With parents and siblings watching, seven cadets from the Yellowstone Regional Composite Squadron of Civil Air Patrol received promotions at the end of the year Promotion and Family Night on Dec. 20.

New cadets Henry White and Austin Fenwick from Cody and Christopher Blutt from Ten Sleep received their first achievement promotion of Airman, called the Curry Achievement. This is named after Major General John F. Curry, the first National Commander of Civil Air Patrol.

The highlight of the evening was the bestowing of the milestone award to Cadet Tony Salgado of Cody.

Milestone awards are given for major transitions between grades and Cadet Salgado went from Airman status to non-commissioned officer status by earning the grade of Staff Sergeant. This award is the Wright Brothers Award, named for Wilbur and Orville Wright, the first men to achieve powered, controlled, sustained, heavier-than-air flight.

Cody resident, Cadet Abigail LaFrentz, received her first promotion to Airman in September and was able to fulfill the requirements for promotion to Airman First Class (A1C) just 56 days later at this ceremony. Her Arnold Achievement is named after Hap Arnold, the commanding general of U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.  

Powell resident Adam Swaney and Burlington/Otto resident Wyatt Houchin both received the Rickenbacker award of Technical Sergeant. Eddie Rickenbacker was America’s “Ace of Aces” during World War I. C/TSgt Houchin received his original NCO ranking of Staff Sergeant just months before. Both cadets are working their way up the non-commissioned officer ranks and gaining more leadership positions within the squadron.

In addition to the multitude of promotions cadets received, some additional awards in the way of a National Crisis ribbon for service during COVID and a unit citation that was awarded to the entire Civil Air Patrol membership in the state of Wyoming for service during 2018-2021.

Several squadron members were honored for their contributions during the past year.  Cadets Abigail LaFrentz, Adam Swaney and Jay Swaney along with Senior Members Lt. Col. Mike Carlson and Major Karl Lampe, were recognized for their help in conducting an aviation course at the Cody Middle School during the first two quarters of this school year. The class met almost every Friday and the members worked tirelessly to promote aviation to a total of 30 students.

Second Lieutenant Zach Johnston from Cody was recognized for his contribution to the squadron and Cadet Captain Rui Parker from Deaver was also awarded a certificate of appreciation for his work as Cadet Commander for the squadron this past year.

All in all, the cadets of the Yellowstone Squadron have worked hard to accomplish what they did. They learned leadership skills, aerospace concepts, character development concepts, as well as maintaining fitness goals.

The squadron always accepts new members, both as cadets (age 12-18) or senior members (18 and above). If interested in seeing what Civil Air Patrol is about, please visit a meeting or call/write the Squadron Commander, Lt. Col. BJ Carlson, at 307-762-3536 or capcommander@gmail.com. Meetings are held every Tuesday night from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Powell Armory, across from Powell High School. More information about Civil Air Patrol can be obtained at gocivilairpatrol.com/.

Established in 1941, CAP is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 555 single-engine aircraft and 2,250 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center with saving 108 lives last year.

CAP’s 58,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state, and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based science, technology, engineering, and math education resources. Members also serve as mentors to over 24,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs.