Three Forks CAP Cadet Attends Utah Wing Drone Academy

Cadet Senior Airman (SrA) Olivia Roberts, attached to Gallatin Composite Squadron in Bozeman, attended Civil Air Patrol's (CAP) 2022 Utah Wing Drone Academy, held on campus at Utah State University in Price, Utah, July 12 to 15. Cadet Roberts joined the local CAP Cadet Program in May 2020, during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic and has been involved in CAP's emergency services program in Montana, ever since. Cadet Roberts is 14 years old, is homeschooled by her mother, Nicolett Roberts, in Three Forks. She has two brothers who are also enrolled in the CAP Cadet Program. And her father, Ted Roberts, recently passed away.

The Utah Wing Drone Academy is a new annual encampment for cadets in CAP's Rocky Mountain Region. The cadets that attended had the opportunity to fly a fixed wing drone and several different models of quadcopter drones and learned how to build a simple free flight (F/F) model aircraft. Cadets also received instruction in preparation to earn a remote pilot certificate from the FAA, once they reach age 16. The cadets also participated in a disaster assessment training exercise (DRX) on the last day of the academy, which was authorized by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) and local authorities, in which quadcopter drones were used for aerial reconnaissance of a local community water tower in Carbon County, Utah. Cadets who graduated from the program earned a UAV technician qualification in CAP's emergency services program.

CAP is the official civilian-volunteer Auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF) and the largest owner-operator of drones and light single-engine aircraft (e.g., Cessna 182) in the United States. CAP uses drones for both aviation education within the cadet program and also for its volunteer aviation emergency services program. The CAP Cadet Program is officially recognized by the USAF as the after-school equivalent of high school Air Force Junior ROTC for youth ages 12 to 18. Please, visit CAP's National HQ website at https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com for more program information. For more information about the Gallatin Composite Squadron, please visit http://www.gallatin.cap.gov or email atroth@mtwg.cap.gov.