By Stephen Smoot
“The sky is not the limit. It’s just the beginning.”
This was said by a man who grew up in a town called Myra, whose streetscape borders the Mud River in Lincoln County. As an adult, he shot down 11.5 enemy aircraft in Europe, then after the war piloted a plane faster than any human to that point.
Brigadier General Chuck Yeager knew something about using a passion for flight to rise to great heights. His quote could also apply to the opportunities offered to area boys and girls by the Civil Air Patrol.
The Civil Air Patrol started as a solution to pressing problems. Decades ago, Gill Robb Wilson traveled to Germany during their year of hosting the Olympics in the capital city of Berlin. He came back with a disturbing, yet prescient, conclusion. The Germany that he toured would soon join Japan and lead the Continent, perhaps the world, into war.
By 1941, Wilson and like-minded individuals across the nation had developed ideas for a civilian arm for air defense. It would supplement the efforts of the Army Air Force in case the wars expanding through Europe, Asia, and Africa would drag in the United States.
Which, of course, they did.
Civil Air Patrol opened operations, with the approval of the Departments of Commerce, War, and Navy, on December 1, 1941. Active recruiting started just as the United States declared war on Germany and Japan after the Pearl Harbor raid.
A single authority combined all of the previous similar organizations that had operated previously. During the war, CAP focused on air patrols of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
It also put an eye to the future, developing a mission centered around three pillars: aerospace education, cadet programs, and emergency services.
That remains the heart of the Civil Air Patrol today, especially in its Potomac Highlands Squadron based at the airport in Petersburg. The squadron has conducted active operations since 1964. Today, two of the 17 permanent volunteer members who help the squadron meet the needs of the present while preparing for the future are Captain John Banks and Second Lieutenant Diana Layton.
Captain Banks, who also works as a substitute teacher at East Hardy High School, serves as the aerospace education officer with Lt Layton in support. She explained that “we have a required educational curriculum” that includes a lot of hands-on projects supplemented by classroom and online learning.
One of those educational projects involves “taking them to Monterrey to launch rockets.” Cadets will be supervised as they assemble different kinds of rockets for launch. Some have multiple stages while others are designed to carry payloads – in this case an egg. Capt. Banks also shared that “we just got done with a moon tree project.” This project featured seeds for trees that were sent on a mission that orbited the moon. The seeds were sent back to the CAP, which had arranged for them to be planted in a special location in Brighton Park.
Another regular trip, called “encampment” takes cadets to military style training at Camp Dawson, on the Cheat River near Kingwood in Preston County. Under close supervision, cadets learn first aid and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, how to convert an M4 into a .22 long rifle, the safe way to load and fire weapons, and also the full military experience – including waking up before dawn, physical training, and more.
CAP also offers partnerships with any educators from public school teachers to home schoolers. These partnerships provide access for “experiential, inquiry-based learning” free of charge. As a CAP resource sheet states, “the introductory kits are categorized in the areas of aviation, space, and cyber and are designed to enhance instruction and youth programs.”
Aerospace education can start young people on pathways that end in high paying jobs only two hours from Petersburg. The aerospace industry has expanded tremendously in the Clarksburg-Bridgeport region, with an almost unlimited need for people in high paying positions projected for at least the next decade. CAP can serve as a solid foundation from which cadets can ascend into some of the best job opportunities in the state.
Cadet programs start at the age of 12, but those who aspire to it can join earlier. CAP encourages both boys and girls to attend three classes to see if they are interested in making the commitment. They can come to these before they hit the age of 12.
The Potomac Highlands Squadron also welcomes CAP cadets to Petersburg to camp at the airfield and take part in training and other activities. Many come from the District of Columbia, Delaware, and North Carolina.
Apart from serving the youth and inspiring many to dream big, CAP has another role in augmenting emergency services.
For cadets, few days can top the ones in which they themselves can actively take flight, then enjoy an experience that only a privileged few ever see.
On these days, trained cadets push both a single engine Cessna 182 and a glider out of their hangar. With efficiency and skill, the cadets attach tow ropes to connect the aircraft. The Cessna then powers up, pulls the glider along the runway, and takes it into flight.
When the two reach the right altitude and speed, the glider disconnects and flies freely. The glider’s economy-sized cockpit carries two, normally a cadet and an experienced CAP glider pilot. Depending on their level of experience, the cadet flies the engineless aircraft, bringing her gracefully back down onto the runway.
Once both the aircraft land, cadets who remained on the ground once again take up the tow rope and attach them back together for another flight. At the end of the day, the cadets wipe down the equipment and put the rope away.
On the walls of the CAP squadron headquarters in Petersburg hangs a framed copy of Life magazine from 1960. Under a headline referring to Richard Nixon speaking about “national purpose,” one can see a small green figure against a background featuring a cloud bank of many shades of gray
The photograph marks Colonel Joe Kittinger’s historic parachute jump from 19 miles, or 100,000 feet, above the surface of the Earth. The framed magazine on the office wall also includes Colonel Kittinger’s autograph.
After his heroics as a parachute jumper, an F4 pilot in Vietnam, and a prisoner of war kept in the Hanoi Hilton, Colonel Kittinger saw the value of the CAP, donating a vast sum of money to fund high altitude contests for those in the CAP.
Heroes, leaders, and those whose hard work supports great endeavors get their start somewhere. The lessons learned at the CAP can provide a solid foundation for those aspiring to do any of these.
