of
The Spaatz Association
Scholarship Committee
What is The Spaatz Association?
We are a voluntary group of former (some more former than others!) and current Civil Air Patrol cadets who have earned the highest honor of the CAP Cadet Program, the General Carl A. Spaatz Award. Attainment of the award requires completion of the entire Cadet Program, passing comprehensive examinations in aerospace education and leadership, a physical fitness test, as well as writing a graded essay. This is a very difficult process, and relatively few attain the Spaatz. In further recognition, each award is individually numbered. From its inception in November 1964 to January 19, 2010, only 1750 cadets have earned the Spaatz Award. NOTE: The Spaatz Association is not part of the Civil Air Patrol. We are a completely independent organization.
Why form an association?
Spaatz winners are generally competitive in nature and successful in life. We are now scattered across a variety of civilian and military positions of responsibility. Many feel that our Civil Air Patrol experiences prepared us for our successes. We want to give something back to the organization, and more importantly, we desire to help the cadets who followed us. In addition to the scholarship, we offer a mentoring program for cadets and senior members involved in the cadet program.
Why a scholarship?
The United States Air Force has espoused three basic core values: integrity first, service before self and excellence in all we do. The CAP Cadet Program both builds and demands integrity as part of its cadets training. As "Spaatzen," we wish to encourage excellence in the cadets through our service. To accomplish this, we voted to offer a scholarship with the vision of promoting enduring Aerospace Leadership through continued general aviation flight training and CAP leadership activities.
Why a flying scholarship?
Let's face it, flying is expensive. CAP cadets generally come from modest means. Many of us, including myself, wanted to get our private licenses as cadets, but could never get the money together. Those of us who fly understand the meaning of the old adage "Because I fly, I envy no man." This scholarship is our way to help those who follow us to achieve what we could not. After all, isn't that a key part of what America is all about--ensuring that succeeding generations have it better than we did?
Why the leadership emphasis?
America and the world need strong, capable leaders to carry us into the future. There are precious few leadership training opportunities for our youth these days. Core values like integrity and service are getting harder to come by in the generation now coming of age. The Civil Air Patrol is one of the last remaining institutions with high standards of conduct and effective leadership training for youth. These young people stand out in a crowd of moral ambiguity and me-first attitudes and should be properly recognized and encouraged.
Are you a lost Spaatzen or just interesting in TSA? Stop by our offical TSA home page.