You Betcha Con 2013

On 12 October 2013 Cadets from our detachment's Arnold Air Society Squadron attended the Area VII Area Conclave (ARCON) hosted by The University of St. Thomas's Detachment 410 Richard E. Fleming Squadron.

The weekend started off with a fun night at the Mall of America where the cadets from the all squadrons in our area came to enjoy the rides at the Nickelodeon Universe indoor amusement park.

The next morning Cadets arrived at St. Thomas University in St. Paul.  As representatives for the Lauris Norstad Squadron, the nine cadets from our detachment who attended participated in a day filled with briefings and had an opportunity to exchange ideas with other squadrons and representatives from the national staff.  The area voted on the new area staff and it was decided that the Squadron from the Illinois Institute of Technology's Detachment 195 will be the new area staff.  The hosts for next year's ARCON was also voted on.  Cadets from our Squadron ran unopposed and are proud to announce that it will be hosted in the Twin Cities again, this time at the University of Minnesota.

The event ended with a formal banquet with Major General Marvin Jay Barry, a member of the Board of Trustees for Arnold Air Society, as the guest of honor.

This year's ARCON had the highest attendance ever and all who attended from our detachment felt that it was a fun and worthwhile experience.  We look forward to sending cadets to National Conclave (NATCON) in Washington DC this spring and hosting ARCON next year!

-Cadet Carr

Area VII Website:  http://arnoldair7.org/

Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon

Working the 10 mile run and Twin Cities Marathon on 6 October 2013, was a great first time experience for many of the volunteers. We were to arrive at the location of the St. Paul capitol around 0630 and break into different groups depending on what they needed. Some cadets worked security on the medical tent, some worked as security right at the finish line, and some cadets worked at the ending portion of the marathon. Another important job that didn’t involve security, was the cheering section. They were able to cheer on the nine runners from our detachment! The cadets that participated in the marathon included Cadet Malcom, Wilson, Kornhoff, Lamers, Sawina, Tietz, Collar, Leeper, and Carlson. It was a crazy and fun experience to watch 12,000 people cross the finish line and earn the rewards at the end. Each finisher, whether it was the 10-mile run or the 26.2 mile run, was awarded a nice t-shirt and a medal for completing the race. The first place finisher ran the tough 26.2 miles in 2 hours and 13 minutes, winning $25,000. Overall it was an experience that the participating cadets enjoyed and would love to work again. We’re extremely proud of the cadets who completed the race.

-Cadet Hubert

 

Eagle & Anchor 5k

On Saturday 5 October, 2013 Cadets from our detachment ran in the U of M Navy ROTC Unit’s Eagle and Anchor 5k around Lake Como in St. Paul.  Despite the foggy and cold weather cadets carried a desk and chair with a coffee pot and mug to show our pride and represent our detachment and the US Air Force.

-Cadet Carr

FLEX 2013

As a part of Detachment 415 GMC, we had the opportunity to go on a weekend long trip from 26-28 Sep 2013. Flex stands for Field Leadership Exercise which takes place at the Combat Readiness Training Center at Volk Field in Tomah, Wisconsin. Other detachments, such as 410, 925, and 930 also joined the weekend trip and made it more of an experience. Certain POC came along but their role wasn’t necessarily the same role as the GMC.

When we first got there, we were directed towards our rooms, ready to wake up early the next day for a PT session. All cadets were woken up by loud banging and yelling from POC by 0515 and had 15 minutes to get changed into PTU’s and out to the parking lot for the morning warrior run. After the 2.0 mile run, light calisthenics were completed and breakfast was finally served at 0630. After breakfast, the instructions were to change into our BDU’s and bring along any appropriate gear since it was supposed to rain. MRE’s were soon handed out to almost every cadet and we were sent out on buses, some convoys, to our next location.

There were five flights within FLEX, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. Each flight got assigned different stations per every hour and twenty minutes and then rotating would occur. The five stations that were provided were EST/WST, MOUT, SERE/SABV, and ECP. EST/WST is Emergency Support Team/Weapons System Trainer, MOUT is Military Operations in Urban Terrain, SERE/SABC is Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape/Self-Aid Buddy Care, and ECP is Entry Control Point. Each station was equally as intense but most would say that the interactions with the “terrorists” (POC), was the most intense and educational. Going around to each station was an incredible and unreal learning experience that we thought we’d never learn. It was a lot of information to take in at once from the experienced POC, but it was knowledge that we won’t forget! We got to go through the motions of what the professionals actually do and we felt honored to learn those tactics and accomplish them in safe way.

At 1700 the flights came back to dinner discussing all the crazy stories from each of the stations, while also getting ready for Night Flex “NITEX”. Depending on which flight a cadet was in, they were sent out from 2000-2220 and either returned around 2145 or 0010. NITEX was a mission that dealt with many hostiles invading a US base and taking over. During this process, many Americans working the base were injured and each flight with their medic, had to heal them all while the other cadets kept the civilians that were fully armed, out of the base. It was an intense play out and also extremely fun to act out. Many said that it did feel real at the time because they got so involved.  It’s definitely something that every GMC should experience.

By 0720 on Sunday, everyone was up and ready to start packing and cleaning their bedrooms. Breakfast was served at the Dining Facility (DFAC) at 0730 and after that, it was time to head home. Overall, FLEX is an incredible leadership opportunity for any GMC that’s looking to grow as a leader. If cadets are planning on pursuing Field Training and being commissioned, FLEX is a great experience and educational yet fun field trip to go on. Thank you POC!

-Cadet Hubert

POW/MIA Ceremony

On September 22^nd 2013 Detachment 415 took part in a ceremony that brought cadets, current service members and retired veterans, and friends and family together as one. The event that occurred that day was the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action vigil ceremony, a day when across the nation the POW/MIA flag is to be flown. The black flag serving as a reminder of those that served time as prisoners or that still are lost to us.

Leading the ceremony was Cadet Michael Krapf, the Arnold Air Society Commander. Cadet Krapf helped organize the ceremony with the help of the Jerry Kyser and the Minnesota Vietnam Veterans Charity organization. One of this year’s honored guests included Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie as well as the keynote speaker Sgt. Lester F. Schrenk (retired) who recounted his tour of duty as a ball turret gunner during World War II. The ceremony concluded with a wreath laying ceremony representing some of the major conflicts of the past century, honoring those who were prisoners of war during those conflicts or that are still lost to us today.

After the ceremony concluded members of Air Force Detachment 415 carried out a silent vigil for five hours. Every thirty minutes the guard would change and then carry on as before. Marching in front of the veteran wall located at TCF Bank stadium. While performing this task, the guard did not speak, and did not interact with anyone that passed by. Their silence was crucial in honoring those that suffered at the hands of their captors, or that still are missing today, remembering that they are not forgotten.

-Cadet Wells

New Cadet Orientation

The new school year, as per usual, brought a whole new group of freshman to Det 415 for the upcoming school year.  Young and impressionable, they came in eager and ready to learn the ways of the detachment, the University, and the Air Force.  Much is expected from day one and the transition is never simple.   To help get the ball rolling, a new student orientation for Det 415 was held on Tuesday 27 August, 2013.

The students arrived at 0800 to the Armory to begin their introductions to the program.  The new cadets were greeted with motivational Air Force videos to start out the day.  This led into the first briefing from several members of the Cadre along with the Cadet Wing Commander and the Cadet Vice Wing Commander.  Introductions were made and a precedent was set early on of what was expected of the new flight.  The paper work then started to flow.  This was a large portion of time due to the large amount of files that were required in order to become a part of this great organization.  Before lunch, Cadets took tours around the Armory, played games, and met other AS100s along with members of the other classes. 

The parents arrived, and both parents and student were treated to a lunch of the famous Mesa Pizza of Dinky Town.  This was accompanied by more motivational Air Force videos and time for Cadets to start to learn more about each other.  There were several other speakers with both the parents and students together.  The students and parents were then split up into two separate sessions.  Cadets went to the Cadre office to scan documents for file for the detachment and some students were fit for uniforms.  Parents had a question and answer session with the Cadre to answer any burning questions about leaving their children with the program.  Students then departed from their parents and head to the Cadet Lounge to play some more games and hangout with their fellow wingmen.  The new student orientation not only allowed students to complete all the necessary paperwork that is required but also help them get into the mindset that the Air Force expects and get to know the people that they will be spending so much time their next four year at this university. 

-Cadet Wolsky