A Busy Year So Far

As summer 2018 comes rapidly to a close, here's a summary of a few things that have been going on lately with Millington Composite Squadron.

• 1st Lt Rachael Stewart became the new Squadron Commander and her husband 1st Lt Ethan Stewart is now serving as the Deputy Commander of Cadets
  
• MCS members were present at the West TN Veterans Cemetery to show support at the funeral for a homeless veteran who had no family.
  
• The Memphis Fire Department conducted a CPR/First Aid training course for the squadron and several members participated.
  
• The squadron enjoyed a fun hiking trip out at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park
  
•  MCS members participated in an emergency services training event
  
• Seven MCS cadets attended the 2018 Tennessee Wing Summer Encampment at Middle Tennessee State University, with two of our cadets serving on staff.
  

For more frequent updates on squadron happenings be sure to check out our Facebook page by clicking on the Facebook icon to the right.

Annual Awards Ceremony Showcases Change of Command

On January 27th, Millington Composite Squadron held its annual awards ceremony at the Baker Community Center in Millington, Tennessee.  Numerous awards, presentations, and promotions were held as well as two changes of command.

Outgoing Squadron Commander Capt Ruben Barrett passed the flag to incoming Commander 1st Lt Rachael Stewart, who took over effective January 1st.  Also, Flight Commander C/1st Lt Elijah Fleming stepped up to his new position as Cadet Commander, taking the reigns from C/Capt Lucas Shelton, who served in the previous year.

ANNUAL AWARDS CEREMONY TO BE HELD JAN 27th

Millington Composite Squadron will be hosting its annual awards ceremony this Saturday, January 27th, at 10:30am.  The event will be held at the Baker Community Center in the heart of Millington, will feature some changes of command, various award presentations, promotions, and recognition of members' actions over the past year.  The event is free and open to the public.

Squadron Commander Change

With the new year comes a change of command as Millington Composite Squadron welcomes 2d Lt Rachael Stewart as its new Squadron Commander. Lieutenant Stewart has a number of years of experience in Civil Air Patrol and has been serving the last six months as the squadron's Cadet Program Officer. 

Outgoing  Commander Capt Ruben Barrett, who announced his intention to step down in November, has been serving in that role for the last 2 1/2 years and will continue to serve in a support role to the new commander. The command change is effective 1 January and a change of command ceremony is being planned.

Senior Member Meeting Change

Starting today there will be a change to the meeting schedule for senior members. Whereas the squadron has been having a monthly Tuesday night meeting in addition to the composite meeting, that meeting will be dropped in favor of focusing on a stronger senior portion of the composite meeting.  With the addition of our new ES Officer, this will give the seniors more access to consistent emergency services training, and with flight training increasing it is anticipated that there will be more flying opportunities with a Saturday context.  Please use the contacts page to reach out to staff if you have any questions.

The next senior meeting will be Saturday, September 9th.

MCS to host Open House August 5th

The first week of August will be a week of outreach into the community, spreading the word about the great programs that Civil Air Patrol offers.

Tuesday and Wednesday squadron members will be visiting different school groups to meet with prospective recruits and share about their experience in Civil Air Patrol.  On Saturday the squadron will be hosting an Open House.

Open House meetings are great ways to come learn about the various services and programs offered by CAP as well as good opportunities to meet members and ask questions.

This Fall's Open House will be Saturday, August 5th from 9am-11am at the squadron headquarters (1041 Hornet Ave., Millington, TN 38053) with light refreshments to follow.

Recent Activities

Members of Millington Composite Squadron have been busy lately.  Here's a list of some of our recent events:

• Recruiting booth at the Arlington in April community event
• Recruiting booth and airplane display at the Memphis Airshow
• Cookout with Navy reservists and tour of CTI flight school
• Orientation rides for cadets in our Cessna 182 CAP plane
• Several promotions
• Flag placement at the graves of West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery
• Memorial Day Color Guard for a community memorial service

MCS Tours CTI

Members of Millington Composite Squadron and US Navy Reserves Volunteer Training Unit joined together recently for a cookout and tour of CTI flight school at the Millington Airport. Members had the opportunity to tour the CTI facilities, experience a professional flight simulator, and learn about the various paths to civilian and military flight credentials.

Recent Promotions

Here's a snapshot of some of the promotions and appointments that have been made lately. Congratulations to these cadet Saripkin on his promotion to C/MSgt and receipt of his Ground Team badge; Cadet Boothe on reaching Achievement 11 of the cadet program and appointment to the new duty position of Cadet Executive Officer; Cadet Carson on attaining his first achievement, the Curry Award, the rank of Airman, and receipt of the squadron patch.  Congratulations to these fine young men on their recent achievements.

NO MEETING 11 MARCH

Due to inclement weather forecast and unsafe training conditions, the FTX (Field Training Exercise) that was planned for this weekend has been postponed and there will be NO MEETING in its place. We wish everyone a safe and fun Spring Break.

Squadron members have been notified by phone and email.

If you are a prospective member, we welcome you to join us the following weekend, Saturday 18 March at 0900 hrs.

SCSO Search Dog Training

Mrs. Kathy Webb from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office Division of Emergency Services visited a Millington Composite Squadron meeting recently to train Civil Air Patrol members in the basics of utilizing search dogs in Search & Rescue operations. Cadets and Senior Members learned about the various types of search dogs and methods and got to see her dog Kona in action.

US Navy Personnel Inspire CAP Cadets

Several military personnel from the US Navy Reserves visited a recent Civil Air Patrol meeting, sharing their experiences and encouraging the cadets of Millington Composite Squadron. Representatives from the Naval Operational Support Center (NOSC-Memphis) were on hand to answer cadets' questions and challenge them to pursue the CAP core values of integrity, volunteer service, excellence and respect.

MCS Visits FAA

MCS members got an opportunity to visit the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Route Traffic Control Center in Memphis recently.  Cadets and Senior Members received an educational session on how air traffic is managed, got to meet with managers and meteorologists, and were able to actually sit with controllers to monitor air traffic communications and speak with controllers.  The event was preceded by an aerospace education lesson at our headquarters and a trip to the Memphis Air port Tower in December.  Thank you to ZME ARTCC for opening your doors to our Civil Air Patrol members.

Awards, Appointments at Recent Open House

Numerous promotions, awards, appointments and recognitions were made at Millington Composite Squadron's most recent Open House and Awards Ceremony held this month.

There was a change of command ceremony for the Cadet Commander position, welcoming new C/CC 1st Lt Lucas Shelton, who will be the senior cadet leader of the MCS cadet corps.

Two of our senior members were presented the rank of Technical Flight Officer, one by appointment and another by promotion and were both recognized for 5 years of service to Civil Air Patrol.  Congratulations to TFO Stevens and TFO Burgess!

Another senior member was appointed as a Lt Col (CAP) due to his prior military service at the same grade (USMC Retired). Congratulations, Colonel Sander!

Several cadets received promotions within the cadet enlisted ranks as well as individual certificates marking first flights, Aerospace Education Excellence awards, and model rocketry participation. Outgoing C/CC 1st Lt Christian Littlejohn was presented with a certificate of appreciation for his service as Cadet Commander this past year.

The event featured a video presentation about Civil Air Patrol's 75th anniversary, a slideshow and a reception. This was the second time for the squadron to hold this event at the Baker Community Center in Millington.  Thank you to the City of Millington and Baker Community Center for allowing us the use of a great facility!

Awards Ceremony & Open House

MCS will be hosting our annual Awards Ceremony & Open House on January 9th, 7pm at the Baker Community Center.  If you are interested in possibly joining, please feel free to check us out. The event is free and open to the public.

December Schedule

There will be no regular Saturday meetings during the month of December, however the following events will be taking place:

• 3 Dec - SAREX in Humboldt, TN, Maj VonBuskirk will be OIC
  
• 6 Dec - Senior Member Meeting, 1830hrs
  
• 10 Dec - Cadet Staff Training & Planning Meeting, 0900hrs
  
• 19 Dec - Tour of the FAA Tower, 0900hrs, pre-registration required (deadline passed)
  
• 28-31 Dec - TNWG Color Guard Training Camp, Tullahoma, TN
  
• 28 Dec-3 Jan - FLWG Winter Encampment, Tyndall AFB, FL

Thanksgiving Break

Millington Composite Squadron will be taking an extended Thanksgiving break, so no meetings are scheduled for the last two weeks of November.

The next scheduled meeting will be December 10th. Watch for updates as the schedule may be adjusted next month as well.

MCS Honors Veterans

A dozen members from Millington Composite Squadron participated in the "flags-in" ceremony at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, placing US flags at hundreds of graves.  Over 21,000 veterans are buried at the cemetery and every one of them had a flag placed at their tombstone.

Recent News

Millington Composite Squadron participated in the Millington 9/11 Memorial Service held at Northridge Woodhaven Cemetery in September.  The MCS Color Guard presented the colors, our Chaplain VonBuskirk gave the invocation, and Squadron Commander Capt Barrett gave the address. He also spoke on the same subject at the Bartlett Rotary Club later that week.

Senior Meetings are now being held on the first Tuesday night of each month at 1830 hrs in addition to the monthly composite meeting. At the most recent Tuesday meeting we began Mission Scanner training.






The cadets have been working on Ground Team training, have had lessons in Moral Leadership, CAP Social Media, Drill & Ceremony, and PT.  Several cadets have either completed or are in the process of completing rank advancements. Two of our most recent promotions include Cadets Quick and McCormack. Congratulations!