Selfridge Cadet Squadron News

(1)
Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Kayleigh Fountain and a young friend make an Advent chain.

(2 and 3)
Cadets and children at work making holiday cards.
(4)
Cadet Senior Airman Lindsey Fountain and a friend take a break from working on an ornament.
(5)
Selfridge cadets with the guest of honor.

Photos by 1st Lt. Lisa Fountain

1st Lt. Lisa Fountain
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
Selfridge Cadet Squadron
Michigan Wing

MICHIGAN — Members of the Selfridge Cadet Squadron joined with members of Charles A. Hammond American Legion Post 8 on a chilly winter day in Port Huron to help make sure veterans’ families found warmth during the holiday season.

Children were treated to crafts, including handmade holiday cards, colorful advent chains and whimsically decorated ornaments. All received stockings to personalize with their names to hold their crafts. They took great delight in decorating their own sugar cookie with a multitude of confectionary delights.

Soon it was time for a visit from a very special guest. The children gleefully welcomed Santa Claus and ran to get a chance to sit on his lap and tell him their wishes for Christmas. After their visit, they were each given a gift from the Legion post.

The Selfridge cadets assisted at each of the craft stations, on occasion finding a child sitting on their knee during work on the Christmastime creations.

Cadet Capt. Dannie Fountain and Cadet 2nd Lt. Mary Yaple pose with Canadian Girl Guides

MICHIGAN – Members of the Selfridge Cadet Squadron pitched in on an overcast early autumn day in Marine City as Girl Scouts from Michigan, Ohio and Indiana and their Canadian counterparts, the Girl Guides, converged on both sides of the St. Clair River for the annual International River Crossing. Civil Air Patrol was asked to help with the event for the first time. For 42 years, thousands of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides have joined together for a day of international friendship and swapping of small crafts they have made. Until last year the activities were held primarily in a park on the Sarnia, Canada, side of the border, but changes in immigration laws allowed organizers to change this year’s locations. Of the 10 Selfridge members who assisted, seven were or had been Girl Scouts. They helped guide participants to the activities on the waterfront, worked the car parking area and marshaled buses that brought the Scouts to the park. The cadets also worked with the Scouts and Guides in carrying out various environmental activities. The organizers were very pleased with the cadets’ assistance and look forward to CAP’s participation next year.
>> 1st Lt. Lisa Fountain

September 3, 2009   

(From left) Cadet Airman 1st Class Anthony Montana of the Rochester-Oakland Composite Squadron, Cadet Tech. Sgt. Marissa Moore of the Selfridge Cadet Squadron and Cadet Airman 1st Class Lindsey Fountain of the Rochester-Oakland unit discuss the Thunderbird team’s F16C with Air Force Master Sgt. Daniel Lawson, maintenance crew line chief.

(Photo by 1st Lt. Lisa Fountain)  

Cadet Airman 1st Class Anthony Montana
Cadet Public Affairs Officer
1st Lt. Lisa Fountain
Assistant Public Affairs Officer
Michigan Wing

MICHIGAN – The recent Selfridge Air Show 2009 was as fantastically unforgettable as ever, with the Air Force Thunderbirds’ airborne stunts captivating rapt onlookers.For six Michigan Wing cadets, though, the experience was even more memorable — thanks to a rare opportunity to meet members of the Thunderbirds team and see their F16Cs up close. The cadets found out for themselves just how much work and effort the pilots and supporting crews into their demonstrations.
 
They also had the privilege of helping with the preflight check of two of the F-16Cs.  As one can imagine, preflight on such an aircraft is very lengthy. Steps can range from making sure the right helmet is on the right plane to looking for loose screws in the smallest corners. The line chief, rather than the pilots, conducts the checks so that the Thunderbirds can take off as soon as they are strapped in. That places a lot of responsibility on the ground team, and trust between pilot and ground team is immense.The cadets gained a new appreciation for all involved.“After the briefing with the crew on Saturday, it was reinforced that they are actually humans,” said Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Jacob Suszko of the Selfridge Cadet Squadron. “From what the public sees, these guys are a highly skilled flight demonstration team. Which they are, but there’s another side to them.  They’re gone from their families for 270-plus days for 3-4 years. This is an extremely hard job for them.

“Even thought they can go home for a day or two between trips,” Suszko said, “these days are spent painting the jets or doing something Thunderbird-related.”

After the briefing, Air Force Master Sgt. Daniel Lawson, line chief for the maintenance crew, presented each of the six cadets and the four senior members in the group with a special Thunderbird Team challenge coin.

In return, Cadet Airman 1st Class Lindsey Fountain of the Rochester-Oakland Composite Squadron gave him her challenge coin – a gesture that touched him.

“I did it because I have been taught that when you are given something, you always give something in return,” Fountain said.

Suszko added, “In the Air Force, pilots and crew members get attached to their coins because they’re personal coins and normally engraved with their names or given a number.

“When Cadet Airman 1st Class Fountain gave him her coin, he didn’t want it because it was a personal coin. Also, the fact that it was a personal coin meant something to him, as if she was giving him a part of herself.”

As for the close-up encounter with the team and their planes, Suszko speculated that “if I wasn’t in CAP, I feel I still could have met the Thunderbirds — but only for a few moments. The extent that we got to see them was above and beyond what is available to the public.”

He continued, “In CAP, you will be surrounded by extraordinary people all the time, and every now and then you get to meet people and do things that the public can’t.

“CAP will take you places you’ve never gone before. 

Local Cadets meet Aviation Pioneer Mary Feik

Three local cadets from Selfridge Cadet Squadron received awards at the Civil Air Patrol Michigan Wing Conference, held in Bay City on March 28 and 29. Cadets Zechariah V. of Romeo, David V. and Anthony C. of St. Clair Shores all received personal Mary Feik Awards from  Col. Mary Feik herself. The Feik award, one of fifteen different awards, was named in honor of Feik as she is regarded as an “Eagle” aviation pioneer in the CAP National Congress on Aviation and Space and Education. Feik, now 85, taught aircraft maintenance to crew chiefs and mechanics for the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. During WWII, Feik became a expert on many military aircraft and is credited with becoming the first woman engineer in research and development in the Air Technical Service Command’s Engineering Division at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio.

She flew more than 6,000 hours as pilot in fighter, attack bomber, cargo and training aircraft. She qualified as a B-29 Flight Engineer and was an engineering analyst in test aircraft for flight and maintenance requirements. (She currently still owns and flies her own plane.)

She authored pilot training and maintenance manuals for many of the military aircraft. She further wrote aviation-related reports in engineering and the physical sciences for distribution throughout the Armed Forces.  In 1994, she was inducted into the Women in Aviation Pioneer Hall of Fame, and also awarded the Order of Merit for outstanding leadership and support of aerospace education worldwide. Among numerous other awards, she also received the Crown Circle Award in 2001, the highest Aerospace Education Award. In 2004, she was promoted to the rank of Colonel in Civil Air Patrol
and was designated a Life Member in 2008 in Civil Air Patrol and promoted to the rank of Colonel.

A petite, gracious woman, still full of energy and purpose at the age of 85, Mary Feik encouraged all the cadets present at this conference to “Aim High and follow their dreams.” She was and still is an amazing lady.

During our regularly scheduled meeting, the cadets took a trip over to the Selfridge Fire Deparment to see the equipment and facilities and talk with the men who work there.

We would like to thank Station Chief Thomas Van Nuck and his men for the outstanding hospitality!

Pictures are available here

Cadets had a unique opportunity to tour the facilities at Williams International today.  Williams International, located in Walled Lake, MI, is the world leader in the development of small turbine engines for general aviation and military applications.  From powering the first cruise missiles, to powering the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer nonstop around the globe, Williams also produces the engines for the most popular business jets.

After passing through secruity and receiving their visitor badges, cadets were greeted by Todd Lindsey, program manager for the FJ44-4 engine program.  Mr. Lindsey gave a brief presentation to explain the basic operations of a jet engine.  He then took us through a tour of the facility, which included research and development areas, engine build areas and a small company museum.  Cadets were also able to view live engine tests being performed in one of the test cells where an engine was being cycled through it’s power range every 65 seconds to test durability.  After a walk through of their repair facility for customer engines, the group proceeded back to a conference room to view films of engine tests.  These films included footage of engines ingesting small birds and ice, and also containment of seperated fan blades.

We would like to thank Mr. Lindsey for donating his personal time to show us around the facility and answer our questions!  We look forward to visiting again in the future.

Just one more of the great opportunities available to our cadets!  Here are some pictures from some recent cadet flights on the KC-135 tankers from the 927th Air Refueling Wing based at Selfridge.

At the 2007 Michigan Wing Conference in Lansing, Brig. Gen. Amy Courter joined with 2Lt. Mark Wolgamott, c/TSgt. Matt Moore, c/2Lt Austin Eplett, c/TSgt Dannie Fountain, LtCol. Jack Bronka and 2Lt. Lisa Fountain from the Selfridge Cadet Squadron for a group photograph.

On March 8th, cadets and senior members from the Selfridge Cadet Squadron visited the 927th Air Refueling Wing on base to meet with mechanics for an informative lecture on aircraft systems and a tour of the airplane.  Cadets were allowed to view the cockpit, aircraft cabin and refueling bay where the boom operator refuels other aircraft.

 Additional photos here