WingTips

The official publication of Minnesota Wing Civil Air Patrol February/March 2005

Annual cadet volleyball

competition and lock-in held
by Lt. Col. Don Mikitta, Minnesota Wing
Thirteen teams competed for the annual Minnesota Wing
Volleyball crown March 5 at St Cloud State, Minn.
Team ‘Hutchinson & More’ took first place honors in the
championship best of three games 23-21, facing the
National Cadet Competition Drill Team. Mankato
Squadron took third place.
A lock-in followed this event hosted by North Star Cadet
Squadron. Around 160 wing members attended the social
event, where various team activities, food and fun was the
theme for the day.

Team ‘Hutchinson and More’ took first place at the

volleyball competition. Photo by Lt. Col. Don Mikitta

C/1st Lt. Ryan Stanley, Worthington, has now been

dubbed ‘Cadet Spiderman.’ Photo by 2nd Lt. Joe
C/Airmen Tiffany McKee and Alica Bradbury,
Bradfield
Worthington, served as volleyball line judges. Photo by
2nd Lt. Joe Bradfield
Commander’s Column: Wing adds a Cessna to its inventory
by Col. Steve Miller, Even more good to cadets. Be sure to review
wing commander these new changes which
news!
Minnesota members ask were made based on the
The wing has been selected
about the status of Civil Air efforts, requests and sug-
to receive a brand new
Patrol aircraft frequently. gestions of the Cadet
Gippsland GA-8 Airvan.
Advisory Committee.
This wing is fortunate to be This single engine aircraft
assigned 17 powered air- seats two pilots and six Winter is here,
craft. Typically, there are passengers. The Gippsland or is it?
four planes in each of the GA-8 will come with With the major fluctuation
four groups throughout the hyper-spectral imaging of temperatures we have
state. The seventeenth air- equipment and a satellite recently experienced, one
craft, the 182-RG, is used Col. Steve Miller phone system. The aircraft might think spring is right
by the Air Force Liaison is scheduled to arrive in
around the corner.
Office, our state director Additionally, Minnesota Minnesota late spring to However, we must be ever
and for specific wing Wing now has more mis- early summer. vigilant in our efforts to be
activities. sion ready aircraft for times
when more aircraft are Great news for safe. Dress in layers, be
aware of icy roads and
Due to the excellent job our
needed. Cadets!!
pilots have done in flying walkways and maintain
Recent changes to the cadet
safely and in the overall Good news! physical fitness test now
survival equipment in all
flying of our aircraft, the A new "glass cockpit" your vehicles.
offer a bit more flexibility
wing recently received Cessna 182 will be deliv- -Semper Vigilans
another Cessna 172. (In fis- ered in March 2005. The
cal year 2004, Minnesota addition of this new 182
Wing averaged more than
230 hours per aircraft.)
means we will be turning in 55-year member passes on
one of our old 172s. The
Lt. Col. Bob Johnson, his 55 years in CAP. He
This puts our total powered wing will remain with 18 Crow Wing Squadron served in every position in
aircraft count at 18. powered aircraft.
Lt. Col. Gene Stanich died the squadron and was one
The 172 was moved from a Two CAP commercial Jan. 19, 2005. of its first commanders.
wing that was unable to put flight instructor instructors,
on the required 200 hours During World War II, he The job of squadron com-
or CFIIs, will be attending
per year. The additional air- flew in many different air- mander included coming
a week long training semi-
craft as a member of the early and starting a fire in
craft will fill holes when nar in Kansas at Cessna.
other aircraft are in for U.S. Army Air Corps. the potbelly wood stove to
Upon their return, they will
When the war ended, heat the meeting place. He
maintenance. It will also be provide the initial training
used at flight academy. Stanich returned to served as commander for
to our pilots.
Minnesota. Because he four years and was then
wanted to continue to be promoted to group com-
WingTips is a publication of involved with aviation, he mander, a position he
Minnesota Wing Civil Air Patrol, joined CAP in 1950. would hold for 19 years!
U.S. Air Force Auxiliary
Stanich was a charter mem- As group commander, he
P.O. Box 11230, St. Paul, MN 55111
www.mncap.org ber of Crow Wing had seven squadrons and a
Squadron and an active lot of missions to keep him
wingtips@mncap.org
member right up until his busy. In those days, without
The views expressed, either written or implied, are not neces- ELTs, it wasn’t uncommon
recent illness. He rarely
sarily those of the U.S. Air Force, the Civil Air Patrol or to have two to three search-
Minnesota Wing. Submissions should be sent to the above missed a meeting and
email address. proudly wore his uniform, es a week
Wing Commander: Col. Steve Miller serving as an inspiration to
Wingtips Editor: Maj. Shannon Bauer countless members during Stanich / Page 3
St. Paul cadets visit Wings, Inc., AST-300 flight simulator
by 1st Lt. Matt Barrett, weather and how to inter-
St. Paul Squadron pret METARs and TAFs.
St. Paul Squadron cadets The classed provided the
enjoyed several aerospace basis for the cadets under-
education events in standing of how weather
February. For two meet- affects flight.
ings, the cadets received a In the flight simulator, the
taste of what it’s like to fly cadets flew an approach
as an instrument-rated pilot into New York's LaGuardia
of a twin engine aircraft. Airport. Capt. Adam
Capt. Joth Blodgett, St. Arneson provided en-route
Paul, worked with owner and air traffic control serv-
Brian Addis to have the ices for the cadets, while
simulator available at Blodgett sat in the simula-
Wings, Inc., a well-known tor as co-pilot and mentor.
St. Paul based flight school, The cadets also had the
with offices at Holman and St. Paul Squadron C/B William Warner takes controls
opportunity to work with
Fleming fields. The unit of a simulated twin-engine aircraft.
the flight school’s weather
was very pleased with the computer, as well as visit a
support Addis has shown hanger where several air- Former Tuskegee Airman
for CAP and the local cadet
visits with Anoka Squadron
planes were in various
and aerospace education states of repair and being
programs. readied for inspection. by 2nd Lt. Mike Rice,
Prior to the meetings at This gave the cadets an Anoka Squadron
Wings, Inc., the unit’s aero- opportunity to discuss and Anoka Squadron hosted
space education officer, SM view several aircraft sys- former Tuskegee Airman
Erik Johnson, a Northwest tems not normally visible. Col. Kenneth Wofford to its
Airlines DC-10 ground During the visit, the unit meeting Feb. 15.
instructor, and Capt. Rachel took several opportunities Wofford spoke to unit
Norman, a Mesaba Saab to increase its awareness of members on the history and
340 ground instructor, safety issues. accomplishment of all the
taught the cadets about
members of the Tuskegee
Airmen, including 992
pilots and 10,000 black
Stanich / From Page 2 maintenance personnel.
Wofford also spoke that if
As group commander, Stanich was able to do a lot of
it was not for the support
flying. He especially enjoyed flying the T-34. He put crews behind the fighter
many hours on it, flying to visit squadrons and the and bombers pilots, they
Minnesota Wing headquarters. Former Tuskegee Airman
could not have accom- Col. Kenneth Wofford.
Stanich’s sons, Joe and Greg, were cadets in CAP. Joe plished what they did.
recently moved back to the Brainerd area and has re- He talked of the battles seniors and guests enjoyed
joined Crow Wing Squadron. As a retired educator, Joe won by the Tuskegee his motivational speech
has brought special skills to the cadet program and con- Airmen and against the about following one’s
tinues his family’s tradition of dedicated service. dreams and aspirations. He
racism and the fascism that
Lt. Col. Gene Stanich will be remembered for his friend- has been left out of most also ended his speech
ly disposition, dedication and service to his country and history textbooks. stressing the importance of
fellow CAP members. math, science, english,
The audience of cadets, geography and history.
Minnesota cadet earns St. Paul prepares Group III
the Spaatz award search and rescue exercise
Lt. Scott D. Johnson, that runs on schedule and
C/Col. Josh Gulbranson, Valley Squadron, earned the St. Paul Squadron fulfills as many training
General Carl A. Spatz award in January. In preparation for the needs as possible for those
Gulbranson is a 2003 graduate of Rosemount High School Group III Mock Evaluation in attendance.
in Rosemount, Minn., and is currently attending the and Search and Rescue Squadron cadets have been
University of North Dakota, where he is working on a Exercise this coming working on their flight line
Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautics with a major in August, members of Saint marshalling; emergency
air traffic control. He is enrolled in the Air Force Reserve Paul Squadron are busy locator transmitter, or ELT,
Officer Training Corps there and is the recipient of a four- planning and training for finding techniques; and
year scholarship. this event. The unit antici- radio operator skills. They
During his tenure with CAP, Gulbranson has held many pates more than 200 wing will continue their ground
members attending. training this winter in
positions in Minnesota Wing, including cadet deputy com-
mander of the last two year’s encampments, instructor at Representatives from Global Positioning System
last year’s Basic Cadet Officers Course and police, fire and coast guard usage, map reading and
Noncommissioned Officers’ Course, commander of the units are to attend as well other skills. The cadets are
North Central Regions Drill Team and more. This summer, as be trained in various already credited with sav-
he will serve as the wing’s encampment commander. He ground and air search tech- ing one life, a choking vic-
is also a private pilot. niques. tim, following their first aid
class last fall.
Red Wing members talk with students In January, eight members
For more information on
of the senior flight spent
Maj. S. Blaze Cunningham and C/Airman 1st Class the weekend being trained what Saint Paul has
Carolyn Hince, both Red Wing Squadron, presented infor- in mission management planned for the exercise or
mation about CAP, cadet activities and careers in aviation skills. In February, they to register for this event,
to students at Wabasha-Kellogg High School, Minn., attended an incident com- please visit
March 9. mand course for further http://www.yourbenefitre-
Hince, a student at Wabasha-Kellogg, showed her class- training. Their goal is to source.com/group_iii_sarex
mates two short video clips on CAP. Then, she discussed have a well planned event _stp_2005.htm
encampment, membership and the cadet program.
Cunningham, Red Wing's aerospace education officer, dis-
cussed a wide variety of careers in aviation. Some of the
students were interested in pilot training and the assistance
provided by CAP toward earning a license.

Col. Stephen Miller, Minnesota Wing commander,

The Minnesota Wing Cadet Advisory Committee meets
during the annual wing Snowdaze. Photo by 2nd Lt.
Joe Bradfield
presents Minnesota Senator Mady Reiter with her
membership in the Minnesota Legislative Squadron.
Reiter represents District 53 (Lino Lakes, Shoreview,
North Oaks, Vadnais Heights, White Bear and White
Bear Lake Lake area) and recently joined CAP.
 Senior member and cadet
officer promotions
Lt. Col.
Brian Sauter, Anoka
Maj.
Darlene Benjamin, Hutchinson; Ronald Ovans, 130th; Bruce
Ramsde, St. Croix; and Satveer Chaudhary, Debberie Johnson,
David Kleis, Claire Robling, Carrie Rudd and Tim Wilkin, New cadet second lieutenants Mike Kenny, John
all Minnesota State Legislative LaValle, David Lucey, Sarah Anderson and Ted
Capt.
Persing, all Anoka, and Lt. Col. Mike Moen, Group III
David Curtis, 130th; Jayne Fogarty, 130th;
Janelle Gates, Minnesota Wing; Gary Novitsky, North
vice commander. Photo by 2nd Lt. Mike Rice
Hennepin; Joel Stepanek, North Hennepin
1st Lt.
Anoka awards five Mitchells in one night
Randy Donahue, Worthington; Frank Heck, St. Croix; by 2nd Lt. Mike Rice, Anoka
Delores Kirchner, Owatonna; Denise Moen, Valley; Anoka Squadron presented the General Billy Mitchell
Michael Nordin, Valley; Jana Schrenkler, Ft. Snelling; Award to five at of its cadets at a ceremony March 1.
Dallas Shearer, Pipestone; and Jesse Theobald, Pipestone
2nd Lt. Lt. Col. Mike Moen, Group III vice commander, awarded
Jeffrey Kuck, Grand Rapids; Michael Mueller, Crow Wing; C/2nd Lts. Mike Kenny, Lino Lakes; John LaValle, Forest
Christopher Reichert, Valley; Mark Sauer, Valley; Lake; David Lucey, Blaine; Sarah Anderson, Ham Lake;
John Seten, Pipestone; and Joshua Stroschein, Pipestone and Ted Persing, Andover, with General Billy Mitchell
C/Capt. awards.
Ashlee Dionne, St. Croix
C/2nd Lt. The Mitchell Award is given for successfully completing
Sarah Anderson, Anoka; Mark Cross, Valley; Mike Kenny, Phase I and II of Civil Air Patrol cadet programs. This
Anoka; John LaValle, Anoka; David Lucey, Anoka; includes physical fitness, leadership and aerospace educa-
and Theodore Persing, Anoka tion. This award also brings promotion to the first officer
rank for cadets of cadet second lieutenant.

Minnesota Wing Civil Air Patrol, NONPROFIT ORG.

US POSTAGE PAID
U.S. Air Force Auxiliary
PERMIT NO. 7109
P.O. Box 11230, St. Paul, MN 55111 ST.PAUL, MN