Civil Air Patrol offers teens opportunity, fun

***image1***The Civil Air Patrol runs an award winning cadet program, where teenagers have a unique opportunity to train for real missions alongside active duty Airmen, reservists and guardsmen.
They can also progress through the cadet program’s rank system. They must work for it though, with physical training tests, service schools and aviation oriented exams.
The Civil Air Patrol has a cadet squadron at Ramstein and a new flight at Spangdahlem Air Base.
This unique youth program wraps good role-modeling, citizenship skills, personal responsibility, aerospace academics, flight orientation, competitive honor guard teams, drills and formations all into one.
Teens can get real credit and jump rank in the U.S. Air Force or even get help qualifying for the U.S. Air Force Academy, depending on how far into the program they go.
Unfortunately, not everyone knows about the Civil Air Patrol, its many U.S. Air Force sanctioned missions and its cadet program.
The Civil Air Patrol patrolled U.S. coastlines and Mexican-Canadian borders during WWII, trained pilots and even towed targets.
Since then, it moved away from the War Department (today’s Department of Defense), and became the official auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force.
Today’s real-life missions for both teens and adults include conducting air and ground search and rescue, disaster and humanitarian relief, organ transports and flight orientation.
For more information, call the Ramstein squadron during Thursday cadet nights at 489-7752, or e-mail civilair.patrol@ramstein.af.mil.