President Barack Obama stands next to Civil Air Patrol Cadet Col. David F. Hill IV (to the right of Obama) and members of the West Virginia Wing’s Martinsburg Composite Squadron in the U.S. Capitol. The CAP members were attending a Gen. Carl A. Spaatz award presentation for Hill. (Click on the picture to enlarge it)WASHINGTON, D.C. – One week after he took the oath of office, newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama was on Capitol Hill congratulating one of Civil Air Patrol’s most accomplished cadets. Much to the delight and total surprise of Cadet Col. David F. Hill IV and 14 members of West Virginia Wing’s Martinsburg Composite Squadron accompanying him, Obama left a Jan. 27 luncheon and meeting with Republican senators in the U.S. Capitol to personally meet and greet each of the cadets and senior members gathered for Hill’s official Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award presentation.Named for a former Air Force general, the Spaatz award is Civil Air Patrol’s highest cadet honor.U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., made the official Spaatz presentation in the Capitol, but shortly afterward it was announced that President Obama wanted to meet with the group.West Virginia Wing Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Dennis Barron, who accompanied the CAP squadron to the Capitol, explained the significance of the Spaatz Award to Obama and introduced Hill and his father to the president. Obama congratulated Hill on his achievement and praised him for his dedication and commitment to the cadet program. The president then shook hands and spoke with all the other members present. Afterward, Obama posed for a group photo with the Martinsburg squadron members."Meeting the president was one of the greatest and most memorable moments in my life,” said Hill. “Winning the prestigious Spaatz award is one of my greatest accomplishments, but meeting the president during his first week in office almost makes it pale in comparison.”“We were thrilled and extremely excited to meet the president of the United States,” said Martinsburg Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Robert Mills, who also attended the Spaatz Award ceremony. “This was one of those rare lifetime experiences, and for Cadet Col. Hill, the ultimate in award presentations!”The Spaatz award is earned by less than one half of 1 percent of all the cadets in Civil Air Patrol. Hill is only the third cadet in the history of the Martinsburg squadron and just the 20th cadet in the West Virginia Wing to earn the coveted award since its inception in 1963. For now, Hill is also the only CAP cadet in recent memory to receive Spaatz award congratulations from a U.S. president. That fact was not lost on Mills, who said, “The benefits of membership in the Civil Air Patrol cadet program are unlimited and the experiences are truly awesome.”Hill, a resident of Shepherdstown, W.Va., has been a member of the Martinsburg squadron since October 2003. While a member of the CAP cadet program, he has received the Air Force Association Award, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Award, the Community Service Award, Commander's Commendation, Red Service Ribbon and Unit Citation. Hill has attended two wing summer encampments, serving as a flight commander during the 2006 encampment. In addition, he attended Cadet Officers School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in 2007. He is a ground team member of the Martinsburg squadron and currently serves as an adviser to the squadron commander. He also serves as the unit’s primary representative to the Wing Cadet Advisory Council.Hill is a senior at Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy. He plans to go to college, attend law school and become a JAG officer in the U.S. Navy.Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 57,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue CoordinationCenter and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 91 lives in fiscal year 2008. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 67 years. For more on the CAP go to www.gocivilairpatrol.com or http://www.martinsburgcap.com/.
Congratulations David!
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