Jay Swaney of the Civil Air Patrol received the General Billy Mitchell Award and was promoted  from Chief Master Sgt. to Cadet 2nd Lt. on May 3.

The General Billy Mitchell Promotion is a milestone in the program that is received after a cadet has completed the first eight achievements. The cadet must also complete a 100-question exam on leadership theory and aerospace-related topics.

Powell Mayor John Wetzel presented the award, along with Swaney’s parents and numerous siblings.

Swaney began the program three years ago when he was 16 after meeting a member of the Civil Air Patrol in Tennessee.

“I was talking to him … and was pretty interested in all the things with search and rescue and education both within the unit, what things you could learn and what they were able to teach other people in the community,” Swaney said.

Swaney has now been a member of the Civil Air Patrol for three years and is currently planning on joining the Wyoming Air Guard while he finishes school. Following school, he plans to stay with the Wyoming Air Guard. 

“CAP is a great asset for kids,” Jay’s father, Aaron Swaney, said. “They have a flight program in the summertime for very little expense where a kid can go and get his or her pilot’s license in just a couple of weeks. So that I think is a vastly underutilized program that’s available to local kids and kids all over the nation, so I’m totally sold on the program.”