Cadets give up spring break fun for community support, training

  • Published
  • By Gino Mattorano
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, CO --  While spring break usually conjures thoughts of fun and sun, many Air Force Academy cadets spent their time off from studies working on community projects, or taking part in unique training opportunities.

Sixty-eight cadets participated in the Academy's alternative spring break program helping Habitat for Humanity with home construction projects in four separate locations.

Cadet First Class Anthony Correale, Cadet Squadron 38, took a group of 11 cadets to College Station, Texas in a roofing project for a needy family.

"They gave us four days to complete the task, and we finished in two and a half," said Cadet Correale. "I think that says a lot about cadets' effectiveness on the worksite. It was totally worth spending our spring break helping build a house for someone in need. "

The cadets "roughed it" a bit, sleeping on cots and sleeping bags in a local church building, but Cadet Correale says the church members took good care of them and even provided lunch for them each day.

Since most of the cadets on the trip were from some part of Texas, Cadet Correale says many of them were able to spend some time with family during the trip, which made it even more worthwhile.

"I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys," he said. "The mix of personalities helped us get along really well and we had a blast hanging out while driving and in our free time there."

Another group of 11 traveled to Houston, where they helped Habitat build a house intended for a family with a disabled child with cerebral palsy who is confined to a wheelchair. The cadets helped the family fulfill their commitment to contribute to their new home construction.

"One of Habitat's requirements is that the receiving families put at least 350 hours of work into their future home, whether by working themselves or having friends donate hours of labor," said Cadet Fourth Class Seth Rodgers, CS 10. "Because of the father's demands at work and the unpredictability of the daughter's condition, special arrangements have been made to ensure enough hours are donated toward the completion of the house."

Because Habitat's project manager had worked at NASA for 30 years, he gave the cadets the unique opportunity to meet Gene Kranz, the retired director of NASA, who was featured in the movie Apollo 13.

Another group of 14 cadets travelled to Phoenix where they helped Habitat with a landscaping project for town houses that Habitat had already built for the residents.

According to Cadet 3rd Class Connor Niebrugge, CS 14, cadets spent their time planting trees and bushes and leveling out gravel between the sidewalks and street.
The fourth Habitat project in Ventura County, Calif., gave cadets the opportunity to help build houses for the homeless.

"It was a great opportunity for us to provide support to the community," said Cadet 1st Class Viludani Yatawara, CS 05. 'The feeling you get after spending the spring break helping others is wordless."

While not part of the alternative spring break program, many other cadets spent their time participating in training or other academic programs.

The Olmsted Culture Immersion and Foreign Service Academy gave 188 cadets the opportunity to spend their spring break learning about other cultures on 41 separate trips to 34 different countries.

Cadet 2nd Class Brandon Roberts travelled to the Ukraine, where he spent his time interacting with Ukrainian citizens, learning about their culture and enjoying the Ukrainian food. One of the highlights of his trip was seeing a ballet, but he especially enjoyed the interaction.

"Meeting people from other cultures was a lot of fun," he said. "One thing that really stood out for me was that despite our cultural differences, we're all very similar in many ways. At the root of who we are, we all work for the same things, care deeply about our families, and look forward to time off on the weekends."

Another 34 cadets spent their spring break focused on aviation at Willcox, Ariz., where they spent eight days in glider training enhancing the semester-long upgrade training for the cadets to become certified Soaring Instructor Pilots, according to Capt. Todd Salzwedel, 94th Flying Training Squadron.

"They are training to teach their peers - either other cadets or sometimes new officers," according to Maj. Aaron Dripps, 94th FTS. "We're giving them the confidence to go on their own."

The cadets spent part of the week in ground training, followed by a variety of solo flights. After the flights, instructors spend time with the cadets, briefing them on the various aspects of the flight, and explaining how they did.