Group IV Graduates 20 from Cadet ALS/NCOA

By: Staff Sergeant Phillip Kittelson
Group IV Public Affairs Officer

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, ARIZ.--This Memorial Day weekend wasn't spent lightly by a group of CAP members from Group IV. They spent their vacation time at Luke Air Force Base, leaning how to become better cadets.

Twenty cadets, from across Group IV, attend the joint Cadet Airmen Leadership School and Non-Commissioned Officers Academy. Both schools, targeting specific ranks and responsibility levels, include instruction on uniform wear, leadership, followership, drill and ceremonies and other facets of the CAP Cadet Program.

“We would like to thank Luke Air Force Base, for allowing us to use their facilities. If it wasn't for the base, we could not have made this happen,” says Major David Gregor, course director for both schools. “Special appreciation also needs to go to the parents of students. They were so patient while we shuttled their cadets back and forth to the gates. And especially to Lt Col Wanamaker, for being our stand-by driver and escort.”

After Great Start, CAP's version of “boot camp” for cadet members, the next sanctioned course is Cadet Officer School. Airmen Leadership School and NCO Academy fill in the long gap between the two structured courses, and provide a much needed learning environment outside of normal weekly meetings.

Major Matthew Fields, Group IV Commander, was on hand for the graduation and presentation of certificates. “I'm very proud of what we have going on here, with the joint courses. It allowed us the opportunity to show our newer Cadet Airmen that their professional development continues as their rank, and subsequent responsibly, increases.”

At the ceremony, Major Gregor presented Major Fields with a gift from the students for his support to the program.

Another joint ALS/NCOA is already in the works for this fall. Those interested in attending, should talk to their Squadron Leadership Officer or cadet commander.

To see pictures of the activity click here.

Group IV Chaplin Selected for Wing CISO

By: Staff Sergeant Phillip Kittelson
Assistant Wing Public Affairs Officer for Social Media

Chaplain Bill Roberts, Group IV Chaplain, has been selected as the Arizona Wing Critical Incident Stress Management Officer.

According to CAP NHQ, the goals of a Critical Incident Stress Management program include the stabilization of psychological functioning, mitigation of psychological dysfunction or distress, return to psychological functioning, and facilitation to a higher level of care if needed.

Chaplain Roberts, a long time member of both Group IV and the Frank Luke Jr Cadet Squadron, has been a chaplain for over 25 years, mostly with the Southern Baptist Convention.

Arizona Wing Revamps Social Footprint

By: Staff Sergeant Phillip Kittelson
Arizona Wing Assistant Public Affairs Officer for Social Media

LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, ARIZ--The Arizona Wing of the Civil Air Patrol has revamped it's social media presence.  Now available on Facebook and Twitter, the Wing will be able to share news and information with it's members and the general public in real time.

"With the internet being the primary source of information for individuals born after 1987, social media is quickly becoming mainstream media." says Navy Captain John Kirby, Special Assistant for Public Affairs to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairmen of the Join Chiefs of Staff. "Facebook is now the second most popular website in the United States behind Google. In January alone, Facebook attracted 134 million unique visitors and Twitter another 23.5 million. People are increasingly turning to these sites as their primary source of news and for sharing information with others. This follows the larger trend of demanding content be pushed to the user rather than users seeking it out on a website. The numbers alone demonstrate the necessity of engaging on social media platforms."

The trend across CAP, and quite noticeably, the military services, is changing towards using social media to spread their message.  The Air Force, with a long stance against allowing Airmen to access Facebook and other sites on government computers, has changed it's policies and now allows the use of such media.

Arizona wing invites you to take a look at it's new pages here:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AZWingCAP

Twitter: http://twitter.com/AZWingCAP

Social Blog: http://caparizona.blogspot.com/

London Bridge Composite Squadron 501 Cadet receives Scholarship

By: Written By: Capt Joel Cosmano, LBCS 501 DCC

C/2d Lt Jacob Christman has been in the London Bridge Composite Squadron since 29 May 2007.

He has held positions in the squadron such as, element leader, flight commander, and now Cadet Deputy Commander. His dedication to his squadron has been great as he drives from Parker, Arizona for the meetings, some 30 miles away.

He holds one more post now, and that is he is going to be a student in the ARMY. In the photo he holds a check to attend the ARMY ROTC with a Scholarship of over 173,000, plus another 7000 in grants so he can become a pilot flying the Army's most advanced helicopters. C/2d Lt Christman gives some of his credits to Civil Air Patrol, but it was his hard work that paid off.