Civic Leadership Academy Kicks Off Saturday
Twenty-four of Civil Air
Patrol’s top cadets from across the nation are participating
in one of the nation’s leading civic education activities,
the Civic Leadership Academy, from February 23 to March 1 in
Washington, DC.
The CLA -- an academically intense, interactive study of US
government in action -- provides participants the opportunity to
grow as citizens and young leaders through lessons in persuasive
leadership, federal government, public service careers and American
heritage.
"Civic Leadership Academy provides cadets an unparalleled
opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of the principles that
guided our nation and how to apply those principles in their own
lives. The overriding goal is to empower our cadets to be
thoughtful participants in our nation’s future, whether as
voters or public servants," said Interim CAP National Commander
Brig. Gen. Amy Courter, CLA’s founding director.
In addition to a blend of field trips, lectures, seminars and
assigned readings from historic and modern sources, the cadets will
visit the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, the Judiciary Building,
the State Department, Arlington National Cemetery, the Central
Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Pentagon, legislative offices and the Smithsonian Air and Space
Museum, as well as World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Lincoln
memorials. They will also encounter guest speakers onsite who will
provide insights designed to deepen their understanding of
government in action. Their CLA taskings will culminate with a
final project -- a presentation on their CLA experience the cadets
will give to their peers in their home squadrons.
The CLA cadets will also participate in CAP’s 2008
Legislative Day on Feb. 28 by working alongside their wing
commanders to brief legislators on how CAP’s primary missions
-- search and rescue, emergency services, aerospace education and
cadet programs -- have impacted their communities.
Legislative Day will be held in conjunction with CAP’s
Winter National Board meeting, which is slated for February
28-March 1 at the Hilton Crystal City, Arlington, VA. The CAP
National Board consists of 69 members representing each state,
Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, within the
organization’s eight regions. The board is CAP’s policy
making arm and in conjunction with the CAP Board of Governors,
proposes amendments to the governing constitution and bylaws.
CLA cadets will be special guests at The Spaatz Association
Winter Dinner Event, hosted by The Spaatz Association, a nonprofit
organization of current and former cadets who have achieved
CAP’s highest honor -- the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award. The
event will be held on March 1 at 7 pm at the Hilton Crystal
City.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the US Air Force, is
a nonprofit organization with more than 56,000 members nationwide.
CAP performs 90 percent of continental US inland search and rescue
missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and
was credited by the AFRCC with saving 103 lives in fiscal year
2007.