RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --
In the heat of a German summer
afternoon, 28 young people make their way through the forest. They are mostly
too young to be Airmen, yet they wear similar uniforms as they carry fellow
members on stretchers, over walls and under barbed wire, following the orders
of their cadre.
The Civil Air Patrol cadet
encampment is a summer program for youth, ages 12-21, who are part of the CAP
Cadet Program and who chose to better themselves by practicing leadership,
increasing knowledge and building physical fitness in a military setting.
Instead of sleeping in and
enjoying a lazy week of summer, these cadets spent more than a week living in deployment
tents on Ramstein, carrying out physical and mental tasks in a manner somewhat similar
to Air Force Basic Training.
“It’s taught me how to
listen, how to follow directions, how to help others, and how to do everything
to the best of my ability,” said CAP cadet 2nd Lt. Zane Fockler, European Encampment
cadre and B Flight commander.
The cadets begin every day
with stretches, formation and breakfast before diving in to a variety of
classes and activities. The classes focused on leadership, life skills and
aerospace knowledge, while daily sports, drill and ceremony practice provided
challenges of strength and discipline.
The cadets faced the many
challenges that come with figuring out how to communicate and operate as a
team.
Cadets who have been through
the encampment at least once, like Fockler, have the opportunity to become
cadre and take on more leadership responsibility.
As B Flight commander,
Fockler was expected to organize his flight at a moment’s notice and march them
safely. On the obstacle course, he made sure his team stayed hydrated and
talked them through the various challenges as they made their way carefully
through the woodlands.
“It’s a challenge being in
charge of eight-plus people, especially when you have someone jumping down your
throat when things go wrong,” Fockler said. “A really important part of the
encampment is learning how to take orders and criticism.”
Fockler said that the
humbling experience of the cadet encampment has helped him become a better
person.
“It’s hard to own your
failures,” Fockler said. “The most important thing cadets take away from this
experience is learning how to grow from our mistakes and better ourselves as a
people.”
For those moments when the
cadre may fail, the cadets had a number of experienced volunteer CAP personnel
overseeing and guiding them.
Fockler explained that the
challenges of the encampment can make cadets want to quit.
Yet, with the help of their
senior leaders, if the cadets drum up the courage to stick it out, they have
the opportunity to gain life skills through perseverance and humility.
Civil Air Patrol Maj. Walter
Brown, Royal Air Force Mildenhall Cadet Squadron deputy commander, helped lead
his seventh encampment this year.
According to Brown, the
purpose of the cadet encampment is to transform American youth into leaders and
to build up the level of knowledge of aerospace throughout the U.S. population.
Brown said by the end of the
week the cadets have always improved in a number of areas including discipline,
knowledge, physical fitness and attitude. He said any one of the adult leaders
who has been in the program for a little while can share many stories of
positive transformations they’ve witnessed in the cadets.
“When I was in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, I was helping to get a CAP cadet squadron started at a middle
school,” Brown said. “There was a kid at the school named Sam who was in the
principal’s office every week. A few months after we got the program started,
the principal pulled me aside and said ‘I don’t know what you guys are doing,
but I haven’t had Sam in my office in two months. He’s become one of the
examples for good behavior in his class.’”
Later, when Brown questioned
Sam about his transformation, Sam explained that he had become involved in the
CAP program and that it was benefiting him.
“What keeps me coming back is
a deeply held belief that I’m making a difference in someone’s future,” Brown
said. “If I make a difference in only one of these cadet’s future, whether they
become an aerospace professional or join the military or not, even if it just
makes them a better person somehow, that’s the most important thing.”