Civil Air Patrol, the United States Air Force Auxiliary, announced that Eglin Composite Squadron FL-423 is one of three recipients in Northwest Florida of the Quality Cadet Unit Award for 2013-2014.
Award criteria is based on the unit meeting certain goals for the 2013-2014 school year in cadet achievement, orientation flights for cadets, cadet retention, adult leadership training, cadet participation in encampment, cadet membership growth, earning the Aerospace Excellence Award, participation in the Drug Demand Reduction program, completion of a STEM project and participation in Cyberpatriot.
The local unit is one of 22 Civil Air Patrol units in Florida and 299 nationwide to earn the award. The other units in Northwest Florida to earn the award were Pensacola Composite Squadron FL-425 and Tallahassee Composite Squadron FL-432.
Eglin Composite Squadron FL-423 meets at 6:30 on Monday evenings on Eglin AFB. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/1xSRPo6 online.
The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program cadets fly, learn to lead, hike, camp, get in shape, and push themselves to new limits. They have opportunities to participate in search and rescue missions and disaster relief with proper training. Many cadets go on to careers in aviation, space, or the military.
Cadets meet two hours per week and usually one Saturday per month. Upcoming local activities include a tour of the CV-22 at Hurlburt Field and a visit to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center and Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Eglin squadron wins award