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Cadet Squadrons Battle for Academy Bragging Rights

In a classic case of, “My Cadet is Better Than Yours,” Florida’s Ormond Beach and Wisconsin’s Milwaukee squadrons are neck-deep in a friendly rivalry over their latest Air Force Academy recruits for the Class of 2029. It’s unclear if they are sending cadets or launching a full-scale invasion, but aspirations are high and so are the egos.

Cadet 1st Lt. Neil Klein of Ormond Beach emerged not from a cryogenic chamber in December 2019 but rather joined the Civil Air Patrol to display his prowess as a cadet commander. Clearly aiming to be the next Captain America, he comes packaged with a private pilot license and the leadership skills honed by commanding national champion drill teams. Meanwhile, Cadet 2nd Lt. Reece Griffin, who joined the same squadron in what appears to be recent history—October 2023—embodies the new generation of cadets who flaunt academic feats like National Merit Scholarships like participation trophies.

Up in Wisconsin, Milwaukee Composite Squadron 5 doesn’t falter. Cadet Lt. Col. Kaeden Saunders and Cadet 1st Lt. Andrew Blount have both acted as cadet commanders, presumably holding life-and-death meetings on flight strategies and aeronautical engineering theories since April 2021 and 2022, respectively. Those intending to fly higher than Icarus should probably note that Blount has his eyes set on being an Air Force pilot while diving deep into aerodynamics.

Saunders, meanwhile, contemplates a journey in physics, likely in a quest to discover why the apple indeed falls only straight down. Their alma mater now includes the illustrious Bailey Slade, a former local commander who’s apparently taking over the world, one language at a time, with a major in foreign area studies. Maybe she’ll figure out how to pilot the globe itself one day.

For the past 17 years, Milwaukee’s squadron has seen 14 cadet slots filled. The tale spun by Capt. Erik Wolbach takes on almost Shakespearean proportions, with cadets allegedly transmogrifying from mere “kids” into robust young adults ready to conquer the world—or at least the Air Force.

In the end, it seems the true test lies in what these young future leaders do with their ambitions and aspirations. And if they fail to attend their own future induction ceremonies at military halls, at least they’ll have a footnote in this never-ending melodrama of Air Patrol bravado.

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