The

Scorpion Times
Waterville Composite Squadron Volume 2 June Sept 2014




Commanders Corner
This will be my last input as Squadron Commander. As Commander I
have seen a lot of ups and downs. In the last 3 years, The Waterville Squadron
has grown, as well as receiving a lease from the city of Waterville.
As a Squadron we have accomplished a few achievements. We had a
cadet accepted to West Point, participated more in emergency services, had
100% of cadets with their 1
st
O-Flight, maintained 100% long term senior
recruiting and retention and 100% of cadets short term and yet another
Mitchell recipient.
This evening will bring a 7 year hitch as Commander to a close. I leave
the Squadron in the very capable hands of 2
nd
Lt Roger Sabourin. I am sure his
staff will support him as they have supported me. For a while, my staff
consisted of 2 other active adults, then one of them retired from the program;
oops major challengerecruit more help! Lt Sabourin will also have that
challenge. It is not easy to run a Squadron, especially when you are very short
staffed. Being a senior member in the Civil Air Patrol can and will be very
rewarding.
I would like to congratulate C/2
nd
LT Kenneth McKenzie on his
promotion and achieving a high award. I believe he will make it to see the
Spaatz award. He will have plenty of support to achieve his goal. I would also
like to congratulate the rest of the cadets who are promoting this evening.
I hear by challenge each and every cadet to look at Lt McKenzie and
follow his lead up the ladder.
I will not be a stranger to the Squadron, I will keep in touch and I will see
the Squadron Personnel at the monthly training exercises. I will be transferring
to the 58
th
Squadron in Portland. I have been asked to work in cadet programs
as Deputy Commander of Cadets.
If anyone would like to send me an e-mail, you can at;
john.berryman@mewg.cap.gov





Recent Activities
June: Change of Command Ceremony for
C/2Lt Johel Stephenson and C/CMSgt Kenny
Mckenzie.
Promotions:




July: 4
th
of July Parade

Pittsfield Fly-in: July 19
th




August: Wings over Wiscasset Aug 9
th

September: Greenville Sea Plane Fly in
B-17 FLYING FORTRESS
TOUR
By: C/CMSgt Ken McKenzie

On Monday August 4
th
, the B-17
Flying Fortress, The Sentimental Journey,
was based at the Trenton Airport until
August 6
th
, when it would be transferred to
the Acadian National Heritage Airshow. My family and I took advantage of this and went for a
tour of this historic aircraft. It started at the nose, just under the cockpit, and went through the
bomb bay, past the waist gunners position and exited just before the tail gunner. Being in a B-
17 shows just how cramped it really was for the crew; the only way through the bomb bay was
over a one foot wide walkway, and towards the front of the
plane, crawling was necessary to avoid hitting your head. An
amazing thing was looking up at the ceiling and seeing the
cables and wires that controlled the flaps and rudder, running
all along the plane. Another neat thing, is that, the group that
owns this aircraft are having veterans who have flown, or been
on a crew of a B-17, write their names on the inside of the
bomb bay doors, along with brief messages, or, even
memorials to crew members that died. This tour reminded me
of how much our ancestors had to endure to keep this country
alive and free.




Photo Credit: Julie McKenzie



Dedication Page
This News Letter is dedicated to Major John Berryman for his outstanding service within
the Waterville Composite Squadron.
Major Berryman Joined CAP in October of 2006. He started as a Senior Member and thats
all he wanted to do. But as he got more into the program he decided to start his
Professional Development. Not long after he decided this, he was asked to become the
Squadron Commander, He got an automatic promotion to 1
st
LT. (this was on the old
system) When he took command, the Squadron had around 8 active cadets, however, it
didnt stay that way. After about a year, his active cadet count was 2. The Wing Commander
at the time, Col Hayden, came into the squadron and help it out a lot. Finally, after about 6
months and a Squadron remodel, the Cadet count grew again. But disaster struck, The
Squadron, which was located in the basement of the bus terminal, flooded, and mold
started growing, deeming it unsafe. Fortunately, The Grey Hound bus terminal agreed to let
us meet upstairs. It turned into a short run, however, due to the City of Waterville deciding
to shut the place down. But with a stroke of luck, our squadron was able to use the Airport
FBO as the Meeting Place, and over the next years the Maj fought with the city to get a lease
signed. And now here we are.
In conclusion, you can just imagine how much work Maj Berryman has done to this
Squadron since he took command. He took an almost failing Charter and completely flipped
it in the other direction. We are going to Miss Maj Berryman and Im sure we will all agree
that we want him to come back often for a visit.


Hey you! Yeah You! The one reading this, we need new topics and ideas! Please submit your ideas for
the newsletter to Lt Berryman! Do you want to write a paragraph? GREAT! Do you want to have your
own ask column? GREAT! Get active within the Newsletter! Please email ideas to
Joshua.berryman@mewg.cap.gov
No later than December 1, 2014