A Cadet Perspective – Nebraska Wing Encampment 2012

C/MSgt Luke Hohenberger
Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

It’s not every day that you have the privilege to fly in a Black Hawk Helicopter at top speed 30 feet above the ground. Well, I did at the 2012 Nebraska Summer Encampment, held at Camp Ashland. It was amazing!

The Black Hawk was the highlight of my week. Believe it or not, we got up to 15 cadets, two pilots, and one navigator in the Black Hawk. Once we got off the ground we got up to 200 mph. Then all of a sudden the pilot drops the nose of the helicopter down to the ground and turns hard. I felt like I was slowly being pushed down into my seat. We were flying about 30 ft above the ground going up to speeds around 300 mph. We also flew over the Platte River very low and fast. The flight lasted a short, but thrilling 15 minutes.

I found out that repelling is harder than it looks. We got to repel off a 120 feet tower by ourselves. It was insane! Once you got to the top of the tower you could feel the tower sway back and forth with the wind. When repelling, you feel like you are free falling and then all of a sudden you slam right back into the wall.

We also had color guard classes. We learned the drill movements for a riflemen and a flag holder in a color guard flight.

Then came the shooting range. We shot shotguns and rifles. At the shotgun station we got to shoot skeet. At the rifle station we got to shoot in a NRA competition.

We also got to go to the Air and Space Museum. At the museum we saw military warplanes, jets, and helicopters. I got to ride in a flight simulator at the museum, and I spoke with a B-52 pilot who worked at the museum.  We got to meet a SR-71 Blackbird pilot who told us about the difficulties of becoming a SR-71 pilot. He also said that if you spaced off for one minute in the SR-71 you would be 70 miles off target.

We had the honor in meeting two Tuskegee Airmen from World War 2. These two pilots are from the Omaha area they contributed in the making of the movie, Red Tails. They talked about how hard it was to serve as a black man in a white mans Army.

We also covered military etiquette in dining, to prepare us for our banquet the last night of encampment. After a short and sweet graduation ceremony we met up with family and headed out.

Civil Air Patrol’s Nebraska Wing Holds Annual Training at Camp Ashland

Weeklong training prepares cadets to be future leaders

Delta Flight Honor Cadet C/MSgt Luke Hohenberger poses with his family following the encampment graduation ceremony.

Camp Ashland, NE – More than 70 Civil Air Patrol members from Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri attended this year’s Nebraska Wing Encampment, a weeklong activity that provides cadets training on the basic fundamentals of Civil Air Patrol.  This year’s encampment was held 24-30 June, at Camp Ashland, Nebraska.Encampments are held by Civil Air Patrol to give cadets a better understanding of Civil Air Patrol and U.S. Air Force, as well as to instill a strong foundation of leadership, followership, and teamwork in those attending.  Encampments are one of the most popular and worthwhile activities available to cadets.  They challenge cadets to develop self-discipline and teamwork while broadening their understanding of aerospace, aerospace careers, and U.S. Air Force fundamentals.Activities at this year’s encampment included rappelling, marksman shooting, a visit to the Strategic Air and Space Museum, and an orientation ride in Nebraska National Guard Blackhawk helicopters.  Guest speakers included two former Tuskegee Airman.  These pilots served as some of the first African American pilots in World War Two. Other speakers included a former Air Force SR-71 squadron commanders, current Air Force active duty members, members of the Heartland Organization of Rocketry, and a local K-9 search dog team.

The training weekend provided further definition of the flight and squadron command positions as well as a staff discussion about individual expectations of this year’s encampment. Staff members attended various classes throughout the weekend including hazing prevention, basic medical, chain of command, and train the trainer. In addition to all of this, the cadet staff worked on basic drill and were evaluated on the quality of their uniforms with uniform inspections conducted by the cadet staff standards and evaluation team.

Awards for the week were as follows:

Lt Col Michael A. Thomas Encampment Staff Leadership Awards:

• Senior:  1st Lt Todd A. Edgell
• Cadet:   Cadet Beverly C.  Nichols

Encampment Most Improved Cadet:

• Cadet Hannah M. Compton

Flight Honor Cadets:

• Alpha Flight:  Cadet Austin M. Gloe
• Bravo Flight:  Cadet Jaime E. Sargent
• Charlie Flight:  Cadet Melissa L. Krebs
• Delta Flight:  Cadet Luke J. Hohenberger

Encampment Honor Cadet:

• Cadet Rebecca F. Jeffrey

For information about the Nebraska Wing of CAP, visit http://www.nebraskacivilairpatrol.org/.

Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron Newsletter | June 2012

The June 2012 Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron newsletter is now available and can be found here!