandant of cadets in
1992 at Plattsburgh. He was
the Squadron Commander
of the Academy Cadet
Squadron (NYC Group)

Costas rounded out his
cadet career by earning Gen-

eralCarl A. Spaatz Award #
938 in May 1989. He completed Air Force Academy

Prep School in1990 and
matriculated at the Academy
that fall. After graduating,
he entered pilot training,
and then flew the E-38/C
(Sentry) at Tinker AFB, OK.

(where he was 1996 Pilot

of

the Year and subsequently
an instructor pilot). He
also worked with NATO in
Germany as anB-34/107

/

Flight Simulator instructor

Musa Johnson joined
Brooklyn Technical Cadet
Squadron 1 in 1986. He attended several New York
Wing Encampments along
with one New Jersey Wing
Encampment. At the National level he participated in
the Pararescue Orientation
Course (PJOC), Blue Beret
Program, and attended Cadet Officers School (COS) at
Maxwell AFB, AL. He eventually transferred to Manhattan Cadet Squadron 1 where
he was active in the Cadet
Advisory Council (CAC) up
to the Region level and was
a member of the Manhattan
and later NYC Group Drill

from l994through 1996,

pilot & flight safety officer.
Upon his return to Tinker
AFB, he was assigned as
the E-3BIC flight examiner,
chief pilot, and chief of the
Flight Crew Branch. Later
assignments included a stint

launch campaigns at Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station,

when the unit was recognized as the Squadron of

at the Pentagon and then
at Beale AFB, CA as the

winning team.

FL, as aDelta II Launch

Distinction. From 1996 to
1998 he was wing director of
cadetprogram.
After gradtating from the
Polytechnic Institute of NY
in 1990, Gabe started working for the electric generation companies on Long Island, and is currently senior

U-2 mission pilot/mobility
officer. His last active duty
assignment involved training
over 200 aircrew on the MC12W (Liberty) for overseas

United States Marine Corps
where he served as air trafftc
control communications technician and drill instructor.
He has a BA in History/
Political Science from Chaminade University of Honolulu
and recently retired from
the Marine Corps where he
achieved the rank of Gunnery

in May 1988. His assignments
ranged from working with
defense communications sat-

ellites (Schriever AFB, CO) to
(after earning a MS degree)
p

articip ating in 27 sp ace

Crew commander. He then
supervised ICBM test and
evaluation launches at Vandenberg AFB, CA.
Dr. Staats earned his Ph.D.

in Industrial and Systems Engineering in 2003 at Virginia
Tech, then joined the AFIT
factlty. He took over as commandant of the Community
College of the Air Force in
2007 . He retired from active
duty in 2009.

engineer.

Major Gong lives in
Queens. In 1994, he married
fellow Spaatz Award recipi
ent Jennifer Chan.

reconnaissance missions.
After retiring from the
Air Force in August 2014,
Costas started working with
Southwest Airlines. He is
a First Officer based out of

Oakland International Airport, flying four versions of
theBoeing737.

19. Wheels Up!

teams which represented New

York Wing at the Northeast
Region and was a member
of the 1991 National Cadet
Competition Championship

In

7995 he enlisted into the

Sergeant (E-7). He resides

in Fort Worth, TX, and is
married to Robbie RovarisJohnson.

{996

1997

{999

2000

Lt. Col. Joseph Winter,
CAP

Timothy J. Maher

Capt. Justin W. Couts,
USA

Lt. Col. Daniel Brodsky,
CAP

A member of CAP for
more than 20 years, Joseph

As a junior in high school
Tim joined Batavia ComposJustin joined Vedder Comite Squadron. Rising quickly posite Squadr ot in 199 6,

Winter is Maryland Wing
vice commander. He joined
CAP in 1993 as a cadet in
New York Wing, where he
rapidly rose through the
cadet program. After col-

through the cadet ranks, Tim
was the cadet commander
of the squadron by the time
he attended his first encampment in 1994. At the Wing

lege, he transferred to the

the opportunity to take a
ride in an F-16 Falcon based
at Hancock Field in Syracuse. After serving as cadet
commander for the 1997 Ft.
Drum encampment, Tim

Maryland Wing, heading
cadet programs and Maryland Wing Headquarters
Squadron.

In2009 he was also appointed to national staff
first serving on the cadet
programs team as the director for national cadet special
activities, a position he held

wti120l4, and now as a
member of the National
Public Affairs team. Winter
also is director of Cadet Officer School at Maxwell Air
Force Base, A1a.
Joseph was named 2004

Maryland Wing Staff Officer of the Year and2009
CAP National Cadet Programs Officer of the Year.
He holds a BS in sports
management from St.
Thomas Aquinas College,
and an MA in teaching from

conference

in

1995 he won

left CAP to pursue college,
studying criminal justice.
He became an EMT and

firefighter at Avon Fire
Dept. and then Rural Metro
Services in Rochester, where
discovered a co-worker was
commander of Rochester

Composite Squadron. He
once again found himself in
a CAP uniform.

In2002 Tim again left
CAP, this time to attend the
Finger Lakes Community
College Paramedic program.
Since becoming aParamedic, Tim has served in the

wing levels. Justine achieved
the grade of Cadet Colonel
by earningthe General Carl
A. Spaatz Award (#1417).
He received an Army
commission through Siena
College ROTC in 2003. In
the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina, Captain Couts supervised the evacuation of
over 8,000 people at New
Orleans International Airport and led security and
search-and-rescue patrols in
the area. He also deployed to

Iraq in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom, and, while
with the NY Army National
Guard, deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom.
In between his active duty
and National Guard as-

Virginia Wing director of
cadetprograms. His last assignment in New York Wing
was as the Central New York
Group Commander. He
has also served as a Deputy
Commander for Cadets,
Squadron Commander, and
Assistant Wing Inspector
General. He has completed
12

NY Wing encampments,

most recently as deputy commander in 2010.
Lt. Co1. Brodsky is currently the Middle East Re-

gion Deputy Chief of Staff
for Cadet Programs. In this
role he provides cadet programs resources and training for the Region, mentors
seven Wing Directors of Cadet Programs, and oversees
several annual RegionJevel
activities including two Cadet Leadership Schools, an
Honor Guard Academy, and

Outside of CAP, Winter is
an Air Force officer, serving
as executive officer of Maryland Air National Guard's
175th Wing.

vision show.

New York (JFHQ-NY) in
Latham, where he plans for

aCadet Competition.
Lt. Col. Brodsky earned a
Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's
degree in Cyber Securiry.
both from Utica College.
He works as a senior computer engineer for a data analytics company in Mclean,
VA. He is married with rwo

emergency responses.

of Chief and Deputy
Chief Paramedic, Quarter-

roles

master, Operations Lieutenant and most recently Operations Captain at various
agencies. In2014 Tim was
featured on the first episode
of TLC's "OMG EMT" tele-

Sacred Heart University.

rising to cadet squadron
commander and cadet commander of the NY Wing Encampment at Ft. Drum. He
chaired the Cadet Advisory
Council at the group and

Dan moved to Virginia in
2012 and served for about
two-and-a-half years as the

kids.

signments, Captain Couts
worked for Sikorsky Aircraft
Corporation in Stratford,
CT from 2008 to 2010. He
is currently assigned to
Joint Force Headquarters-

Wheels Up!

.20

t

i
2001

2002

2006

2007

Maj. Rebekah L.
(Strock) Layton, CAP

Capt. Jennifer (Neville)
Fuka, USAF

Capt. Jonathan
Lewczyk, USAF

Elizabeth (Anger)
Belcher

Rebekah has been a member of CAP since 1996. As a
cadet she earned The Gen-

In addition to being NY
Wing Cadet of the Year,

eralCarl A. Spaatz Award

Jennifer was named the
2002 National Cadet of the

Jonathan entered the U.S.
Air Force Academy in June
2006 -- the same year he
was named NY Wing cadet

(#1468). Former c/Col

Year.

of the

Strock served in squadron
and wing leadership roles,
including cadet commander
of the NY Wing Encampment in 2002. As a senior
member, she served as the
Vedder Composite Squadron
leadership offi cer, nntil 20 I 4.
A paratrooper, Rebekah is
aYeteran of Operation Iraqi
Freedom where she served

Jennifer is currently a studett at the U.S. Air Force
Test Pilot School, Edwards

He graduated in May
2010 with a BS in Foreign
Area Studies and a minor in
Russian language.
Jonathan completed Undergraduate Pilot Training

Academy in2006 with a BS
in astronautical engineering - which she followed up
with an MS in aernonautics

Military Police Officer
in B aghdad, training Iraqi

and astronautics engineering
at Purdue Universiry IN.

as a

Police and enforcing the
security mission. She was a
platoon leader and executive
offlrcer for the 118th Military

Police Company (Airborne),
out of Fort Bragg, NC. Rebekah also served in Seoul,

Korea, as operations officer
for the Eighth Army Provost
Marsha1l. She held the rank
of captain, and is a recipient
of the Bronze Star Medal.
Rebekah earned her Ph.D.

in Social/Personality Psychology from SIINY Albany
in2014. Dr. Layton is currently completing her postdoctoral training in health
psychology at the University
of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, where she lives with
husband Seth and daughter.

AFB, CA.
She has served in various
engineering roles since graduating from the Air Force

She has served as a de-

velopmental engineer at
Vandenberg AFB, CA; lead
engineer for cryptographic
solutions at Fort Meade,
MD (where she was also
executive officer for the
7 07 th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance
Group), and flight test
engineer at Nellis AFB,
NV (where her assignment
culminated in being dual
hatted as the F-35 flight test

year.

(UPT) at Vance AFB, OK
ar'd graduated in December 2011. At flight school
graduation he was awarded
the flight training awardfor
the T-1A "Jayhawk" training pipeline.
He then went to Altus
AFB, OK and was selected
as a distinguished graduate

for C-l7Apilot initial qualification.
Assignment to the 16th
Ai-rlift Squadron at Joinr
Base Charleston, SC oc-

2|l2.Hehas
flown the Cj7A out of
curred in July

Charleston since.
Currently, he is a captain
in the Air Force serving as
an airdrop-qualified air cr aft

engineer and assistant direc-

commander andanexecu-

tor of operations).
She expects to complete
an MS in Flight Test Engineering in July 2015 atthe
USAF Test Pilot School.
CaptainFuka is married
to Capt. Jacob Fuka.

tive officer in the 16th Airlift Squadron.
In his personal life, he has
been married to his wife

21

Elizabeth joined CAP in
2002 as a member of TAK
Composite Squadron. She
participated in many CAP
activities, including five
Wing Encampments, where
she especially enjoyed being
the Standards and Evaluation Team OIC. She continued in the cadet program to
earn her Spaatz Award and
the rank of cadet colonel in
2009. She participated in the
International Air Cadet Exchange to France that same
year.

In

20 7 1,

Eliz ab eth

gr ad:u-

ated summa cum laude from
the University of Pittsburgh

where she had majored in
neuroscience and psychology and minored in chem-

istry. She marriedanother
former CAP cadet, Christopher Belcher, and was
employed as a research specialist at the University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center.
She currently is a PhD

student in neuroscience at
the University of Rochester.
She investigates the effect

of radiation on the growth
of new neurons in the adult
brain. At the University of
Rochester she also sits on
the boards for the Graduate

Megan since Apri12014,
and they live in Mt. Pleas-

Student Society and Center
for Professional Develop-

ant, SC.

ment.

. Wheels Up!

2008

2009

2010

2012

Jacob Miller

2nd Lt. Heather Nelson,
USAF

Stephanie Hyatt

Capt. Benjamin Tartter,
CAP

Jacob joined the Condor

Composite Squadron in

2004.He started out slowly
but eventually progressed
quickly through the ranks.
He was elected chairman

Stephanie is the youngest
Heather joined CAP at

of

the Wing Cadet Advisory

Council the same weekend
he was named Cadet of the
Year. Two weeks later, he
was chosen to be that year's
Wing Encampment cadet
commander. Shortly thereafter he completed his time
as a cadet, but not before

earning the General CarlA.
Spaatz Award #1755.
He started at Clarkson

Universiry Potsdam, NY
in2012. As an extracurricular program he joined
the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Design, Build,
and F1y (DBF) team. He
was elected team president
for the 2013-2014 competition. This was Clarkson's
best placing year to date. In
2013 he got a position as an
undergraduate research student with the Clarkson UAV
Program and the Blade Test
Facility (BTF). He has lead
teams building and testing
UAVs. He earned his B.S.

in aeronautical engineering
in2014 and expects to complete his M.S. in mechanical
engineering in the fall of
20t5.

the end of 9th grade with
the hope, she says, "thatit
would help me get into the
Air Force Academy, my goal
since I was 8 years old."
She did just that. By the
time she 1eft for the Academy
in Colorado Springs three
years later, she had been

promoted to cadet lieutenant colonel, served as a flight
commander, deputy cadet

recipient of the Reddig Cadet of the Year Award. She
was l6 - and already serving
as cadet commander of the
Batavia Composite Squadron, commander of the

Finger Lakes Group Honor
Guard, chairman of the
New York Wing Cadet Advisory Council, and recorder
for Northeast Region CAC.
In the years to come, she
served in an advisory role

commander, and cadet commander of Vedder Composite Squadron. She also had
the opportunity to solo at the
National Flight Academy.
At the AF Academy she
fenced for the Air Force for
three years, including one
year on the U.S. Junior National Team. She graduated
as a distinguished graduate

at KY -222, cadet instructor
at four NYWg conferences,
the first cadet to serve on
NYWg staff, command
staff at four encampments,
attended nine NCSAs (including IACE UK), and
served as the NCAC vice-

(top 10%) with a bachelor's
degree in astronautical en-

used her training to become
a member of her college
dance troupe andtarght
dance to underprivileged
youth. She also shows dogs.
Scholastically, Stephanie was
homeschooled and gr adrated shortly after receiving
the Reddig award. She then
gradrated cum laude at the

gineering, and was able to
spend a year and ahalf at
Penn State getting her master's degree in aerospace
engineering. She also fenced
for Penn State. After graduat-

ing,2nd Lt. Nelson returned
to Colorado Springs to work
at Schriever

Air Force

Base

as a project engineer for

Air

Force TENCAP (Tactical

Exploitation of National
Capabilities), where she continues to work today.

chairperson.
Stephanie was a competitive dancer for 16 years, and

of 20 fromliberty Uni
versify with bachelor degrees
in healthcare management
age

and economics. She moved
south and works full-time in

Christian ministry.

Wheels Up!

.22

Benjamin Tartter says
he joined Civil Air Patrol

atthe

age

of

13 as an

overweight, out of shape

individual.
The mere thought of
public speaking was a
terror for him and selfconfidence was far from his
being.

He attests to CAP as the
experience that changed his
life forever. Over the course
of the next eight years
he became empowered
to be things he thought
impossible. He served
as a

New York Wing

Leadership Encampment
deputy cadet commander
ar.d cadet commander
of his squadron; he was
named Cadet of the Year
and earned his Spaatz
Award with promotion to
cadet colone1.
Benjamin is a graduate
of Gordon College with
a bachelor's degree in
Kinesiology. He is now
working in the medical
fie1d

with plans of entering

medical school.
Sailing is a favorite
pasttime.

He exhorts younger
cadets to never give up,
"for anything is possible

for those who are
determined."

2013
C/Col. Travis
Brodbeck, CAP
Travis Brodbeck has
been in CAP since January 2008. He received
his training at Dutchess

County Cadet Squadron in
Southeastern Group.
Travis attended his basic
encampment at Stratton
ANGB in 2008; since then
he has staffed five encamp-

ments: two in New York,
one in Connecticut, one
in Vermont, one in Mary1and.

Cadet Brodbeck attended Cadet Officer School
in 20 12 and p articrp ated
in the 20 I 4 International
Air Cadet Exchange in the

ln Memorium

United Kingdom.

In December 2012, Cadet Brodbeck attended the

Northeast Region Winter
Regional CadetLeadership School; in 2013 he
returned as cadet training
officer, and in 20l4he returned again as cadet com-

Lt Col Charles Chaluisan, CAP

mander.

Manhattan Drill Team
Bronx Group Drill Team

Il20l4

Cadet Brodbeck
earned the General Carl

A.

Spaatz Award (#1971).
Currently, he serves as the
Northeast Region Cadet
Advisory Council chair-

Mentor to many. Missed by all.

person.

Travis is a sophomore at
Siena College, with a d,,nl
major in accounting and
economics.

23.

Wheels Up!

NEW YORK WING AT A GLANGE
With more than2,000
members, the New York
Wing is one of the largest

ties and more than 185

in
r.tu.

Civil Air Patrol's nine-state
Northeast Region. The wing

i*i.

:..;. 4,.. :.:.t:..:.. :-:.,...
:.1.. t:i' :.. ,1,:
: 4,

boasts a strong emphasis on
emergency services, disaster
relief and cadet programs as

well

as homeland security
and counterdrug missions.
Wing aircrews logged
2,069 flyinghours in 2014,

including search and rescue missions and training
exercises, homeland security tasks such as fighter
intercept, low level route
surveys and forward atr
conffoller orientation missions, and other military

support for the Air National
Guard. Aircrews flew 293.4
counterdrug mission hours
assisting law enforcement
agencies in keeping $1.8
million in illegal drugs off
the streets.

ground missions. The wing
also successfully carried
out nine emergency locator
transmitter searches and accounted for six finds.
The wing's anrlual cadet
leadership encampment and
flight academy at Stratton
Air National Guard Base in
Scotia nurtured leadership
skills and provided aviation
experiences for hundreds of

youth. In addition, over a
dozet cadets, mentored by
The wing operates a
Search and Rescue Acad-

Plains has been designated
as one of two sites for a
emy as well as other aircrew Northeast Region disaster
ground team and mission
response operations center.
base staff training courses.
The wing conducts missions
New York Wing not only
from the Atlantic Ocean to
participates in Northeast Re- the Canadian border.
gion Disaster Response ExThe New York Wing's
ercises, ensuring that mememergency services progtam
bers are properly trained to
held several wing-wide
meet any emergency, but
search-and-rescue exercises
its Headquarters in White
which consisted of 211 sor-

experienced flight instructors, were able to solo or
pre-solo in glider and powered atrcraft.

Eight squadrons were
recogrized as Quality Cadet
Units. For the fifth straight
year a wing cadet color
guard team participated in
a JROTC competition in
Richmond, VA earning first
place honors.

FOR NEW YORK WING, THE FUTURE tS...
..BIIAGt"
That's the word Col.
Steven Perta presented at

. Legislative Squadron
Growth, stepping up the
outreach to federal and state

to grow andadvance the wing,
such as:

. Member OnBoarding, aimed
at the "new
CAP member on
board." Simply
audacious goals," Perta said. put, it's an in-perHe wants New York memson orientation,
bers to think big. Big ideas
held a few times
like:
ayeff at locations across the around the wing, with air. Everyday operations
wing, emph asizing the "help- crews teaming up to handle
center, with on-duty inciing hand in member progres- as many cadets as needed.
dent commander and staff.
sion."
Tie in other activities on the
. Everyday training mis. CAP Pilot Orientation,
same days. "Promote, photosion briefings.
for new pilots and a refresher gr aph, r ecognize, ceTebr ate."
. Everyday flights for coun- for existing pilots. It's a face. Reach Out to Former Cater drug, fire patrol, traffic
to-face activiry emphasizing dets -- successful cadets who
survey, flood watch and aero- CAP pilot culture, conducted moved on to college, military
space education missions.
by the Operations Team.
services, careers in the past
. Cadet Flight Orientation six years andre-engage
He also announced a series of immediate initiatives
Days, on scheduled dates
them as senior members.
his first wing commander's

legislators.

briefing at the 2014 New
York Wing Conference held
in Lake George.
It stands for "bighairy

. Wing Headquarters Faciliry enhancing its use for
meetings and tr aining, and

Wheels Up!

.24

as a

coordination center, and

ading its technology.
. Mission Base Facilities,
soliciting a wish list, refining capabilities, encouraging
frequent use and atffacting
up gr

maximum turnout for events.
. NY Wing Capabilities
Brochure, telling "who we
are, what we do, what we
have, how CAP New York

canbe engaged."
It's all about CAP's Vision,
he said, to build "the nation's
finest force of citizenvolunteers serving America."