Mattituck-Cutchogue Student Selected as Cadet Commander of Local Civil Air Patrol Unit

Captain Warren M. Weiss, commander of the Civil Air Patrol’s 9th Suffolk Cadet Squadron, selected Cadet Joseph K. Cavanagh, of Cutchogue to be the unit’s new cadet commander.  Cadet Cavanagh assumed command in a change-of-command ceremony held June 11, at the squadron’s home base at the Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base headquarters in Westhampton

Cadet Cavanagh is an honor student at Mattituck-Cutchogue High School, where he has recently completed his junior year.  He has also completed his first year of law enforcement studies at the Eastern Suffolk Academy of Applied Sciences.

Additionally, Cadet Cavanagh is a member of a Naval JROTC unit in Southold and serves as a senior altar server at the St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in that village.

He is a second degree black belt in jiu-jitsu and enjoys working out at the gym, traveling and reading literature concerning American and military history. He is an advocate for military veterans and spends many hours talking with them about their experiences in the service.

The Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force. Its three congressionally chartered missions include Emergency Services, Aerospace Education and the Cadet Program.  CAP has over 61,000 members nationwide and operates a fleet of 550 aircraft.

The Cadet Program is designed to forge young leaders of the future aerospace industry through a curriculum of leadership, fitness and study.  The program follows a military model and emphasizes Air Force traditions and values.   

In its Emergency Services capacity, CAP performs 90 percent of inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC), and the organization is credited with saving an average of approximately 80 lives each year.  CAP also allocates resources to homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.

For more information about the 9th Suffolk Cadet Squadron CAP see their website: www.squadron9.com