Civil Air Patrol Cadet Captain Matthew Tracy received the Amelia Earhart Award from CAP Col. Michael Beason on February 3. The award, earned by only about 5% of the CAP youth program members, marks the completion of the “Command Phase” of the program. It is named for Earhart, the record-setting female pilot and writer who was lost while attempting an around-the-world flight.
Four Civil Air Patrol units in South Dakota have received Aerospace Education Achievement (AE) awards for commendable AE performance. Certificates for the awards are on the way to Big Sioux Composite Squadron, Crazy Horse Composite Squadron, Rushmore Composite Squadron, and Miller Flight.
South Dakota Wing will be testing a system during its February SAREXs that has the ability to alert mission-qualified members by phone, email, and text message simultaneously.
Big Sioux Composite Squadron’s CyberPatriot team was recently awarded the First Place state award in the Platinum Tier. The Platinum Tier is the highest level of competition in CyberPatriot, the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.
The Dakotah Chapter of the Air Force Association has awarded South Dakota Wing a $500 grant to support the wing conference, scheduled for April 9 in Keystone, SD.
Cadet 2nd Lieutenant Lydia Klosterman, of Brandon, is the new cadet commander of Civil Air Patrol (CAP)’s Big Sioux Composite Squadron, following a change of command ceremony on Thursday, January 20, 2022, held at the Brookings Airport. Colonel Michael Marek, South Dakota Wing’s Commander, participated in the ceremony and fielded questions from squadron members afterward.
Five Big Sioux Composite Squadron cadets completed their first orientation flights, or O-Rides, earlier this month. Captain Ben Kallas, with the assistance of other senior members from Big Sioux, provided this opportunity to the cadets.
South Dakota Wing of the Civil Air Patrol has tightened procedures due to the upswing of COVID-19 cases in the state. The heightened safety precautions align with the national CAP policy about virus safety.
South Dakota Wing will hold its annual conference April 9. Plans call for the event to be held at the K Bar S Lodge, near Keystone, S.D.
Members of South Dakota Wing excelled during the 2021 Kansas Wing Winter Encampment December 26 – January 2. Nine South Dakota members attended, eight from Sioux Falls Composite Squadron and one from Lincoln County Composite Squadron.
