MAXWELL AFB, Ala. — The top 168 male and female Civil Air Patrol cadets are gearing up to match brains and brawn at the National Cadet Competition, June 25-28 at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright State University and Wright-Patterson AFB, all in Dayton, Ohio.

This year’s competition, which will highlight the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight 100 years ago, is registered as one of the nation’s official Centennial of Flight events.

More than 27,000 youth from ages 12 through 21 are volunteer cadet members of CAP, which is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. The 168 cadet finalists have advanced to the national event after winning preliminary local, state and regional competitions based on teamwork in precision drill, physical fitness and academic challenges. They complete most of their preliminary training and competitions on their own time and largely at their own expense.        

Each of CAP’s eight regions is sending a five-person color guard team and a 16-person drill team to the national event, which will include three days of continuous classroom and field competition. The drill and color guard contests scheduled for June 27 are always a highlight of the yearly event and provide a great news day, since competing cadets don military-style uniforms and perform precision drills requiring many months of planning and practice. CAP has held a national cadet competition since 1948, only seven years after CAP itself was formed.   

During the cadet competition, the number-one drill team and color guard team in the nation will receive the U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Sweepstakes trophy, and top-ranking cadets will be named in several categories.

 "If you want to see a group of young people who truly have ‘the right stuff,’ watch the cadets at National Cadet Competition,” said Maj. Gen. Richard Bowling, CAP national commander. “These cadets and their families dedicate an enormous amount of time and resources to Civil Air Patrol. That kind of volunteerism represents the best of what this country is all about. It’s heartening to know that our next generation of adults will include CAP cadets who took time during their teen years to develop the leadership and team-building skills that will serve our nation in the future.”

The CAP cadet program is especially appealing to young men and women interested in aviation or military careers. However, its leadership programs are valuable for students of all interests, and are unusual in creating so many high-achievers independent of the school setting.

Cadet programs are also helping acclimate students to the government’s emphasis on national security. Since CAP was placed under the new Air Force directorate for homeland security last year, cadets are beginning to assist their squadrons with security exercises. In the course of such work, they are learning about radio communications, disaster relief and search and rescue operations.

Civil Air Patrol is a nonprofit organization with more than 64,000 members nationwide. It performs 95% of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the CAP cadets. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 60 years.