Civil Air Patrol prepares to head to California
May 20—EPHRATA — The Civil Air Patrol's Color Guard is preparing to head to California for its regional competition on Saturday.
"What we're going to be doing here is we're going to be cleaning our rifles, practicing for a uniform build and reading over the ledger we're going to practice for the upcoming competition," said CAP 2nd Lt. Austyn Miller.
This year's color guard team consists of Chief Master Sgt. Jaxon Fortner, Miller, Chief Master Sgt. Teagan Baysinger, Chief Master Sgt. David Lyon, Senior Master Sgt. Victor Manthey, Master Sgt. Elijah Nobleblood-Cabrera and Master Sgt. Maddy Drake. This will be the first year for Drake and the second year for the rest of the team.
The Color Guard must prepare for multiple events throughout the competition, both outdoor and indoor, said Miller. The outdoor portion consists of raising the flag on the flagpole, taking it down and folding it. The indoor portion has a presentation where flags are set up on stands for events like a banquet, building a uniform and rifle inspection.
Two cadets are selected from each team for the uniform event, where first they are inspected by a judge on their own uniforms and then are tasked with creating a uniform for a fictional cadet, Miller said. The rifles are used in an indoor presentation called Standard Drill which is typically used in events like a parade march.
"Every different ribbon, every different star has a different meaning," said Miller. "That's one of the big things we have to learn, is knowing every single ribbon top to bottom: what they look like, what order they are going (in) and how they got them."
Standard Drill also consists of the team's ability to follow a list of around 35 commands given by the color guard commander, said Fortner. The cadets are then graded on how well they completed their duties.
There is also a physical test for the cadets, which is broken into four parts with a mile run, sit-ups, push-ups and a sit-and-reach, and a knowledge-based test on aerospace science, cybersecurity and leadership.
Fortner said the event last year had cadets travelling from all over the Pacific region, ranging from Washington, Oregon, California and Nevada and some coming from Alaska and Hawaii.
"It was a really fun experience," he said. "I got to meet a couple of cadets from Oregon and Alaska that I really connected with."
During these events, the cadets are given the opportunity to do other activities such as visiting various aviation museums and hosting a big banquet.
"We actually got an opportunity to fly for indoor skydiving, which was a very fun experience and scary at the same time," said Lyon.
The cadets also reflected on both their experiences going to prior competitions and what being part of the Color Guard has meant to them.
"For me, Color Guard isn't just about the rifles and the flags, it's about working as a team and solving problems together and bonding," said Baysinger.
Lyon said that his father's participation in the Color Guard when he served in the army, as well as his great-grandfather's service, was the inspiration for him to join. He said he struggled a bit at first, but the program helped teach him the perseverance necessary to keep going and get to where he is now in the Color Guard.
The opportunity to spend the weekend on a real Air Force base was a very rewarding experience, said Nobleblood-Cabrera. He also enjoys the ability to show what CAP is as an organization and how it represents the US military and Air Force.
"You get to see a lot of the operations as well," said Nobleblood-Cabrera. "It's just amazing to see what they're actually doing and that they're doing quite a bit just for us to be there."
Drake said the reason she decided to join CAP was her desire to be part of the Color Guard.
"I thought that it was a great opportunity for me to take," she said. "When I started off, I obviously wasn't immediately in the Color Guard, but I eventually got here, and that led to many other opportunities."
Second Lt. Austyn Miller, left, and Cadet Master Sergeant Maddy Drake iron out a shirt to decorate. The teams will be judged based on both their own uniforms and their ability to create a uniform for a fictional cadet.
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