The West Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol recently announced the selection of the Martinsburg Composite Squadron as the winner of the 2009 Squadron of Merit Award. This national award was presented at the Civil Air Patrol’s 68th Annual WV Wing Conference, in October 2009, in Charleston, WV.

The Squadron of Merit Award is presented annually to the squadron in each wing (state) that has the most outstanding cadet program. Outgoing WV Wing Commander Col. Rodney Moore and incoming WV Wing Commander Col. Dennis Barron were on hand for the presentation.

The criteria for this award includes:

• A minimum of 12 cadets on 1 January (Martinsburg has 34 cadets)
• An active cadet recruiting and retention program
• Number of cadet milestone achievement awards
• Number of cadet first-time encampment attendees
• Participation in the orientation flight program

On receiving the Squadron of Merit Award, Lt. Col. Mills stated that, "the cadets of the Martinsburg Squadron are very active and work hard to progress in their achievements. Our cadets are some of the best in the nation and this award shows what a great group of young people they really are."

In addition to the above national award, the Martinsburg Squadron was also presented the West Virginia Wing's Squadron of the Year Award. This award was presented to the local squadron in recognition of being the largest unit in the state, for constructing a new hangar and headquarters building, for having the most flying hours in the Wing, and bringing national recognition to the CAP when they met with President Obama in January of this year.

The Civil Air Patrol was founded on Dec. 1, 1941, less than a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the U.S. into World War II. CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 55,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions, as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter drug 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 information, go to www.gocivilairpatrol.com. The West Virginia Wing has approximately 639 cadet and senior officers, comprising 12 squadrons, based throughout the state. For information on the local squadron go to www.martinsburgcap.com or contact Capt. Russell Voelker at (304) 267-6403.