Civil Air Patrol Cadet Completes Program With Highest Honor

By: Cadet Senior Airman Alexis Vasiliadis

North Riverside, Illiois

After spending 6 years in the program, Cadet Colonel Matt Walden’s last day as a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol was October 24th, 2017. During those years, he actively participated in Spring Encampments, NCSAs, and Emergency Services.

Some of his proudest achievements were partaking in the Cadet Officer School and being the commander of an advanced flight at Spring Encampment 2014. He initially joined to take part in Search and Rescue missions, but later took interest in holding leadership positions. Cadet Colonel Walden was assigned to the position of Cadet Commander of then Chicago Midway Cadet Squadron (now renamed Magnus Composite Squadron) at the young rank of Cadet Senior Master Sergeant and having to take major responsibilities at the time. These leadership opportunities inspired Walden to earn the coveted General Carl A. Spaatz Award, the highest award in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program. This accomplishment is only achieved by five out of one thousand cadets. Since the award’s inception in 1964, Civil Air Patrol has presented the Spaatz Award to only 2,000 cadets nation-wide.

Walden states, “The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program has provided me the opportunities to test and utilize leadership skills and practical knowledge that has impacted my community, state, and nation around me.” Walden will be continuing his membership in the program , moving over to the adult-volunteer side next month.

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The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program aims to teach today’s youth to become tomorrow’s leaders. It opens the door to a variety of experiences that these cadets can then use when they go on to college or enter the job market. If you would like to learn more, please visit http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/how_to_join.

Magnus Composite Squadron meets every Tuesday from 7-9pm at Illinois National Guard facility in North Riverside, Illinois with members from surrounding communities such as Chicago, Oak Lawn, Burbank and Forest Park.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 80 lives annually. CAP’s 57,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. CAP also plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to 24,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information.