BARTOW-ETOWAH COMPOSITE SQUADRON: GA 129

www.ga129.org

FLYING EAGLES
March
Edition

Civil

February definitely began on a positive note with two

Milestone Awards Ceremonies.

On Thursday evening, 5 February,

Air

C/SSgt Ashley Goins received her Wright Brothers Award and C/2Lt
Ryan Drawver received his General Billy Mitchell Award. As a special

Patrol

treat, Colonel Brent Bracewell shared his thoughts about how to become
an outstanding leader by understanding how to successfully work with
others in order to achieve goals. Last, but definitely not least, was a
presentation by Captain Don Schumacher about how to plan for a future

after High School in a military Academy. There is no doubt that people

who wish to achieve success know how to set meaningful goals early in
life. SMART goal setting is the secret to outstanding results.
On Saturday, 7 February, there was a workday at the
Squadron which was extremely productive. Special thanks to Major Ed
Hotchkiss, Lt Col Jim Card, SM James Parker, and SM Robert Tommie
for all the work they invested in order to create a working

Squadron Commander

Communications Room at the Squadron. In addition to replacing an

Lt Col Ilana Mor

ineffective base unit, an antennae was secured which now allows

The CAP Natl website is

http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/

GA129 to participate in the weekly CAP net. While work on the Comm
Room was happening, 2Lt John DiCara and Mrs. Tommie worked with

The GAWG website is

Cadets to organize the uniform shed as well as all of the chevrons,

http://www.GAWG.cap.gov/

ribbons, patches, and ribbon holders. Last, but not least, as all of this
was taking place, there was a meeting with the Staff who are involved in
the creation of the 6-8 March Leadership Weekend at Catoosa.
On Monday, 9 February, there was Professional Development
Instruction for PDOs. Many thanks to Chaplain Whitworth who came
to the Squadron to help our Professional Development Instructors
further their understanding of Level I in the Senior Member path of
progression.
On Saturday, 14 February, GAWG Inspector Generals

Strength of the Nation

by Dr. Ilana Mor

BARTOW-ETOWAH
COMPOSITE
SQUADRON
Southeast Region
Georgia Wing

came to the Squadron for a Squadron SUI. We have not received the
results yet, but hopefully we passed the inspection successfully.
While many from Group I were at Frostbite, members of
GA129 battled the weather, and the Squadron Leadership Day which
was scheduled for Saturday the 21st was cancelled.

Hopefully the

Glider Flights scheduled for the 28th will not be affected.

Integrity Volunteer Service Excellence Respect

Semper
Vigilans

CONGRATULATIONS C/2LT RYAN DRAWVER AND C/SSGT ASHLEY GOINS

The most challenging, the most rewarding, and the best job in CAP
THE POSITION OF SQUADRON COMMANDER
By Lt Col Philip F. Bowden

Former Commander PTC-FF Comp SQ GA-116

It was quite a surprise to me, and not just a little alarming, when the Squadron Senior Members asked me to meet with
them. It was in December 1980, and I had been a senior member of the Atlanta Composite Squadron 2 only since May,
just seven months. At that time, my duty assignment was Aerospace Education Officer so I wondered what I had done
to be called on the carpet.
When I arrived, the senior staff was crowded into the Squadron Commanders office with the exception of the
Commander who was not there. The United States Air Force Reserve Assistance Officer (RAO), Major Gerald Jerry
Boe, spoke for the group. He turned to me and asked Will you accept Squadron Command? I was certain that I had
not heard correctly. You want me to...be...the? was all I could say. Yes, he said. We want you to be our next
Squadron Commander. After catching my breath and not knowing any better, I accepted the position. That was the
start of the grandest adventure and best job Ive ever had in my whole life!
There is no doubt that I would have fallen on my face without the support of a great senior staff. To be very honest, I
was totally unprepared for the position. Fortunately, I had the most outstanding Cadet Commander in the Civil Air
Patrol. His name was Cadet Eric A. Boe, and he later became an Air Force test pilot, a Colonel, and a NASA Astronaut
who piloted two Space Shuttle Missions, STS-126 and STS-133.
Even at the age of sixteen, Eric knew more about leadership than I ever did and was generous with his advice. He had
attended the Air Force Paras School at Kirtland AFB, and even gave me lessons in rappelling. At one time, he gleefully assisted me over a cliff on Mt. Yonah in North Georgia. As I stood on the edge of the chasm, I must admit that
for a brief moment I reviewed in my mind if there were any problems unresolved between Eric Boe before I let my
grinning Cadet Commander help me over the edge. What an experience!!!! Wheee! Can we do it again?
During the summer of 1981, the GAWG Type A Encampment was held at Ft. Benning, GA. We were billeted in old
wooden barracks on a bluff which overlooked the airfield where the Army paratroopers boarded Air Force planes for
jump training. It was a marvelous Encampment for Cadets and Senior Members alike. All of us were given the
opportunity to get lifted to the top of the 250 foot jump tower in a buddy seat which is something like a wooden
swing. The experience was very thrilling for all. At the Encampment, we ate our meals in the Follow Me Army
mess hall, which I enjoyed. It took me back to my years as an enlisted man in the Army. To top off the Encampment,
we were treated to a Ranger Demonstration which included hand-to-hand combat, knife fighting, rappelling, and the
slide for life which is very gutsy!
In April 1982, the annual National Aerospace Education Conference was held in Atlanta. My Squadron, the Atlanta
Composite Squadron 2, was tasked with providing drivers for the VIPs who were flying into the Atlanta Hartsfield
Airport, and were also asked to assist in other ways at the conference. Among the people I got to meet and even talk
with were General Charles Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield, and Dr. Paul Garber who was the Director Emeritus of
the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. I asked Dr. Garber how he became interested in aviation. He said,
My interest began when I was ten years old, and I was watching the Wright Brothers fly! At the Conference, I also
got to meet Luftwaffe Herr Generalluetnant Adolph Galland, Commander of WWII Germanys first jet fights
(ME-262) Wing.
I will have to admit that in my thirty-five years in CAP service, my years as a Squadron Commander were the most
challenging and the most rewarding. In my opinion, it wasand still isthe best job in CAP!

5 May 2011

Change of Command

Colonel/Astronaut Eric Boe visited

Passing the guidon from Capt Bob Haver (L)

PTC-FF Comp. Squadron in Peachtree City

to (then) Lt Philip F. Bowden

From L to R: Colonel Brent Bracewell, Lt Col Ilana Mor, and Lt Col Phil Bowden
At a CAP Leadership Weekend at the Catoosa National Guard Training Facility

Ga129 CHARLIE FLIGHT IN DALTON

With 2Lt Eric Rochelle
February was a big month for Charlie Flight in Dalton. We recognized our first-ever Cadet of the Month, C/AIC Jacob
White. We also brought in two new CAP members, and had several visitors to our Flight. As a special treat, our guest
speaker was Marty Randall, a former Army Blackhawk helicopter pilot. He came to talk about aviation careers and what
it was like to fly in combat in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
On Saturday, 28 February, GA129 Cadets from Cartersville and Dalton had a great time flying in gliders in Warm
Springs. Participants from Dalton included Cadets John Beason, Daniel Bennett, Hunter Olson, and Jacob White.
Participants from Cartersville included Ashley Goins, Katie Goins, Austin Price, Pearson Pruitt, and Dakota Tommie.
Pilots Lt Kevin Thiem and Lt Ken White added to the enjoyment by providing powered flights, and Senior Members
Melgarejo and Taylor accompanied Capt Palafox and Lt Rochelle to provide transportation and adult supervision for the
event.
In March, we all look forward to ground team training, as well as exceptional leadership training at the Leadership
Weekend at Catoosa on 68 March.

GLIDER FLIGHTS IN WARM SPRINGS

THURSDAY NIGHT SCHEDULE

MARCH
DATE

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

5 March

Safety Briefing

PT

12 March

ES Training

Leadership

19 March

Aerospace Ed

Sr Member Mtg

26 March

SAFETY DOWN

DAY

APRIL
DATE
2 April

Cadet Staff
Meeting

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

Character

DDR

Development

9 April

Safety Briefing

16 April

Aerospace Ed Sr Member Mtg

23 April
30 April

Cadet Staff
Meeting

PT

ES Training

Leadership

Character

DDR

Development

MAY
DATE

ACTIVITY

ACTIVITY

7 May

Safety Briefing

PT

14 May

ES Training

Leadership

21 May

28 May

Aerospace Ed Sr Member Mtg

Cadet Staff
Meeting

Character
Development

DDR

HAPPENINGS...MARK YOUR CALENDARS

MARCH

68 March

Leadership Weekend @ Catoosa

10 March

United Way Luncheon

11 March

CAP Day @ the Capitol

14 March

GAWG Comm Exercise

2022 March

Group I SAREX
Mission Base @ Bartow-Etowah Composite Squadron
ICLt Col Tom Berg

26 March

Safety Down Day @ the Squadron

APRIL
1012 April
25 April

GAWG Conference @ Stone Mountain

Cadet Leadership Day

MAY

910 May

Paulding Air Show

JULY
1925 July

GAWG Encampment

INTERESTING
and PATRIOTIC
PERSPECTIVE
The Pledge of Allegiance from the Red Skelton HourJanuary 14, 1969
I remember this one teacher. To me, he was the greatest teacher, a real sage of my time. He had
such wisdom. We were all reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, and he walked over. Mr. Lasswell was
his name. He said: Ive been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all
semester, and it seems it is becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to explain
to you the meaning of each word.
Ime, an individual, a committee of one
Pledgededicate all my worldly goods to give without self-pity
Allegiancemy love and my devotion
To the FlagOur standard, Old Glory, is a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there is respect
because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybodys job.
Of the Unitedthat means we have all come together

StatesWe are Individual communities that have united into 48 great states. 48 individual
communities with pride and dignity and purpose, all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to
a common purpose, and thats love for country.
Of America,
And to the Republic for which it standsIt is a state in which sovereign is invested in representatives
chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people, and its from the people to the
leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
One nationmeaning, so blessed by God
IndivisibleIncapable of being divided

With libertywhich is freedom and the right of power to live ones own life without threats or fear of
some sort of retaliation.
And Justicethe principal or quality of dealing fairly with others
For allwhich means its as much your country as it is mine
Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and two words have been added
to The Pledge of Allegianceunder God. Wouldnt it be a pity if someone said, Thats a prayer, and
that would be eliminated from our schools too.

CIVIL AIR PATROLUNITED STATES AIR FORCE AUXILIARY

In the late 1930s, more than 150,000 volunteers with a love for aviation argued for an organization to
put their planes and flying skills to use in defense of their country. As a result, the Civil Air Patrol was
born one week prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Thousands of volunteer members
answered Americas call to national service and sacrifice by accepting and performing critical wartime
missions.
Today, the Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force, is a nonprofit
organization with 59,000 members nationwide who operate a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air
Force auxiliary role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions
as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. CAP is credited by the AFRCC with saving an
average of 70 lives annually.
CAPs unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief, and drug interdiction
missions at the request of federal, state, and local agencies. CAP members play a leading role in
aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in
the CAP Cadet programs.
After WWII, on 1 July 1946, President Harry Truman signed Public Law 476 which incorporated Civil
Air Patrol as a benevolent, nonprofit organization. On 26 May 1948, Congress passed Public Law 557
which permanently established the Civil Air Patrol as the auxiliary of the new U.S. Air Force.
In 2011, CAP received the World Peace Prize and has been performing missions for America for over
72 years. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor, and
teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans.
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Original paintings, drawings, and writings

of Dr. Ilana Mor

remain the property of the artist.