Dan River Flight Earns Squadron Status in Record Time
Dan River Composite Squadron of Rockingham County, North Carolina (formerly known as Dan River Flight) is proud to announce that it has been granted full Squadron status in the Civil Air Patrol within eight short months of the unit’s founding, an impressive accomplishment almost unheard of within the organization. The Flight was chartered on February 28, 2022, and by October 24, 2022, Dan River was officially granted the title of Composite Squadron. A Flight is a budding new unit that must consist of seven members, two of those including Senior Members (adults). A Squadron must have fifteen members also including 2 Senior Members. At the time of this publication, Dan River Composite Squadron is the proud home of 39 members.
How did this unit progress so quickly? Unit Commander, Captain Brent Wooters, humbly credits the hard work of Senior Members, Cadets, and Parent Sponsors. He also outlines an innovative leadership approach to training a new Flight to the standards of a Squadron. “We set out from the very beginning setting up our operations just like we were a squadron. Each squadron gets inspected every 2 years to ensure compliance with the programs, requirements, and regulations. We catered our development to this therefore we were ready to stand alone very soon.”
Active recruiting and retention efforts have also been invaluable tools for keeping membership actively involved and growing. When asked how the unit was able to recruit so many members so quickly, Capt. Wooters described tactics such as open house days and heavy utilization of social media, “We were honest about the program and explained its requirements and benefits with a lot of passion. We had 38 members at our initial open house and retained 90 % of those interested at our first meeting. We teach the program as designed and our initial members continue to recruit new members by word of mouth. Our social media involvement has also been a great part of our success.”
Creating a new Flight within Civil Air Patrol is no easy feat. Just like any other business, one must do the research to determine available real estate and other resources suitable for operations. A business plan must be developed. The finalized plans must be escalated up the chain of command and approved at every level, Once approved, a new Flight must partner with a more experienced squadron in order to train and mentor newly qualified senior leadership. After six months the new Flight is allowed to operate autonomously. Growth in membership and community involvement determines whether the Wing (state) level will grant the coveted Composite Squadron title, but to do so within less than a year of founding is truly impressive, fantastic work to all involved!
When asked what his long-term vision for Dan River Composite Squadron was, Capt. Wooters stated, “My goals for this unit are to continue to grow while we also continue to feed the interest of our current membership. We are accomplishing this with continued training and professional development. We have also been on training path in the Emergency Services area that will allow us to offer these services to the citizens of Rockingham County.” He also stated that, “I would love to see our unit be able to assist Rockingham County Emergency Management and the existing agencies in the county with Search and Rescue, sUAS availability, and air support in emergency situations.”
In one final question, Capt. Wooters was asked “Do you have any advice, recruiting, and retention strategies, leadership tips, etc. to share with other unit commanders?” To which his final response was. “I would say that you have to believe in the program, and the passion that you have for the program, must be evident. Develop a leadership philosophy and share that with your staff and members.”
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By: SM Nick Keaton, CAP
Public Affairs Officer, Dan River Composite Squadron
