In these eyes, the four amazing young men in this picture (C/A1c C.Blank, C/A1c (CIC) J.Phillips, C/A N.Delbasty, and C/MSgt M. Pardue,) along with their two accompanying team mates (C/A1c C.Pike and C.Berry) defined the word "Winner" this past weekend!
On February 13th, after only 3 months of preparing themselves, these Ascension Composite Cadets stepped onto the competition floor at Barksdale AFB with only the knowledge they had obtained on there own. They stood 'toe to toe' with the squadron from Barksdale who had an abundance of color guard competition training and experience available to them. And no, according to the competition score sheets, Ascension did not win. They only walked away with one medal which was awarded to C/A Delbasty for the fastest one mile run. BUT, that is not to say they were not Winners!
I have watched as these cadets study manuals, practiced the drills, review online videos of other color elements and discuss among themselves how they understood it should be done and even called upon local JROTC instructors for input. Bottom line: They taught themselves. They have never seen a competition. They did not know what to expect. They did not know what information to ask for and therefore did not know what would be scored, but they practiced and drilled nonetheless. Even as the competition progressed they were constant "students," soaking up any advice, hints or instruction they could get from anyone knowledgeable.
So while Cadets Blank, Delbasty, Pardue and there CIC Cadet Phillips may not have followed the proper parade route or known all the answers to the questions, they did something that 5-6 other squadrons throughout the state did not do. They tried and they never gave up. And while initially, one experienced with the competition may have thought them less than competent, once the truth was told there was a paradigm shift from top to bottom. Jaws dropped and eyes popped! Not only did this element have it together, they had done so through challenges that would have made most men throw in the towel. Right up to the last minute, when travel to the competition was in question, these gentlemen stuck it out and just kept trying.
To recognize the "Above and Beyond" spirit of these cadets, Major Victor Santana, LAWING Deputy Commander of Cadet Programs announced that they would receive the coveted CAP Coin and that it would be awarded at the WING Conference in April. Now, being a newbie to the Civil Air Patrol myself, I had to do a little research to learn exactly what the "Coin" means. I found this link to an article from the Nov-Dec 2006 Civil Air Patrol Volunteer magazine, "True Challenge."
So there you have it friends, Ascension Composite shines again with our cadets who were and will again be recognized for their "Merit Deserved and Excellence Achieved."
