Friends of Eglin Composite Squadron

04/30/2026

Congratulations to C/MSgt Will Crowder, C/SSgt Nathanael Mims, C/CMSgt Seth Bittenbender and C/SMSgt Elisha Bittenbender on the receipt of the CAP Achievement Award for their support of the ACE Plus program and the Shalimar Elementary 5th grade class! Their actions brought credit upon themselves, the squadron and Civil Air Patrol.

A formal award presentation will be held during the June 1st meeting at the Air Force Armament Museum. Eglin Composite Squadron meets at 6:30 PM at the museum on the first Monday of each month.

04/22/2026

ACE - Aerospace Connections in Education - is Civil Air Patrol's STEM program for grades 1-6. When a local Civil Air Patrol squadron adopts a local classroom that is using the ACE curriculum, it's known as "ACE Plus."

Eglin Composite Squadron adopted Ms. Amy Kranich's 5th grade class at Shalimar Elementary School and facilitated three lessons in March and April.

For the final ACE Plus event, Eglin Composite Squadron arranged a tour of the Air Force Armament Museum for the entire Shalimar Elementary 5th grade. Volunteer museum tour guides and Civil Air Patrol members escorted more than 70 students around the museum and answered questions about the various aircraft and exhibits.

04/16/2026

Ms. Amy Kranich is an Aerospace Education Member (AEM) in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Ms. Kranich teaches 5th grade at Shalimar Elementary, using CAP’s Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) curriculum. ACE is designed to engage and inspire early-aged youth toward an interest in aviation, space, and other STEM-related careers. Civil Air Patrol offers free lesson plans and STEM kits for teachers in grades 1-6.

When local Civil Air Patrol squadrons join with upper-grade Aerospace Connections in Education classrooms, it is known as “ACE Plus.” Cadets from Eglin Composite Squadron helped reinforce Ms. Kranich’s lessons in March and April, facilitating three lessons.

On April 15th, Lt. Col Dale Robinson lead a lesson on communication and trust. Students had to navigate an obstacle course while blindfolded – the “pilot” - and following the directions of another student- the “navigator.”. Cadets set up the courses and monitored the students as they navigated the course. Once every student had a chance to be both pilot and navigator, students discussed the need to give clear, understandable directions. They also discussed the difficulty of completing tasks because they failed to listen carefully to the directions. SM Stirling Naber and cadets C/MSgt Will Crowder and C/SSgt Nathanael Mims facilitated the lesson.

04/14/2026

Eglin Civil Air Patrol Team Completes Second Skywatch Mission

Aviation Skywatch, an official CAP mission, is the 2026 CAP/NASA Mission. This will be the fifth mission conducted by Civil Air Patrol in collaboration with NASA, building on the success of the previous CAP/NASA missions. The mission harkens back to Operation Skywatch, a U.S. Air Force program in the 1950s designed to identify and track aircraft before radar was available; CAP helped train the skywatchers of the Ground Observer Corps.
Teams around the world collect data and record atmospheric conditions and identify and track specific aircraft across multiple regions. The data is used by NASA scientists to help them better understand weather conditions and their impact on aviation
There are three Observation date in 2026. An Eglin Composite Squadron Skywatch Team has recorded data on March 14th and April 11th. They recorded data on more than 20 specific aircraft in their observation area. The team plans to participate in the May 16th Observation date, as well. Teams must participate in two of the Observation dates to receive credit.

04/08/2026

Civil Air Patrol cadets from Eglin Composite Squadron facilitated a character and leadership lesson for Ms. Amy Kranich’s 5th grade class at Shalimar Elementary School on April 8th. The students learned about NASA’s legendary flight director Gene Kranz. Kranz led NASA through the Gemini and Apollo programs, including the Apollo 13 mission. During the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970, an explosion damaged the spacecraft while enroute to the moon. Kranz led his team to find solutions that brought the astronauts home safely.

Following a discussion of team and leadership traits, Ms. Kranich’s students had an opportunity to practice their own leadership skills with two different challenges. The first challenge required teams of students to arrange panels from a comic strip in the correct order. The second was the Tinker Toy Challenge. Student teams had 10 minutes to plan the tallest freestanding tower possible, without actually putting any parts together. At the end of the planning session, each team had just 60 seconds to actually assemble the structure. Following each challenge, students discussed the team building skills they learned and identified the leaders that emerged in each.

Leading the lesson was Eglin Composite Squadron commander Lt. Col. George Williams, assisted by SM Stirling Nabors, and Cadets C/CMSgt Seth Bittenbender, C/SMSgt Elisha Bittenbender, C/MSgt Will Crowder, and C/SrA Nathaniel Mims.

Ms. Amy Kranich uses Civil Air Patrol’s Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) curriculum in her classroom. Civil Air Patrol provides free lesson plans and materials for grades 1-6. Eglin Composite Squadron has adopted Ms. Kranich’s classroom; this was the second collaboration between Ms. Kranich and the local squadron. Lt. Col. Dale Robinson presented Ms. Kranich with a certificate of adoption.

The squadron plans to assist the class with another lesson in the future, plus is coordinating a field trip to the Air Force Armament Museum later this month.

03/25/2026

03/25/2026

Civil Air Patrol cadets and adults from Eglin Composite Squadron facilitated a STEM lesson at Shalimar Elementary School on March 25th.

Ms. Amy Kranich's 5th grade class launched fizzy rockets under the supervision of the CAP cadets, recorded and analyzed launch data and generally had great fun while learning.

Ms. Kranich is a CAP Aerospace Education Member who incorporates aerospace and STEM lessons into her classroom. AEMs have access to free resources from Civil Air Patrol through the Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) program. When a CAP squadron adopts an ACE classroom, it's known as ACE Plus.

CAP members participating were Lt. Col. Dale Robinson, Maj. Chris Pogozelski, 2Lt Rebecca Williams and Cadets C/CMSgt Seth Bittenbender, C/SMSgt Elisha Bittenbender, C/MSgt Will Crowder, and C/SrA Nathaniel Mims.

03/24/2026

CMSgt Robert Gutierrez, Jr. (USAF, ret.) spoke to Eglin Composite Squadron’s Civil Air Patrol cadets at the Air Force Armament Museum on Monday March 23rd. Gutierrez was awarded the Air Force Cross, the Air Force’s highest honor for his actions in Afghanistan in 2009. Serving as a Combat Controller embedded with an Army unit tasked with capturing a high ranking Taliban commander, Gutierrez was shot in the chest when the unit came under heavy fire. With a collapsed lung, broken ribs and a fist-sized exit wound in his back, Gutierrez refused medical aid and called in air support to attack the enemy position. The A-10 strafed the Taliban position “danger close,” only 30 feet away. The medic was then able to insert a needle an reinflate the lung. Gutierrez continued to fight, calling in two more air strikes, which allowed the unit to escape to a landing zone Gutierrez had identified.
While waiting for the medevac helicopters, Gutierrez slipped in and out of consciousness. The medic inserted another needle and reinflated the lung again. Gutierrez then directed the approaching helicopters into the landing zone. After being loaded into a helicopter, he finally turned his radio duties to his teammates.

01/24/2026