NEWS: Wing honors members during annual awards banquet

BOLLING AIR FORCE BASE, D.C. — Civil Air Patrol’s National Capital Wing held its annual awards banquet March 15 in the Capital Ballroom to recognize its volunteer member’s dedication and sense of duty. The banquet was hosted by the Arlington Composite Squadron.

Cadet Airmen Zhane Bradford and Joel Sanders sang the national anthem while Arlington’s color guard posted the American and CAP flags. After dinner was served, the U.S. Air Force Band’s Silver Wings entertained with an array of music selections. The keynote address was presented by Brig. Gen Mark O. Schissler, director for cyber operations at Air Force Headquarters.

	National Capital Wing Commander Col. Jane Davies, left, presents Cadet Col. Abby Pasinski the wing cadet of the year award during the wing’s annual awards banquet March 15.  Pasinski has been an active cadet since 2000 and earned the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award, CAP’s highest cadet achievement, in 2005 as a member of Nevada Wing.
	National Capital Wing Commander Col. Jane Davies, right, declares the grog fit for human consumption during the wing’s annual awards banquet March 15. Cadet Michael Gribbin, Challenger 1 Cadet Squadron, also fills his cup at the grog.  Photos by C. Todd Lopez, Soldiers Magazine

Col. Jane Davies, wing commander, then presented the following awards during the ceremony:

• Wing Cadet of the Year
  Cadet Col. Abby Pasinski, Andrews Composite Squadron

• Wing Cadet NCO of the Year
  Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Keith Purvis, Andrews Composite Squadron

• Wing Senior Member of the Year
  Maj. Roger Cox, Fairfax Composite Squadron

• Col. Costello N. Robinson CAP Lifetime Achievement Award
  Lt. Col. William Rogers, Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron

• Lt. Col. Thomas M. Stonehouse Service Award
  Lt. Col. Paul Gardella, Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron

• Wing Squadron of the Year (Squadron of Merit)
  Fairfax Composite Squadron

• CAP-USAF, Det. 2, Torch Award
  Maj. Paul Cianciolo, Andrews Composite Squadron

• Wing Cadet Programs Officer of the Year
  Lt. Col. William Rushing, Mt. Vernon Composite Squadron

• Wing Communications Officer of the Year
  1st. Lt. Laura Ehle, Kettering Middle School Cadet Squadron

• Wing Safety Officer of the Year
  Lt. Col. Gene Cartier, Arlington Composite Squadron

• Wing Logistics Officer of the Year
  Lt. Col. John Davies, Wing Headquarters

• Commander’s Commendation Medals
  Lt. Col. Mark Bailey, Wing Headquarters
  Lt. Col. John Davies, Wing Headquarters
  Maj. Paul Cianciolo, Andrews Composite Squadron
  Capt. James Dunn, Andrews Composite Squadron
  1st Lt. Melody Terry, Andrews Composite Squadron
  2nd Lt. Darlin' Cox, Fairfax Composite Squadron
  2nd Lt. Ryan Lemmer, Andrews Composite Squadron

To view photos from the banquet, click here.

The 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.

For “more than meets the skies” in the national capital area, go to www.natcapwg.cap.gov.

By Maj. Paul S. Cianciolo, wing director of public affairs