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NEWS: Arlington gains new commander, promotes members

February 24, 2008
Col. Jane Davies, wing commander, and Cadet Jake Dang, guidon bearer, stand in front of the assembled Arlington Composite Squadron. On the right, Capt. Stuart Backer and 1st Lt. Mary Sherrer prepare to exchange the squadron’s guidon during a change of command ceremony Jan 30.

 
  Dylan Vorbach is promoted to cadet technical sergeant Jan 30 by Lt. Col. J.D. Ellis, wing director of cadet programs.
 
 
  Tyler Jackson is promoted to cadet airman Jan 30 by Lt. Col. J.D. Ellis, wing director of cadet programs.
 
 
  Joseph Mazel is promoted to major Jan. 30 by Capt. Stuart Backer, former Arlington Squadron commander.  Photos by 2nd Lt. Michelle Guidry and 1st Lt. Robert Guidry
 
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Arlington Composite Squadron had a change of command Jan. 30. Capt. Stuart Backer relinquished command of Arlington to 1st Lt. Mary Sherrer. Col. Jane Davies, wing commander, presided over the traditional ceremony of passing the squadron’s guidon to the incoming commander.

Prior to the change of command, Backer had the pleasure of promoting the following squadron personnel:
  • Maj. Joesph Mazel
  • 1st Lt. Robert Guidry
  • 1st Lt. Mary Sherrer
  • 2nd Lt. Michelle Guidry
  • 2nd Lt. Poul Arendel
  • Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Michael Firth
  • Cadet Tech. Sgt. Dylan Vorbach
  • Cadet Airman Chris Montgomery
  • Cadet Airman Tyler Jackson
After the change of command, Sherrer continued the Arlington tradition of “Arlington Feeds the Way” by having a pizza party, which was enjoyed by all.

The Arlington Composite Squadron meets at the Arlington Career Center, 816 S. Walter Reed Dr., every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The U.S. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the Air Force, was founded Dec. 1, 1941, less than a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into World War II. CAP is a nonprofit organization with more than 55,000 members nationwide. The organization’s members perform 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions, as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 58 lives in 2006. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the more than 22,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program.