Putnam County Composite Squadron welcomes community to open house

Civil Air Patrol’s Putnam County Composite Squadron welcomed residents to an open house on October 21, 2016 at the Paladin Center in Carmel, NY. A number of interested students and parents attended the open house and discovered flying, rocketry, robotics, coding, leadership and emergency services skills are all offered by Civil Air Patrol. Attendees had the opportunity to speak with members and view displays featuring model rockets, a wind tunnel demonstrating aerodynamics and emergency services gear.

Captain Elena MacDermant, Squadron Commander, welcomed visitors, provided a brief history of the squadron, spoke about leadership and emergency services skills, and the confidence students acquire as they progress through the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program. “At some point in your life you will lead people. What you learn about leadership in CAP will stay with you the rest of your life. The emergency services skills you learn will also stay with you and may save you one day,” MacDermant told the audience.

Residents heard from cadet officers about their experiences, from the thrill of a first flight, to launching rockets, attending encampments and participating in search and rescue exercises. Colonel Joe Wooley, Southeastern Group Commander, also spoke to the audience, emphasizing the life long skills cadets learn by active participation in the program. He also noted the various opportunities available to parents, from working with cadets to participating in local or statewide missions.

Members of the Putnam County Composite Squadron meet on Friday’s from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Paladin Center, located at 39 Seminary Hill Road, Carmel, NY. For additional information contact Captain E. MacDermant at Elenamac@aol.com.

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.