Stratton Air National Guard Base hosts 180 Civil Air Patrol Cadets for week-long camp Air Force fighters will train in vicinity of the base during the encampment

STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, SCOTIA, NY (07/13/2018) (readMedia)-- One hundred and twenty Civil Air Patrol cadets will be attending the annual eight day encampment which begins Saturday, July 14 at Stratton Air National Guard Base.

Another 60 Cadets and 35 adult senior members of the Civil Air Patrol will be running the camp.

The cadets, aged 12 to 21, come from Civil Air Patrol units in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Encampment participates will get the opportunity to fly in C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft while honing their leadership skills, learning about aeronautical subjects, building and launching model rockets and improving their physical fitness.

The cadets will also be able to observe Air Force F-16 and F-15 fighters conducting training in the vicinity of Stratton Air National Guard Base.

F-16s, a single engine fighter plane, will be training on Monday, July 16 while F-15s, a larger twin-engine fighter, will be in the area on Tuesday, July 17.

New York Army National Guard UH-60 helicopters will also be flying in the area on Wednesday.

The Civil Air Patrol is a nonprofit corporation and is also the auxiliary service of the Air Force.

Civil Air Patrol volunteers conduct search and rescue missions, assist the Air Force as required, and participate in disaster relief missions. The Civil Air Patrol also runs its Cadet Program which allows youth to progress at their own pace through a 16-step program including aerospace education, leadership training, physical fitness and moral leadership.

Cadets compete for academic scholarships to further their studies in fields such as engineering, science, aircraft mechanics, aerospace medicine, meteorology, as well as many others.

Cadets must participate in a Civil Air Patrol encampment in order to earn the Mitchell Award which enables a cadet to be promoted to Cadet 2nd Lieutenant.

Earning the Mitchell Award gives a young man or woman a head start in making the Air Force a career, according to Air National Guard Lt. Col. David Panzera. The Air Force Academy looks for Mitchell Award winners when screening applicants, he added.

Those cadets who earn cadet officer status may enter the Air Force as an E3 (airman first class) rather than an E1 (airman basic).

The encampment will climax with a graduation ceremony on Saturday, July 21.

Stratton Air National Guard Base is the home of the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing. The wing flies the largest ski-equipped aircraft in the world, the LC-130, and provides support to research in the Antarctic and in Greenland.