Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wings Over Gillespie 2009




This was the 14th year that Wings Over Gillespie (WOG) Air Show was held at Gillespie Field, El Cajon, CA. Although WOG was cancelled last year because of cost expenditures and other issues, Commemorative Air Force (CAF), Air Group One (AG-1) decided to press ahead and hold this local hometown popular air show on 6-7 June 2009. Col. Bob Simon, CAF, AG-1, Wing Leader, took the lead and gathered the necessary permits, FAA approval, and community support to successfully pull this off commemorating the 65th anniversary of D-Day, the invasion of occupied France by Germany. CAP was there on Saturday and Sunday, helping out on the flight line keeping spectators safe and any other task asked of them. This was the first year, CAP was asked to present the colors at opening festivities at 1000 hours each day.

The following personnel from five local CAP squadrons supported WOG:

Skyhawk Composite Sq. 47
LtCol Michael Woods
*Maj John DiGiantomasso
*Capt Andrea DiGiantomasso
*Capt Carl Godbee
*C/CMSgt Michael Chung
*C/MSgt Ruby Rosado
*C/MSgt Noah Chun
*C/SrA Nicholas Chun

Escondido Cadet Squadron 714
Maj Robert Rea
C/SMSgt Alex Ramos
C/AB Jonathon Ruiz
C/AB Matthew Johnson
**C/Amn Cesar Escalona
*C/AB Hunter Le Pla
**C/AB Ryan Grenier
C/AB Simon Stewart
C/AB Andrew Johnson

San Diego Cadet Sq. 144
Maj Dennis Ammann
Capt David Saavedra
1Lt Jeff Cable
1Lt Chris Haukom
SM Adam Dorin
CS William McFarland
C/2Lt Chandra Murphy
C/2Lt Daniel Gorin
C/SMSgt Rebecca Olson
C/TSgt Jesse O’Keefe
**C/A1c Matthew McFarland
C/Amn Brett Ward
C/Amn Michael Saavedra
C/AB Robert Wolfe

San Diego Senior Squadron 57
Capt Shairre Van Duzer

South San Diego Sq. 201
C/SMSgt Jacob Pucci
C/TSgt Zack Hamner
C/SSgt Wayne Stokes
C/SrA Philip Barlis
C/A1c Brian Thomas
C/A1c Alex Thomas
C/Amn Heidi Froslie
C/Amn Jackie Froslie

* color guard duties only
** color guard duty & flight line security

Maj Dennis Ammann, Project Officer assembled CAP personnel at 0630 hours each day at the Admin Bldg parking lot and briefed the personnel concerning CAP’s responsibility, taxiway B-4 taxiway CAP HQs, schedule of events, and most importantly the standard safety brief concerning aircraft movements, propeller hazards, prop wash, hydration, sun exposure, etc. C/2Lt Chandra Murphy, Cadet OIC, quickly assigned personnel to their respective positions and posts.

At 0800 hours Capt David Saavedra and Maj Ammann attended the WOG pilot’s briefing at the airport maintenance hangar, meeting with other staff members. After the briefing, C/2Lt Murphy was updated on a few more tasks assigned by CAF. With her experience at CAWG Encampment and other activities, she quickly adapted and reassigned personnel and tasks without delay or mishap. Unfortunately CAP’s numbers were down this year because of final exam studies and Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT), accordingly flight line distance covered was reevaluated and adjusted.

Each day opening ceremonies started at 1000 hours with the National Anthem song by a female member of CAF. On Saturday, Sq. 714, lead by Maj Robert Rea and C/SMSgt Alex Ramos assembled their color guard and had them post the colors. The Sq. 714 color guard consisted of cadets: Cesar Escalona, Hunter Le Pla, Ryan Grenier, and from Sq. 144 Cadet Matthew McFarland. Sunday’s CAP color guard consisted of cadets: Michael Chung, Ruby Rosado, Noah Chun, and Nicholas Chun lead by Maj John DiGiantomasso from Sq. 47. Also present was a local Sea Cadet color guard, adding an additional element of patriotism. The Condor Squadron consisting of four North American AT-6 Texans flew over the airfield for the Missing Man Formation. As the four plane formation flew by, one broke straight up to represent the fallen warriors from past wars while the other three continued straight and level to the west.

During the afternoon various aircraft performed fly-bys including the largest aircraft present, a Douglas C-53 Skytrooper (C-47 Skytrain derivative). This aircraft was configured as a paratrooper aircraft and participated in the D-Day invasion on 6 June 1944 of occupied France during WWII 65 years ago. Six skydivers exited the aircraft, each displaying one of the armed forces and one with the POW/MIA flag. The Condor Squadron demonstrated low strafing/ bombing passes as aircraft similar to them might have done during WWII, complete with pyrotechnics in between runways 27R and 27L; as always, this was a real crowd pleaser. Another crowd pleaser were the WWII enactors representing units from the German, American, and British Army, providing a mock rifle battle along runway 27. 1Lt Ken Blaze from Sq. 47 is a member of the British Army enactor unit representing Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery’s Northern African Corps.

Some of the aircraft that flew during WOG were: Four T-34 Mentors; The Planes of Fame flew a F8F Bearcat, F4F Wildcat, P-40 Warhawk, Vought F4U Corsair, and a P-51 Mustang for low passes and aerial maneuvers. The California Fire (CalFire) brought two aircraft; a modified ex-Navy Grumman S-2 Tracker aerial fire bomber and an ex-USAF North American OV-10 Bronco aerial fire command and control aircraft. The Bronco flew a few low passes and the Tracker demonstrated a water drop in between the runways 27L and 27R. Mr. John Colliver performed his aerobatic show flying the AT-6 Texan and Mr. Mark Kennedy flying his Staudacher S600 aerobatic plane. The Red Stars also performed flying formation flying in their Russian Yak trainers.

Aircraft in the static display area were: Two medium WWII bombers, a North American B-25 Mitchell and a Douglas A-26 Invader along with a Russian Antonov AN-2 Colt (world’s largest bi-plane and pick-up truck of the air). Three helicopters were on display: A Navy Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk, USMC Boeing CH-46 Seaknight, and a SDFD Bell UH-1 Iroquois. From the San Diego Air and Space Museum Annex were the following: Grumman F-14 Tomcat, North American F-86 Sabre, General Dynamics F-16 Falcon, and Douglas AV-8 Harrier all towed across runway 27 from their hangar at Gillespie Field. Numerous civilian antique aircraft were flown in by their owners and included: Stearmens, Cessnas, Pipers, etc. There were three excellent Piper J-3 Cub examples next to CAP HQs, one of which was a float plane.

The weather each day was overcast in the morning but lifted about 1000 hours and was clear the rest of the day. The temperatures were wonderful in the middle low 70 degrees with a cool breeze coming in about 1600 hours each day. Water was always available by the CAF water wagon.

On Sunday, CAP personnel were scaled down from the previous day, with C/2Lt Murphy learning from the U.S. Marine Corps to “improvise, adapt, and overcome” in support of the numerous requests from CAF.

At the end of each day, the combined squadrons formed up in front of a Fairey FR.MK 4 Firefly (Saturday) and a Stearman PT-17 Kadet (Sunday) for a group photo. The squadrons were thanked by Maj Ammann for their outstanding support of WOG Air Show and secured at about 1630 hours.

In closing there were no runway/taxiway incursions or any accidents on the flight line thanks to the members of CAP. Our cadets were very professional, sharp looking, and always ready to lend a hand at any request demanded of them. CAP made a very positive public influence at this air show by not only setting up a recruiting booth but also providing a commanding visible appearance while working the flight line.

A special work of thanks to 1Lt Chris Haukom who mentored C/2Lt Murphy and offered her valuable managerial advice. Congratulations to Cadet Murphy for her superb performance managing the cadet component each day, one of her largest undertakings since becoming Sq. 144 Cadet Commander. Finally to Capt David Saavedra, Assistant Project Officer who actually took on most of the work and learned the “ropes” as next year’s CAP Project Officer for WOG.

Thanks to all who attended and worked so hard!

Semper Vigilans!

Maj Dennis Ammann
WOG Project Officer
San Diego Cadet Sq. 144

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Challenge Air 2009



Outstanding turn-out for the 2009 Challenge Air event at Brown Field Airport with 18 cadets and three senior members from two squadrons – Sq. 144 & 201. This was our third year supporting this wonderful organization dedicated to special needs children.

In addition to the above, CAP members of Ryan-Hemet Composite Sq. 59, Lt David Peabody C/Amn Stacy Peabody, C/Sgt Joshua Burnham, and Lt Bill Dean along with our own Lt Chris Haukom provided their skills as aircraft directors in a non-CAP status earning credit for the CAP Community Service Ribbon.

The following personnel reported in at 0730 hours, Saturday, 18 April to the Project Officer, Capt David Saavedra, Sq. 144:

Sq. 144
Maj Dennis Ammann
C/2Lt Chandra Murphy
C/MSgt Hanna Olson
C/MSgt Hayden Sheyda
C/SSgt Jesse O’Keefe
C/TSgt Nathan Blackburne
C/TSgt Alexander Lange
C/A1c Andrew Overson
C/Amn Michael Saavedra
C/Amn Calvin Amos
C/Amn Andrea Atkins

Sq. 201
LtCol Steve Handrop
C/CMSgt Jason Hannibal
C/SSgt Matthew Valdez
C/SSgt Zack Hamner
C/SrA Jacob Hamner
C/Amn Philip Barlis
C/Amn Heidi Froslie
C/Amn Jacklyn Froslie
C/AB Joshua Gibson

With C/2Lt Chandra Murphy taking charge as Cadet Commander, she quickly formed up the cadets and assigned element flight leaders.

The initial plan was to help the Challenge Air staff set up the hangar in preparation for the special needs children who would be arriving at 0900 hours with their parents. Then attend the informative brief given by Mr. Byron Laszlo, Director of Challenge Air and his West Coast Director, Mrs. Lonna Gibson. The brief consisted of who the founder was, how Challenge Air became such a valuable asset and therapy for the children, and how the various community groups can provide future support. Afterwards, flight line posts were set and everything went very well throughout the day.

A USAF C-130H Hercules from the Georgia Air National Guard was parked adjacent to the Challenge Air ramp, so Capt Saavedra introduced himself and asked permission for our cadets to have a look around. They were all rotated through the C-130 and up to the cockpit for a very quick tour of this huge cargo hauler before the flight crew had to pull chocks and depart for Texas and then home to Savanna.

At about 0900 hours, Mr. Dave Scott from KUSI, a local news TV station, interviewed our CAP celebrity, Capt David Saavedra. He spoke about CAP and the benefits it provides to today’s youth and how the program instills leadership, responsibility, and maturity in our cadets.

Many of us again saw the smiling faces of the children as they disembarked from the aircraft and received Challenge Air flight pins and certificates. The parents were so happy for them and grateful to Challenge Air for allowing their children to fly. About 120 children received aircraft rides throughout the day.

Although the weather was excellent with a slight sea breeze, and 80 degree temperatures, no sunburn, dehydration, or personal injuries resulted. At about 1600 hours the last flight was completed with the sixteen Challenge Air volunteer pilots departing to their respective home airports for a well deserved rest. The other community groups who helped departed as well. Although our CAP cadets were tired and ready to return home too, their work was not finished as they formed up inside the hangar for a ‘FOD walk down’ and left the hangar in a clean state for San Diego Jet Center to re-spot their corporate aircraft inside.

Many thanks to our very good friends from Ryan-Hemet Composite Sq. 59 for volunteering in a non-CAP status. The West Coast Director, Mrs. Lonna Gibson really appreciated their help and expertise keeping the volunteer pilots happy and more importantly, SAFE! Thanks to Capt David Saavedra for spearheading this effort as Project Officer, transporting cadets, looking after their safety and concerns. Special thanks to LtCol Steve Handrop for bringing Sq. 201 cadets so that they too can experience Challenge Air. Finally thanks to C/2Lt Chandra Murphy’s outstanding job supervising the cadets, responding to personnel requests, and rotating them around the flight line.

I’m sure everyone will be looking forward to next year’s Challenge Air event and becoming part of the famous Challenge Air Force, well perhaps, temporarily that is.

Semper Vigilans!

Maj Dennis S. Ammann

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Astronomy Night 2008



Tierra del Sol, CA -- Our fourth annual Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Astronomy Night proved to be a tremendous success as the previous three were!  Clear dark skies, warm night, outstanding turn-out with three squadrons this year, and an outside learning environment that was out of this world.  We are very grateful to Mr. Dennis “Astro Man” Ritz our host who not only shared his knowledge of the heavens, but also his observatory.  Mr. Ritz is a chemical engineer and also a pilot who owns a Cirrus SR22 low wing, four seat aircraft.  He has flown to Nome, AK to the State of Main and all points of the compass inside the USA and Canada, so Mr. Ritz is very familiar with both the night and day sky!

At 1300 hours the following San Diego Cadet Sq. 144 personnel reported to Maj Dennis Ammann, Squadron Commander at the 147th Combat Communications Squadron, CA Air National Guard for transportation to the San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA) site at Tierra del Sol:
Capt David Saavedra
2Lt Russell Wesley
C/2Lt Douglas Saavedra
C/SSgt Laura Brown
C/A1c Nathan Blackburne
C/Amn Yusuf Al-Hibshi
C/Amn Johnny Frantz
C/Amn Naomi Shea
C/AB Brett Ward
C/AB Michael Saavedra

The Squadron 144 parent volunteer drivers/cooks were:  Ms. Nancy Al-Hibshi, Mr. Art Brown, Mrs. Kuei-Mei Ammann, Mr. Alan Blackburne, and Mr. Mike Frantz.

With cadets assigned to respective vehicles, the convoy left at 1320 hours, arriving at the south end of the Golden Acorn Casino one hour later in order to meet with our the other two CAP squadrons and our host.

Joining us at the casino were the following personnel from South San Diego Cadet Squadron 201:
 
LtCol Steve Handrop
C/2Lt Matthew Lytle
C/SSgt Jacob Pucci
C/Amn John Handrop
C/Amn Philip Barlis
C/Amn C.J. Dela Vega
C/Amn Zack Hamner
C/Amn Wayne Stokes
C/Amn Daniel Taylor
C/AB Alex Thomas
C/AB Jacob Hamner

Parents supporting Sq. 201 with driving and cooking duties were:  Mr. Patrick Hamner, Mr. Bruce Lytle, and Mr. Wayne Stokes.

Also attending was 1Lt Shairre Van Duzer, Commander of San Diego Senior Squadron 57.

Attendance was down somewhat this year because of the Non-commissioned Officer School being held at March Air Reserve Base where one third of our cadets were either students or staffing this school.  It appears Sq. 144 is so large that we can now schedule two events and not miss a beat, providing something for everyone.

Upon assembly at the casino, our host, Mr. Dennis Ritz was introduced and spoke about the San Diego Astronomy Association’s (SDAA) ten acre site five miles to the south west, the night weather forecast, what planets were out that night, and a few rules and safety items that needed to be discussed.  With that said, Mr. Ritz led the way for the short drive to the SDAA site.

Upon arrival at 1500 hours, Maj Ammann conducted the mandatory CAP safety brief discussing dehydration, altitude awareness (3,500’), animal wildlife (including tarantulas) night hazards, and general campground safety.  The schedule of events for the weekend was discussed too.  Upon completion of the safety brief, the vehicles were off-loaded and CAP ‘tent city’ was set up around two of the observatories.  The cooks went right to work setting up the BBQs and cooking dinner which consisted of hot dogs and hamburgers and various other assorted drinks and food.  At about 1630 hours dinner was served and with so much food available, members of SDAA were invited to eat with us.

After dinner the first meeting of the night was held at 1830 hours by the BBQ area.  Everyone was instructed to affix a red transparent lens or red cellophane to their flashlights so their night vision would remain in tact and also not destroy other SDAA members’ night vision.  Major Ammann pointed out Venus, Jupiter, and the “summer triangle” that would be setting in the west soon and should be the first items on everyone’s list to observe first.  He also pointed out the North Star (Polaris), and how to find it using the Big Dipper.  One other item he always points out at is the direction of the center of our Milky Way Galaxy in the constellation of Sagittarius, 30,000 light years from Earth.  Other planets available for viewing in the evening sky were turquoise blue Neptune and light blue Uranus.  The “Red Planet” Mars was too close to the sun to be seen.

Everyone was encouraged to introduce themselves to the various SDAA club members and inquire what they were observing.  Friendliness and the willingness to share their knowledge of astronomy is one of the traits of this club.  In fact, each year Mr. Bob Austin, the SDAA President, makes his 17” Dobsonian telescope available to the cadets and welcomes them to view the stars in his observatory.  The club’s huge 22” Lipp telescope was available for observation with Ms. Alice Harvey, the SDAA secretary ready to explain what was being observed.  Likewise Mr. Ritz’ observatory was open for everyone to gaze at the various stars, nebulae, and galaxies through his 16” Meade LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope.  Aided with a computer astronomical software program on his laptop, he could quickly locate any celestial body of interest with the click of his mouse.  Mr. Ritz also had available for observation two Meade Dobsonian 18” and 16” telescopes.  Our old friend Mr. Jerry Hilburn who owns the observatory at the eastern end of the site also provided his telescope and knowledge to the cadets.  His astrophotography is well known at the SDAA.  One of his most noteworthy photos was a few years ago when a group of asteroids hit the planet Jupiter and he was able to record it on film right here at his observatory.

During the night, some of us took notice of the gradual light pollution to the NW (San Diego/Orange County) and to the east (Imperial Valley).  Only about 70% of the Milky Way is now available, with only two places in the United States where one can see the Milky Way stretch from horizon to horizon:  Death Valley National Park (central-east Calif.) and Arches National Park (SE Utah).  This was the first time that most of the cadets were able to see the Milky Way and the millions of stars shinning above.

Each year the cadets are taught how to find the most distant object one can see with the naked eye:  Andromeda Galaxy (M31) our nearest neighbor in the local group of galaxies near us.  This tiny fuzzy ball is 2.2 million light years from Earth and is high in the sky for easy viewing during autumn.  The good news is that Andromeda will collide with us and we’ll have twice as many stars in our heavens!  The bad news is this won’t happened until five billion years from now when planet Earth is nothing more than a cold burnt piece of rock floating in our galaxy. 

At 2200 hours a second meeting was held to discuss what the cadets were viewing and what they learned so far.  They were encouraged to continue their observations all night if they desired as the heavens moved overhead from east to west.  About this time the star cluster Pleiades (M45) (about 440 light years from Earth) was in an excellent position for observation.  This cluster is truly a beautiful sight to view with its blue-white stars shining away and the gaseous cloud scattering the light, a perfect example of God’s handiwork.  The Ring Nebula (M57) by the star Vega, seemed to be a favorite target among the amateur astronomers.  This nebula is 2,300 light years from Earth and is very interesting to view with a high powered telescope.
 
As the last cadets were starting to turn in at midnight, the winter constellation, Orion was rising in the east.  This is an astronomer’s playground with many nebula and other interesting objects to observe.  By this time, only Cadet Taylor from Sq. 201 was left and by 0100 hours everyone was asleep.
 
At 0430 hours Capt David Saavedra and his two cadet sons along with Cadet Naomi Shea set out to view Saturn and Orion.  Unfortunately Saturn was too low in the horizon along with the planet Mercury to observe in the east as the surrounding chaparral was too high for a telescope to aim at.
 
Reveille was held at 0600 and CAP tent city was quickly dismantled and loaded back in the vehicles by 0700 hours.  Prior to departure, the traditional “FOD” walk down was held as the cadets formed a line abreast and became a human vacuum cleaner sweeping from the east to the west end, leaving the SDAA site clean.  Prior to departure, the squadrons thanked “Astro Man” for hosting this event for a fourth straight year and sharing his telescopes and knowledge of astronomy.  Although Mr. Bob Austin was sleeping when we departed he too is very instrumental in allowing CAP to access the site, club equipment, and to camp out under the stars.
 
The squadrons left at 0815 hours and headed back to San Diego for the one hour drive.
 
Aerospace Education (AE) is one of the three missions of CAP and this activity is an excellent way to study astronomy.  The cadet AE study guide, Module 5 covers astronomy, but this activity is a “hands-on out of this world experience.”  The tools at our disposal were outstanding, to name a few:  the 22” Lipp Ritchey-Chretien reflector telescope; 8” refractor telescope; the aforementioned member owned telescopes; and the club members themselves providing astronomical knowledge to our cadets.

This event would not be possible without parents driving and pitching in to cook.  We would like to especially thank 2Lt Russell Wesley for providing the ‘mule’ service with his pick-up truck.  All bulky items were loaded in his vehicle to and from the site, saving room in the cars for more personnel to attend.  He also hauled the trash back to San Diego and properly disposed it.
 
Lastly, we would like to thank LtCol Steve Handrop and his squadron for joining us and also 1Lt Sharrie Van Duzer for her supervision of our female cadets during the night.  Events like this help mold CAP friendships and dialog with other squadrons, truly a ‘win-win’ activity.
 
Keep looking up!  Semper Vigilans!
 
Maj Dennis S. Ammann
Commander, San Diego Cadet Sq. 144
 

“You much knowing tube, more precious than any scepter.”

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)

-- describing Galileo’s telescope. --

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Clean Up San Diego

Chollas Creek Park Tree Planting - Community Service


National City, CA
Eleven San Diego Cadet Squadron 144 personnel and three guests lead by Capt David Saavedra, Project Officer, volunteered to participate in the 24th Annual California Coastal Clean Up Day, sponsored by the California Coastal Commission, on Saturday, 20 September 2008. The squadron was assigned to the Chollas Creek Park at 38th and Alpha Streets. This project consisted of planting trees and shrubs, weeding, watering, and removing debris from Chollas Creek Park.

In order for the cadets to earn hours in order to qualify to wear the CAP Community Service Ribbon, this event was designated as a non-CAP activity. Each cadet received credit for four hours; sixty total hours are required. Even though all personnel were in civilian clothes, the civilians in charge knew that Civil Air Patrol was present, thus providing good community relations and positive results for this park beautification project.

At 0800, Saturday, 20 September 2008, the following personnel reported for duty with Capt David Saavedra, Sq. 144 Project Officer:

Cadets
C/2Lt Douglas Saavedra
C/SrA Caleb Duescher
C/SrA Emily Duescher
C/SrA Hanna Olson
C/Amn Matthew McFarland
C/AB Brett Ward

Senior Members
Maj Dennis Ammann
Capt David Saavedra
2LT Heidi Olson
Cadet Sponsor Connie Duescher
Cadet Sponsor Mack McFarland

In addition to the above CAP members, three prospective members also volunteered to assist: Mr. Bob White and his niece, Miss Robin White and Michael Saavedra, Capt Saavedra’s son. They both pitched in as though full CAP members and if they desire to join CAP will make excellent future members.

All volunteers checked in by the event coordinator and received event T-shirts and job assignments by Michele and Rochelle the event leaders, who briefed the volunteers where to work throughout the site, what plants to weed, and where the best places are to plant the new plants. After her brief, gloves, shovels, rakes, and spades were distributed.

A safety brief was conducted by National Steel and Shipbuilding Industrial Safety Engineer, Mr. Bart Deem. He asked everyone to apply plenty of sun screen and drink water that was provided by the sponsors.

The volunteers spread out where they began shoveling and pulling out weeds and cacti. The time quickly passed with small trees and shrubs planted and watered throughout the park. After gathering up the trash bags and returning the gardening tools, this portion of the activity ended about 1200 hours.

The squadron headed to the barbecue about one mile from the site where everyone enjoyed a hearty lunch consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage links, carne asada, nachos, rice and beans, salad, including cold drinks. Several large trees provided welcome shade to the eaters.

During this period, Michele and Mr. Hugo Bermudez, Groundwork San Diego Captains, informed Capt Saavedra that they were again impressed by how well behaved, efficient, and effective Squadron 144 demonstrated themselves. Capt Saavedra informed them how proud he too was of the CAP volunteers because of their diligence and quick response to the short notice they received to participate and how they distinguished themselves among the other youth groups in attendance. He thanked them for their complements and observations.

At 1330 hours the activity secured and all personnel departed for home.

This successful event underscored how vital its purpose was, to encourage camaraderie and teamwork within the squadron. This non-CAP activity helped to reinforce leadership attributes, learned from CAP experiences, and practiced during the event by our cadets which will undoubtedly prove to be valuable in they future. Equally important, this “advertised” CAP to the community and offered recruiting opportunities to our cadets, essential to the successful continuation and growth of Squadron 144.

The best reward is looking at Chollas Creek Park and seeing it look cleaner with new plants and trees added. A feeling of accomplishment was felt by all during the event. Hopefully the cadets will add more hours to their respective “log books” and pin on this coveted CAP Community Service Ribbon after acquiring a total of sixty hours of community service.

Any event like this could not happen without our usual parent, Cadet Sponsors, and Senior Member drivers. Cadet Sponsors William McFarland and Connie Duescher and Mr. Bob White not only drove they also pitched in and worked right alongside with everyone. 2Lt Heidi Olson, squadron Public Affairs Officer took numerous photos for our website and newsletter while working hard too.

Respectfully submitted,

Captain David Saavedra
Project Officer

Archives

Squadron Honors
* Squadron of Merit - 2006
* California Wing Cadet Squadron of the Year 2005 & 2006
* Group 7 Cadet Squadron of the year 2004, 2005 and 2006