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Carroll cadet earns Amelia Earhart award

Cadet Capt. Jennifer Reed of the Carroll Composite Squadron has earned the Amelia Earhart Award.
Cadet Capt. Jennifer Reed of the Carroll Composite Squadron has earned the Amelia Earhart Award. (Photo by 1st Lt Jerry Horn)

By By 1st. Lt. Brenda Reed
Carroll Composite Squadron Public Affairs

2/6/2006–Westminster, Md.–Jennifer R. Reed, 18, a cadet in the Carroll Composite Squadron in the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), has earned the Amelia Earhart Award and was promoted to cadet captain.

The award is given to cadets who have completed the first 11 achievements of the CAP cadet program. Cadets must pass a comprehensive exam covering aerospace topics and leadership theory. In addition, they must complete staff duty reports, mentor other cadets in aerospace training, pass a physical fitness exam, and lead moral leadership discussions.

Cadets earning the Earhart Award are promoted to the rank of cadet captain. Only 3 percent of the 27,000 CAP cadets nationwide earn this award. Reed was the 13,362nd cadet to earn the award since its inception in 1964.

Reed, a member of CAP for three years, recently served as the senior training instructor for the Carroll squadron's cadet basic training program. Reed was also the cadet public affairs officer. A graduate of the 2003 Tri-Wing Encampment, she returned to work on the encampment public affairs staff in 2004 and, in 2005, served as the encampment's cadet public affairs officer and website officer. She also graduated from the 2003 Maryland Aerospace Academy. Reed was the commander of the Carroll squadron's color guard, earning the Outstanding Cadet Award at the 2004 Maryland Color Guard competition.

Reed, of Westminster, is a freshman at Pensacola Christian College in Pensacola, Fla., where she is majoring in graphics design. She is also employed at Wal-Mart as a cashier.

CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 56,000 members nationwide. It performs 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions and was credited in 2004 with saving more than 140 lives. CAP volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.

Members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 23,000 young people currently participating in the CAP Cadet Program. CAP's cadet programs provide young men and women with a safe and motivating environment in which to grow and explore opportunities in the military and aviation industries. Cadets progress through a 16-step program of leadership and aerospace education. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 63 years.

There are approximately 1,300 members of CAP in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 34 search and rescue missions as assigned by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and were credited with 23 finds.

For information about the Maryland Wing of CAP, visit http://mdcap.org/ or listen to weekly episodes of "Civil Air Patrol Today" broadcast every Sunday morning on the following radio stations:

  • Annapolis, MD - WYRE-AM 810, 8:00-8:30AM ET
  • Baltimore, MD - WFBR AM 1590, 8:00-8:30AM ET
  • Ocean City, MD - WKHZ-AM 1590, 7:00-7:30AM ET
  • Potomac, MD - WCTN 950 AM, 6:00-6:30AM ET
  • Rockville, MD - WLXE-AM 1600, 7:00-7:30AM ET
  • Washington, DC - WZHF-AM 1390, 7:00-7:30AM ET

In addition, programs may be listened to at the Maryland Wing web site at http://mdcap.org/radio and can also be subscribed to as a podcast.

The Carroll Composite Squadron meets Tuesday evenings at the National Guard Armory on Hahn Road in Westminster. Prospective cadets, ages 12-18, and their parents are always welcome. More information can be found at http://www.carrollcap.org.