Cadet Col Patrick Jackson, of Bernardsville,gets CAP Spaatz Award

Shown L-R: Col Joseph Abegg, CAP, NJ Wing Commander, Cadet Col Patrick Jackson, and Brigadier Gen Bruce Thompson, ANG, ret.

Cadet Col Patrick Jackson, of the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron, Morristown National Guard Armory, NJ, was presented recently with his Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Gen Carl A. Spaatz Award by BGen Bruce Thompson, ANG, ret., and Col Joseph Abegg, CAP, NJ Wing Commander, at the NJ Wing CAP Conference, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Cadet Capt. Patrick Jackson is the son of Mr. and Mrs. James Jackson of Bernardsville, NJ. He is in the 11th Grade at the Oratory Preparatory School, Summit, NJ, where he is active in varsity Ice Hockey and junior varsity cross country. Within Lone Eagle, he is serving as Special Advisor and has served as the Cadet Commander, Flight Commander, and Emergency Services Officer. Within the NE Region and NJ Wing, he has attended the Regional Cadet Leadership and Hawk Mountain Ranger schools and the NJ Wing Basic Encampments as a Flight Commander, staff, and has been designated the 2018 Basic Encampment Cadet Commander . He has also been selected as the Cadet Emergency Services Officer for the NJ Wing.

The Spaatz Award, the cadet’s highest award, is achieved by cadets who successfully complete all phases of the CAP cadet program and then pass comprehensive leadership and aerospace education examinations, a written essay, and a physical fitness test. Only about one half of one percent of CAP cadets earn the Spaatz Award. The award honors General Carl A. Spaatz, who was the first USAF chief of staff and the second national commander of the Civil Air Patrol.

The Lone Eagle Composite Squadron meets on Wednesday nights at the Morristown National Guard Armory, NJ. Youth can start the cadet program at age twelve. For more information about the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron, contact Major Judith Bascone, Commander, at 973-876-2309 or Judith.Bascone@njwg.cap.gov. Also, see: www.loneeagle.org .

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 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. In addition, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs. Visit www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com or www.CAP.news for more information. At the NJ State, Group, and Squadron level, visit respectively: www.njwg.cap.gov , www.group221.njwg.cap.gov , and www.loneeagle.org .