Monroe Composite Squadron
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Monroe Cadets Shine at Awards Night

October 16, 2020

Members of the Civil Air Patrol’s Monroe Composite Squadron gathered Thursday night at Custer Airport for the Squadron’s quarterly Open House and Awards night, where several awards and promotions were presented by the Squadron Commander, Captain Nathan Harmon, as well as members of both Group 705 and Michigan Wing staff.

“The Cadets have been working hard to complete all of the requirements needed for their promotions,” said Capt Matt Thompson, the Squadron’s Deputy Commander for Cadets. “Despite all of the COVID restrictions that have held many Squadrons back, our Cadets have gone above and beyond to continue pushing forward with the program, and I couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments!”

Squadron members formed up in the open hangar at Custer Airport where more than two dozen awards and promotions were presented.

Cadet Mary Wright received an Achievement Award for winning the Group 705 essay contest, a contest put on by Group Commander Lt Col Maria Accardo at the beginning of COVID to challenge Cadets to look for good examples of leadership amidst the growing crisis. Cadet Wright wrote her essay about two individuals in her personal life that exemplified the qualities of a good leader. She was presented with a ribbon, along with a personal challenge coin from Lt Col Accardo.

Three Cadets were presented with their Basic Ground Team badges, meaning they are qualified to take part in real world search and rescue missions and are trained to save lives. Cadets Victoria Poreda, Lincoln Schossau and Jonah White were presented their badges by the Group 705 Emergency Services Officer, Lt Col Mark Woodruff.

Eight Cadets were presented with Marksmanship Badges earned through the NRA’s marksmanship program, which were presented by Lt Col Accardo and Lt Col Woodruff. These Cadets were Zhakharius Dafney-Holloway, Cy Dorenzo, Christian Koszka-Lombardo, Aidan Benskey, Leah Benskey, Maranda Sample, Logan Williams and Mary Wright. All three female Cadets finished in the top four, with the top marksman being Cadet Sample.

Three members received the Red Service Ribbon with a bronze clasp, signifying five years of service to the Civil Air Patrol. These members were Cadet Mandy Petkovich, 1st Lt Ryan Graczyk and Capt Dave Holz.

Captains Luke Bunge and Matt Thompson were presented with the Grover Loening Award, signifying their completion of Level 3 of Civil Air Patrol’s Education and Training program.

Cadet Cameryn Jenkins was awarded the Amelia Earhart Award, signifying her completion of the third phase of the Cadet Program. The Earhart Award was presented by the Michigan Wing Commander, Col Rajesh Kothari, and is only earned by less than 3% of Civil Air Patrol cadets.

Finally, thirteen Cadets were promoted Thursday evening. Those Cadets were Brody Mclaury, who was promoted to Cadet Airman, Natalie Goins who was promoted to Cadet Airman 1st Class, Cy Dorenzo and Jonah White who were promoted to Cadet Senior Airman, Maranda Sample who was promoted to Cadet Staff Sergeant, Mary Wright, Aidan Benskey, Lincoln Schossau, Isaac Schossau and Victoria Poreda who were promoted to Cadet Technical Sergeant, Christopher Wells who was promoted to Cadet Master Sergeant, Mandy Petkovich who was promoted to Cadet Chief Master Sergeant, and Christian Koszka-Lombardo who was promoted to Cadet First Lieutenant.

Prior to the start of the awards ceremony, the Squadron also held an open-house and information meeting, and will begin training new Cadets on Thursday, October 22 at the airport.

The Civil Air Patrol is the all-volunteer, civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force, and includes more than 30,000 youth aged Cadets age 12-18 who take part in aviation, STEM and cyber activities, search and rescue, as well as leadership and character development. For more information please visit monroe.cap.gov or facebook.com/monroesquadron

View the event gallery on our Squadron's photo site here: Awards Night 15 Oct 2020

 

 

 

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