Greenwich Resident and Cadet Earns Highest Award

Civil Air Patrol Cadet Earns Highest Award

Scarsdale, New York— At an awards ceremony on Friday, 21 December 2018, Cadet Colonel Alexander J. Presley of Westchester Cadet Squadron 1 of the Civil Air Patrol (NY048) received the highest award in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program, the prestigious General Carl A. Spaatz Award (#2183). In doing so, he becomes the first cadet in his squadron’s 53 year history to earn this award.

Cadets qualify for this prestigious award after progressing through sixteen achievements in the CAP Cadet Program. Along the way they develop self-discipline, a strong sense of personal responsibility, the ability to lead and persuade, and the foundation necessary for pursuing a career in aviation, space, or technology. The final step a cadet must complete to earn the Spaatz Award is a rigorous, day long, four-part exam consisting of a challenging physical fitness test, an essay exam testing their moral reasoning, a comprehensive written exam on leadership, and a comprehensive written exam on aerospace education. Upon passing the Spaatz Award exams, the cadet is promoted to the grade of Cadet Colonel.

C/Col Presley of Greenwich, CT joined CAP five years ago and has distinguished himself in the cadet program by studying aerospace education, teaching leadership, becoming physically fit, developing character, and participating in Color Guard and Honor Guard activities. An excellent scholar and active in sports and extracurricular activities, Cadet Colonel Presley has served in the Cadet Advisory Council and has been a staff member at multiple annual CAP Summer Leadership Encampments. He is currently a Cadet 3rd Class at the United States Air Force Academy, where he is a part of the 94 Flying Training Squadron soaring program and played on the USAFA Club Hockey Team freshman year. Upon graduating from the Academy in 2021, he would like to continue onto pilot training.

The award was presented to C/Colonel Presley by Col Kenneth J. Andreu, former Commander of NY Wing Civil Air Patrol, in a formal ceremony conducted by Lt Col Thomas S Vreeland, Lt Col Patrick Magee, C/Lt Col Emily Murray, and C/Lt Col Stephanie Walls. Lt Col Vreeland founded Westchester Cadet Squadron 1 fifty three years ago, after, as a cadet, he received the 27th Spaatz Award. During the ceremony, Lt Col Alexander Presley.wore on his uniform the same shoulder boards, worn by Lt Col Vreeland at his Spaatz Award presentation in 1966. C/Col Presley was also presented with a commendation certificate from Congressman Jim Himes, who represents Connecticut’s 4th District in the United States House of Representatives where he is serving his fifth term.

Squadron Commander, Captain Katherine I. Torres thanked C/Col Presley for his dedicated service in CAP and presented him with a special squadron Challenge coin, saying, “We are so proud of your accomplishments as Cadet Commander here in the squadron, as an outstanding cadet at the US Air Force Academy, and now as the first ever squadron recipient of the General Carl A. Spaatz Award. This is the pinnacle of success in CAP and we thank you for your devotion and perseverance. You are a role model for all of our cadets and you exemplify the CAP core values of integrity, excellence, service and respect.”

The Spaatz award is the namesake of Gen. Carl A. “Tooey” Spaatz, the Air Force’s first chief of staff. In 1929, Spaatz and a colleague set a then-unheard-of flight endurance record of 150 hours and 40 minutes, by pioneering mid-air refueling. During World War II, he was the commander of the Allied Air Forces in Europe. After retiring from the Air Force, Spaatz served as the first chairman of the Civil Air Patrol board.

Earning the Spaatz award requires completion of four rigorous program components and is the final and ultimate award a cadet can achieve. On average, only one cadet in 1,000 earns the Spaatz Award, with just under 2,200 cadets having received the award since its inception in 1964. Cadets who receive this award are expected to serve as role models for junior cadets and to become leaders in their communities, states, and nation, as they enter adulthood.

Westchester Cadet Squadron 1 meets on Friday nights for training and activities at the Legion Hall at 40 Bell Road in Scarsdale, NY. Young people from 12-18 are welcome to join as cadets, and adults 18 and older may join and train to become officers in the CAP program. Check out www.westcadets.org for more information.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Performing missions for America for the past 77 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.