Attitude & Altitude - 2019 Archive

by 1st Lt. Brandon Lunsford, Sr, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

TULSA, Okla. – On December 13, 2019, two Oklahoma Wing Riverside Flight cadets went live on local newscast to invite the public to join their unit in laying wreaths on National Wreaths Across America Day. The ceremony took place at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa.

Good Day Tulsa, KTUL Channel 8’s midmorning live telecast anchored by Katy Kramer, hosted the cadets at approximately 8:30 a.m., with the broadcast beginning at 9:25 a.m.

Cadet Lt. Col. Bailey Lunsford and Cadet Airman First Class Chloe Shannon tackled the world of live television in support of honoring veterans.

OKLAHOMA CAP CADETS CONVERGE ON SHAWNEE FOR GLIDER FLIGHTS
by 2nd Lt. Eric Holtzclaw, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

Shawnee, Okla. – On November 16, 2019, the Gordon Cooper Composite Squadron hosted glider and powered orientation rides for cadets new to the Civil Air Patrol. Several cadets were provided their first glider aircraft flights along with others finalizing their powered and glider orientation sorties. Twelve seniors and cadets participated in the event. New cadets under age 18 are allowed up to five powered and five glider flights as they progress in the orientation and training with the civil air patrol. Lt. Col. Robin Rowden, Commander, of Gordon Cooper and Lt. Col. Bill Rowden, Wing Standards and Evaluation Officer, have organized and provided these orientation flights for cadets several times a year for the past five years. Rowden stated “it’s all about the cadets and providing quality instruction and orientation within the CAP structure to youth coming up in the program is very important.”

OKLAHOMA CIVIL AIR PATROL TESTS DRONE SEARCH CAPABILITIES
by 2nd Lt. Eric Holtzclaw, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

STROUD, Okla. – On November 16, 2019, the Muskogee, Enid, Tulsa, Edmond, and Grove Composite Squadrons of Civil Air Patrol participated in the first ever Oklahoma sUAS (Small Unmanned Aerial System) training exercise in Stroud, Oklahoma. “The unit members were evaluated on their ability to assess and locate damaged facilities, unconscious hikers in deep woods, mapping operations and link ground support teams in rescue efforts,” said Public Affairs Officer Maj. Jason Unwin, of the Muskogee Composite Squadron, who was the project coordinator and heads the Oklahoma Wing’s training efforts.

OKLAHOMA CIVIL AIR PATROL LOOKS TO EXPAND SERVICES
by 2nd Lt. Eric Holtzclaw, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

ENID, Okla. – On the evening of October 21, 2019, the Oklahoma Wing’s Enid Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) hosted an informational seminar on small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) capabilities, also known as drones. The seminar was attended by seniors, cadets and members of the community.  CAP National Headquarters hopes to bring these systems to field units in the near future. Maj. Jason Unwin, an Oklahoma Wing Aerospace Education Officer, briefed the squadron on the capabilities and use of drones, as well as the possibility of having some assigned to the unit.

OKLAHOMA WING FLIGHT CONDUCTS CADET CHANGE OF COMMAND CEREMONY
by 1st Lt. Brandon Lunsford, Sr, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

TULSA, Okla. – On October 14, 2019, Cadet Lt. Col. Bailey Lunsford, of Tulsa, Okla., handed over cadet command of Riverside Flight's cadet squadron to Cadet 2d Lt Jeremiah Groves, of Grove, Okla.

"Over the last five years, I have watched Groves grow into an excellent leader," outgoing Cadet Commander Lunsford, said. "I have no doubt he will command the cadet squadron well."

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TALKS LEADERSHIP WITH NEW CAP FLIGHT
by 1st Lt. Brandon Lunsford, Sr, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

TULSA, Okla. – On October 14, 2019, U.S. Representative Kevin Hern visited with Civil Air Patrol’s Riverside Flight at their evening meeting. The congressman spoke to cadets about the importance of continual personal leadership development and modeling in their personal lives what CAP teaches them. He spoke briefly about his membership in the Oklahoma Wing Civil Air Patrol with his son Kelby from 2012 to 2013.

OKLAHOMA WING CADETS SERVE SO AIR GUARD MEMBERS CAN ENJOY FAMILY
by 1st Lt. Brandon Lunsford, Sr, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

TULSA, Okla – Civil Air Patrol’s Riverside Flight, based out of the R. L. Jones Airport, Tulsa Technology Center campus, rallied at 5:30 in the morning on Saturday, October 5, 2019 at the Air National Guard’s 138th Fighter Wing to serve during the Fighter Wing’s family day.

“The 138th Fighter Wing tries to have a Family day event every year,” said Connie Hurt, the Airman & Family Readiness program manager for the Wing. “With the workload that our service members have, we need to make sure we work in a down day so that we can show appreciation to the service members and their families. These events are great for getting military families to network with other military families, and to learn what resources are available for service members and their families.”

OKLAHOMA FLIGHT CELEBRATES RECORD BREAKING NUMBERS
by 1st Lt. Brandon Lunsford, Sr, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

TULSA, Okla. – Civil Air Patrol’s Oklahoma Wing has 18 units across the state. The newest, Riverside Flight, is located at the R. L. Jones Airport in the Tulsa Technology Center at 91st and Elm Streets, on the border with Jenks, Oklahoma. This flight functions as part of the Broken Arrow Composite Squadron, and is commanded by Maj David Snell.

“We started looking into the possibility of a new flight at the Tulsa Technology Center when we noticed increased interest in the area,” said Flight Deputy Commander of Seniors 2d Lt. Yolanda Daves. “We began hosting open houses in June and July this year for five weeks, with a different theme each week.”

STAFFORD CALLS ON CAP VOLUNTEERS
by 1st Lt Brooke Erikson, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

VANCE AIRFORCE BASE, Okla–On September 28, 2019 the Enid Composite Squadron of the United States Air Force Auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol (CAP) helped the Stafford Air and Space Museum with the Wings Over Weatherford event that they host annually every year in September. The Museum Assistant Director and Marketing Coordinator, Chaney Larsen, contacted one of Enid’s officers about helping volunteer at the event.

OKLAHOMA CADETS EARN CIVIL AIR PATROL ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS
by 1st Lt. Brandon Lunsford, Sr, CAP, Oklahoma Wing

TULSA, Okla–Civil Air Patrol’s 2019 scholarship finalists have received 91 awards collectively worth $154,570.

Each year, CAP provides financial assistance to select, deserving cadets through academic and flight scholarships based on merit or needs-based awards. The scholarship portfolio is announced each fall, and finalists are named the following spring and summer.