Cadet Capt. Patrick Jackson, Civil Air Patrol, receives the Amelia Earhart Award

Shown L – R: Cadet Capt. Patrick Jackson, Col. Steven Tracy, Commander, NJ Wing, and Rev. Jill Robb Paulson, granddaughter of CAP Founder, Rev. Gill Robb Wilson.

Cadet Capt. Patrick Jackson, of the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron, Peapack - Gladstone, NJ, was presented with his Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Amelia Earhart Award by Col. Steven Tracy, Commander, NJ Wing, with Rev. Jill Robb Paulson, granddaughter of CAP Founder, Rev. Gill Robb Wilson, at the NJ Wing Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, on March 11th.

Cadet Capt. Patrick Jackson is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Jackson of Bernardsville, NJ. He is in the 10th Grade at the Oratory Preparatory School, Summit, NJ, where he is active in varsity Ice Hockey, junior varsity cross country, and on the Student Council. Within Lone Eagle, he is the Cadet Commander, and has served as Flight Commander, Emergency Services Officer, has attended Regional Cadet Leadership and Hawk Mountain Ranger schools, and the NJ Wing Basic Encampment as Delta Flight Commander in 2106 and is on staff for 2017.

The Amelia Earhart Award is the third cadet milestone achievement award and is earned after successful completion of the first eleven achievements of the cadet program. In addition to the achievements, the cadet must pass a comprehensive examination on aerospace and leadership on top of a demanding physical fitness test. Less than 3% of the Civil Air Patrol cadets earn this award.

The Lone Eagle Composite Squadron meets on Wednesday nights at the Scout Cabin, Borough of Peapack-Gladstone, NJ. For more information about the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron, see www.loneeagle.org or contact Capt. Steven S. Kiss, Commander, at 973-769-7032 or Steven.Kiss@njwg.cap.gov .

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and 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 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Performing missions for America for the past 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com or www.njwg.cap.gov for more information.