Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Captain “Bud” Jackson Squadron honored cadet Veronica Vergara, a Scotch Plains resident and 16 year old highschooler, with the Billy Mitchell Award. On September 5th, Cadet Vergara received the award from CAP Lieutenant Colonel Michael Sperry, the Vice Commander of New Jersey Wing. Cadet Vergara advanced to the rank of Second Lieutenant with the achievement of this award, and is now a cadet officer. Additionally, she was appointed cadet commander of her squadron.
Asked about her promotion, she said, “I’ve had the goal of earning the Spaatz Award since I joined the program, and by achieving the Mitchell Award, I have reached a major milestone towards achieving that goal. I have grown in my leadership skills and have discovered that it is exciting to be part of a program that allows me to lead and train cadets that will later follow in my footsteps and become leaders themselves. In the future I want to go into Cybersecurity or a related field in computer science and am planning on applying for multiple service academies and ROTC programs at several colleges I am interested in. CAP has really helped me prepare for the military in many ways schools and other extracurricular activities don’t.”
The General Mitchell Award is one of CAP’s most prestigious cadet honors. The award is earned after completing the first eight achievements of the cadet program. In addition, the cadet must pass an arduous 100-question examination testing leadership theory and aerospace topics, as well as a rigorous physical fitness test. About 15% of cadets annually earn this award, making them eligible for advanced placement should they choose to enter the US Air Force. They are also eligible for advanced credit in AFROTC, various CAP scholarships, and CAP special activity opportunities.
Cadet Vergara, a Civil Air Patrol member since October 2015, is a Junior at the Academy for Information Technology in Scotch Plains. During the summer, cadets from across the state attended the New Jersey Wing Encampment at McGuire Air Force Base as students for the first time. Cadet Vergara lead her flight of students to win the Honor Flight (a flight is the CAP term for an organized team of cadets) and Competition Team Flight Awards (100 cadets organized into 8 flights) as a Flight Sergeant. In addition, she completed the Ground Team Academy training for search and rescue operations. Her next goal is to attend a Cadet Leadership Academy that is hosted in various locations across the nation, and to earn the Earhart Award.
She has served as the Flight Sergeant of the squadron which has participated in activities such as Color Guard presentations for the YMCA Track and Field Event, the Park Middle School Science Fair Awards Ceremony, the Park Middle School 8th Grade Graduation Ceremony, Chatham Fourth of July Parade, and the John Basilone Parade. She also participated in the CyberPatriot Competition the past two years, a National Youth Cyber Education Program created to help direct students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. This program, created by the Air Force Association (AFA), features the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition for high school and middle school students.
During the same award night, the following cadets received awards. Cadet Nicolas Mena of Elizabeth received the Hap Arnold Achievement, promoting him to the rank of Cadet Airman First Class. Cadet Anushka Kumar or Watchung received the Wright Brothers Award which is the first major milestone award, promoting her to the rank of Cadet Staff Sergeant. Additionally, both cadets Walter Young of Plainfield and Paul Koizumi of Scotch Plains received the Eddie Rickenbacker Achievement, promoting them to the rank of Cadet Technical Sergeant. Lastly, cadet Ethan Morrobel of Scotch Plains received the Charles Lindbergh Achievement, promoting him to the rank of Cadet Master Sergeant.
CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircrafts 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 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. For more information visit: GoCivilAirPatrol.com; njwg.cap.gov; gocivilairpatrol.com.
(above) Civil Air Patrol’s Cadet Second Lieutenant Veronica Vergara earned the prestigious General Billy Mitchell Award. She advanced to the rank of Second Lieutenant with the achievement of this award, and is now a cadet officer and cadet commander of her squadron.
(above) Paul Koizumi of Scotch Plains received the Eddie Rickenbacker Achievement Award promoting him to the rank of Cadet Technical Sergeant.
(above) Ethan Morrobel of Scotch Plains received the Charles Lindbergh Achievement, promoting him to the rank of Cadet Master Sergeant.
