- April 19, 2024
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One day, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Hannah Rasch aims to join the U.S. Navy. For now, though, the 16-year-old Ormond Beach teen is concentrating her efforts on the Ormond Beach Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol cadet program.
"The thing with CAP is, if you don't put the effort into it, you're not going to get anything out of it," Rasch said. "... I've put the effort in, and I've come a long way from the cadet that came in."
Rasch has been with CAP for about two-and-a-half years. A second-generation cadet, as her father had also been in CAP, Rasch has been able to learn more about and prepare for the military since joining.
The Ormond Beach Composite Squadron dates back to the early 1960s. The building the organization calls home is the oldest in the Ormond Beach Municipal Airport, and once used to be a hangar. In the 2000s, the squadron absorbed what remained of the Daytona Beach CAP squadron, and it is the only one in Volusia and Flagler counties. The other nearest squadrons are located in St. Augustine and Sanford.
Civil Air Patrol is the auxiliary of the Air Force, having been founded on Dec. 1, 1941, years before the Air Force was founded in 1947. According to CAP, the organization aimed to "mobilize the nation's civilian aviation resources for national defense service." Its squadrons nationwide help with search and rescue, disaster relief, and security.
But its cadet program, which currently has about 20 active cadets, targets aerospace and STEM education, as well as leadership.
"When it comes specifically to the cadet program, it's really a development of leadership," said Capt. Eddie Marcal.
About 10% of the U.S. Air Force Academy is made up of former CAP cadets, said Lt. Col Ryan Wallace. The program is open to children ages 12, and they are able to remain until they're 21, though once they turn 18, they can opt to join the senior ranks of CAP.
"They obtain rank, they have the opportunity to learn about drilling ceremonies, respect to the flag, they have a moral or ethical leadership series of seminars," Wallace said. "So they are literally developing themselves in the code to be of service to their community, state and nation."
It was through CAP's cadet program that Wallae discovered he he had a passion for the military, and later joined the Air Force. Marcal is also a former cadet, and his son is now in the program too.
Joining the cadet program also gives children the opportunity to fly a plane with a qualified pilot, a perk if they are especially interested in aviation. Marcal said that in addition, cadets participate in national youth aerospace initiatives such CAP's high altitude balloon challenge, a STEM-based competition where cadets conduct experiments within a small capsule, to be later launched to 100,000 feet and returned for later analyses.
To learn more about Civil Air Patrol in Florida, visit https://flwg.cap.gov/
