Flying into the future in Forty Fort

FORTY FORT, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A non-profit that has been in the country for decades is making a difference in children’s lives all over the United States and right here in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The civilian organization in Luzerne County trains kids to become leaders in many ways, including aviation.

28/22 News Reporter Emily Allegrucci was at their weekly meeting Thursday evening.

Squadron 203 in Luzerne County is part of Pennsylvania’s Civil Air Patrol.

The group meets every Thursday to educate and train their cadets and turn them into upstanding community members.

These cadets are learning more than how to obey a command, if you look close enough, you may even catch them in the sky on Thursday evenings.

“Basically all of these cadets get the opportunity to fly a Civil Air Patrol aircraft, for free. So the pilot will take them up and fly them around and show them how the aircraft works and maybe even give them the chance to fly a little bit,” said Civil Air Patrol Squadron 203 Deputy Commander for Cadets Shawn Stanford.

But a lesson in aviation isn’t all that cadets in the Pennsylvania wing of Civil Air Patrol receive.

The goal of the Luzerne County Squadron 203 Cadet Program is to produce aerospace-minded American leaders through physical education, character development, and leadership training.

“They start out learning how to become part of a team, and then how to be a fully functioning member of the team, and then as they continue to progress and spend more time they learn how to become a leader,” Stanford explained.

Cadet Annastasia O’Looney has been in the program for about a year and a half and says it has already changed her life for the better.

“It taught me leadership skills which is something I definitely had to work on and I’m extremely grateful for everything that our senior members put into us,” Sergeant O’Looney said.

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Although Sergeant O’Looney is new to the program, the Civil Air Patrol is no stranger to Luzerne County.

“It’s been around since the 1950s. We were originally up in Hazleton until we moved here in 2018 down to Forty Fort Airport. The Civil Air Patrol itself has been around since 1941 in the dark days before the Second World War,” said Civil Air Patrol Squadron 203 Second Lieutenant Francis O’Looney.

Civil Air Patrol isn’t a part of the military, but rather a non-profit that allows everyone who is a United States citizen to test out the waters.

“I didn’t really know what it was until I came here and I met everyone and it’s honestly just so rewarding. I’ve made so many friends through Civil Air Patrol, I’ve done so many awesome things,” Sergeant O’Looney added.

One of those things was taking to the air where even the pilots are volunteers paying it forward to the next generation of leaders.

“I first started taking flying lessons at this airport and then this is just a follow up to that to be able to pass along my passions for flying to the cadets,” Civil Air Patrol Squadron 203 Captain Michael Szish.

Squadron 203 is looking for more volunteers to help educate, train, and take their cadets into the sky.

They welcome all US citizens ages 12 through 18 in the Cadet Program.

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