Five Long Island Civil Air Patrol Squadrons Win Quality Cadet Unit Award

SAYVILLE, N.Y., September 23, 2016 – It was announced by Civil Air Patrol's (CAP) national headquarters in Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., that five squadrons in Nassau and Suffolk County have each won the Quality Cadet Unit Award for 2016. As cited on CAP's main website, “Any cadet unit that displays strong program fundamentals can earn the Quality Cadet Unit Award. This award motivates squadrons to pursue goals that will inevitably lead to their having a vibrant Cadet Program.”

Presented as an annual nationwide challenge for CAP cadet and composite squadrons, the criteria for the Quality Cadet Unit Award include excellence in aerospace education, individual progress metrics, Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) exercises, encampment participation, fielding a CyberPatriot team and other membership statistics. Visit www.capmembers.com/qcua for more information.

“I would like to express my pride and admiration for the five Quality Cadet Units here in Long Island Group,” said Lt. Col. Louis P. Fenech Jr., commander of CAP's Long Island Group. “It shows that our units are doing a fantastic job here on Long Island. I am certain that next year all of our cadet squadrons will earn this award.” The five winning squadrons are Col. Francis S. Gabreski Cadet Squadron from Bayport, Suffolk Cadet Squadron 10 from Holbrook, Brian M. Mooney Cadet Squadron from Shirley, 9th Suffolk Cadet Squadron from Westhampton Beach and Lt. Quentin Roosevelt Cadet Squadron from Bethpage.

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 for more information.

Long Island Group Civil Air Patrol is headquartered on the grounds of Long Island MacArthur Airport. For more information, please visit the Group’s website at http://lig.nywg.cap.gov.