Civil Air Patrol open house is Tuesday

• Squadron of Year

Captain Rodney Byam (from left), Cadet Commander Aric Ablog and Deputy Commander Bill Bolt display the Minnesota Wing Squadron of the Year Achievement Banner that was presented to the Worthington squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

Talk about it

WORTHINGTON — The Worthington Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol has a lot to celebrate when it hosts its annual open house Tuesday night at the local airport.

The squadron, which serves the five southwest Minnesota counties of Rock, Nobles, Jackson, Cottonwood and Murray, but has members from both Iowa and South Dakota as well, has been presented the Minnesota Wing Squadron of the Year Achievement Banner. In addition, Captain Rodney Byam, squadron commander, received a plaque as a Senior Member of the Year, and former Cadet Commander Aric Ablog was honored as the Cadet of the Year.

Byam said the state recognition is quite an honor for the squadron, which came close to being dismantled just two years ago. The squadron had diminished to just two cadets and six senior members, but 15 members are needed to be considered a squadron.

“The Minnesota Wing gave us a grace period to rebuild,” said Byam. “Our prior commander, Mark McCormack, held the squadron together probably longer than anybody, and he deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Today, the squadron has a membership of 20 cadets and 20 seniors, and Byam hopes it continues to grow. He said the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) squadron is one of the best kept secrets in Worthington.

Tuesday’s open house, which begins at 6 p.m. and serves up free hot dogs and hamburgers, offers people in the community an opportunity to visit the squadron and see what CAP is all about. The event includes a program at 7 p.m., during which time promotions and recognitions are made of existing members.

“Kids that join the Civil Air Patrol usually have an interest in aviation or emergency services or volunteering,” Byam said.

Once considered a search and rescue organization, CAP has broadened its scope to include more Homeland Security missions, such as landmark photography, drug reduction programs, county drug flights and assisting agencies such as Red Cross with mass feeding and sheltering training.

“We teach cadets to operate cameras and they participate when we do aerial photography,” Byam said. “(The images) are used by law enforcement for pre-planning schools — anything that could be a target for terrorism.

“A lot of times we’re requested by agencies in our counties to do photography of landmarks,” he added. “We are available to any emergency management or law enforcement agency.”

Youths ages 12 through 22 can become a CAP cadet, while adults interested in the program can join as a senior member. Their task is to help cadets learn and participate in emergency search and rescue exercises. Meetings are conducted at 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the Worthington Airport.

The Worthington squadron includes three female cadets, and Byam said there are also multiple nationalities represented.

“Four cadets are daughters and sons of refugees from Burma, and we have three Hispanic cadets,” he said. “We are definitely equal opportunity. We welcome anyone who wants to learn. It’s a really great experience for them. Some of them would never get a chance to be in an airplane otherwise, or fly a glider.”

Aerospace is a major component of the Civil Air Patrol, and cadets spend a lot of time learning about flying and having access to flights.

“We have inspection of uniforms (Cadets get Air Force blues and a battle dress uniform upon joining) and there’s drill,” Byam said of their weekly meetings. “We’re an educational institution when it gets right down to it. (Cadets learn) aerospace, moral leadership and emergency services. We go to great lengths to make it fun and a learning exercise.”

The programs at weekly meetings cover everything from safety and aviation to education and emergency services. One of the ongoing programs is teaching cadets to be cyber patriots so they can make their home computer safe and learn how to set up networks.

“We teach them ham radio, and once a month we have a minister come in and they have a moral leadership course,” Byam said.

As a rule, the CAP prefers Cadets who are involved in no more than one school sport throughout the year because it makes it too difficult for them to otherwise attend the CAP meetings.

“We require about eight hours per week,” Byam said.

About one-quarter of CAP Cadets go on to join a branch of the military.

“We’re big on volunteerism, so we encourage them to volunteer with organizations outside CAP,” he said.

Assisting Byam in leadership of the local squadron is Deputy Commander Bill Bolt. Hunter Bolt will take over as Cadet Commander during Tuesday’s open house, filling a role vacated by Aric Ablog, who has joined the Air Force. The squadron chaplain is the Rev. James Sickmeyer, who also happens to serve as the National CAP chaplain.

During Tuesday night’s open house, Ham Radio demonstrations will be provided by the Worthington Area Ham Radio Club in the hangar. The club is looking for new members, and anyone interested in joining can learn more that night about a technician radio class and general radio class, both of which will be offered starting in November.

Daily Globe Reporter Julie Buntjer may be reached at 376-7330.

Tags: news, worthington