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Aerospace education and promotions a good mix Fort McHenry squadron

Cades Widmer, Boehk, and Darchicourt
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Fort McHenry cadets Ariel Widmer, Laura Boehk, and Adam Darchicourt visit the Potomac Consolidated Terminal Radar Approach Control facility. (Photo credit: SM John Ralph)

By Capt. Gayle Hirst
Fort McHenry Public Affairs

5/16/2007–Catonsville, MD–The Fort McHenry Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol Maryland Wing has been active in aerospace education and cadet programs, with several recent activities and promotions.

Lt. Col. Harry Meyers, USAFR, spoke to members of the squadron about his career in the Air Force, the extensive training he received, and his love of flying. “Hootch” Meyers served as an Electronic Warfare Office in many recent hot spots, including Desert Storm, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, and Iraqi Freedom. He flew over Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo in a variety of aircraft. Although his favorite plane is the F-15E Strike Eagle, Meyers has also flown the EF-111A Raven, EA-6B Prowler and others. Ft. McHenry members examined several different flight helmets and flight manuals he had used. Meyers is currently serving at the Pentagon.

Shortly after that, and in keeping with CAP’s mission to promote interest in aerospace and aviation, squadron members cadet chief master sgt. Laura Boehk, cadet master sgt. Adam Darchicourt, cadet airman Ariel Widmer, senior member John Ralph and Capt. Gayle Hirst toured the Potomac Consolidated Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) in Vint Hill, Va. TRACON is the air traffic control facility for the Baltimore, Washington, DC, Richmond, Shenandoah and Chesapeake areas. It tracks arriving and departing aircraft up to about fifty miles. It is the third busiest facility in the United States.

In addition to these events, the squadron hosted a promotions ceremony during a recent meeting. The following cadets were promoted:

  • Cadet Karneisha Jones, of Catonsville, was promoted to cadet airman. Jones is a freshman at Woodlawn High School.
  • Cadet Laura Boehk, of Catonsville, was promoted to cadet chief master sgt. A senior at Mount DeSales, she will be attending Villa Julie College in the fall
  • Cadet Stacey McManus, of Arbutus, was promoted to cadet first lieutenant. McManus is a senior at Western School of Technology and Environmental Science and will be attending the Community College of Baltimore County in the fall.

CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 60,000 members nationwide. CAP volunteers perform 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.

Members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 25,000 young people currently participating in the CAP Cadet Program. CAP's cadet programs provide young men and women with a safe and motivating environment in which to grow and explore opportunities in the military and aviation industries. Cadets progress through a 16-step program of leadership and aerospace education. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 63 years.

There are approximately 1,300 members of CAP in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 34 search and rescue missions and were credited with 23 finds.

For information about the Maryland Wing of CAP, visit http://mdcap.org/ or listen to weekly episodes of "Civil Air Patrol Today" broadcast every Sunday morning on the following radio stations:

  • Annapolis, MD - WYRE-AM 810, 8:00-8:30AM ET
  • Baltimore, MD - WFBR AM 1590, 8:00-8:30AM ET
  • Ocean City, MD - WKHZ-AM 1590, 7:00-7:30AM ET
  • Potomac, MD - WCTN 950 AM, 6:00-6:30AM ET
  • Rockville, MD - WLXE-AM 1600, 7:00-7:30AM ET
  • Washington, DC - WZHF-AM 1390, 7:00-7:30AM ET

In addition, programs may be listened to at the Maryland Wing web site at http://mdcap.org/radio/ and can also be subscribed to as a podcast.

The Fort McHenry Composite Squadron meets on Tuesday evenings at the Bloomsbury Community Center in Catonsville, Md. Prospective members are always welcome. Visit the squadron website at http://fortmchenry.mdwg.cap.gov/ for more information.