Young cadets take off with Civil Air Patrol
Receive rocketry badge; also learn about flight, aerospace, disaster relief
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

Ezekiel Ahn, of Dayton, second from left in the back row, and Christopher Trotter, of North Brunswick, second from right in the back row, stand with their fellow Civil Air Patrol cadets who received their rocketry badges last month.

SAYREVILLE - A group of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadets from the Gen. Jimmy Stewart Composite Squadron are flying high after receive their rocketry badges.

For the badge, the cadets had to learn about the mechanics of rockets and the necessary safety measures. They assembled various-sized rockets from a kit in November. Some were premade, some had parachutes and some had paper towel rolls.

Each group of four had to launch a twostage rocket: a liquid-fueled rocket and a solid-propellant rocket to receive their certification and badge. The rockets were about 1 to 2 feet tall, and about the width of a paper towel roll.

On a Saturday in December at an abandoned Nike missile base in Old Bridge, they took a box of the assembled rockets and attempted to fire them. Technical Sgt. Christopher Trotter, 13, of North Brunswick, said the cadets encountered some problems, like fins falling off, parachutes falling off, batteries going dead, engine duds, nonworking ignition switches, misfires and fuel burning off.

Civil Air Patrol cadets Ezekiel Ahn (l) and Christopher Trotter get ready to launch a rocket that will help them achieve their rocketry badge.

Yet at the end, Ezekiel Ahn of Dayton, Brian Cann of Parlin, Vrushab Gowda of Manalapan, Blaise Hode of South River, Joseph McCarthy of Sayreville, Bryan Park of East Brunswick, Claire Ramirez of Old Bridge, Trotter, and Daniel Zaczkowski of Menlo Park were successful. They received their silver badges last month.

"We learn how to launch a rocket, how it works, and how to get it off the ground," Ahn said.

The Civil Air Patrol is the civilian, volunteer auxiliary of the United States Air Force. Today, CAP performs 95 percent of inland search-and-rescue missions and performs homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions as requested by federal, state and local agencies.

The New Jersey Wing has over 1,300 members in 30 units with headquarters at McGuire Air Force Base.

The cadet program is open to 12- to 21- year-olds, although those joining after age 18 enter as senior members.

As part of the CivilAir Patrol program, cadets receive training in aerospace education, aircraft operations, aviation safety, weather and space, travel, search and rescue, Homeland Security missions and disaster relief, when appropriate. They are also taught leadership, radio communication, public speaking, photography, astronomy, physical fitness, sports activities and survival training.

"This helps us in the future. Anything can happen in the future. Someone could be hurt really badly, like in a car accident, and we can help someone because we already have the expertise," Trotter said. "If you learn how to lead, you can be successful."

Cadets can take orientation flights, in which they fly with a licensed pilot but are allowed to steer the controls of a Cessna 172, 1,500 feet above land, at about 60 knots, for a half-hour. The Falcon Flight Encampment offers cadets 30 hours of ground instruction and 10 hours of flight time in hopes of eventually getting their pilot's license.

In order to move up the ranks, cadets must pass a written leadership, written aerospace and physical fitness test, which they take every month. They can advance at their own pace but if they do not achieve the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz award, which comes after their final exam, by age 21, they remain at their current rank.

Cadets who earn the Billy Mitchell Award may enter the Air Force at an advanced level and service academies look favorably on CAP experience, but cadets are not obligated to join the military whatsoever. Yet approximately 10 percent of the Air Force Academy cadet corps began in CAP.

"We love doing this. It's a lot of responsibility, but we love doing this," Trotter said.

The cadets also take field trips to get more hands-on experience and to volunteer their time. They have gone to the Sayreville FireAcademy, the Coast Guard station in Point Pleasant, theMcGuireAir Force Base air show, the Readington Festival of Ballooning, emergency disaster relief drills at Newark Airport, the military cemetery near Fort Dix, and the Picatinny Arsenal.

Their next trips are to the Challenger Learning Center to learn about the lives of astronauts, the McGuire air show, the Sayreville Memorial Day parade and the Cadet Ball at Fort Dix.

"You experience it. You learn more instead of using books,"Master Sgt.Ahn, 13, said of the group trips.

The Civil Air Patrol does not receive any funding from theAir Force. To make a donation to the squad, make checks payable to Gen. Jimmy Stewart Squadron, CivilAir Patrol, and send them care of Maj.Walter Blonski, 165 Main St., Sayreville, NJ 08871.

Meetings are held Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 165 Main St. on the second floor of the old firehouse, next to the municipal building. For more information, visit www.njwgcap.org.