APRIL 30, 2009 ISSUE
Boone Civil Air Patrol Cadet Appointed to United States Air Force Academy
“I had a permanent smile on my face after I received my appointment,” said Max Robertson, Civil Air Patrol cadet.
That grin grew because Max had been nominated and then appointed to the United States Air Force Academy. The school and 18,000-acre campus are located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and is known to be one of the most selective colleges in the United States. The academy ‘s vision is to be the air force’s premier institute for developing leaders with character at their state-of-the-art school, with facilities that include laboratories, observatories and a library containing over 700,000 volumes. Visitors to the campus—and they number in the thousands each year—have come to recognize the academy by landmarks such as the stunning cadet chapel with its 17 spires soaring 150 feet into the Colorado sky.
So how does a lad from Purlear snag such an honor? Max credits his hard academic work, tenure as a page in the White House and, perhaps most significantly, his four years as a Civil Air Patrol cadet with helping him earn the much coveted appointment to the United States Air Force Academy.
“It took a lot of motivation to get my application to the school completed,” recalled Max. “The Civil Air Patrol fosters a take charge and get it done attitude and my experience in the organization helped me immensely. I joined in April of 2005 and I liked the whole rank structure and the leadership teaching held a lot of appeal. I also like being in a military organization.”
In October of 2005, Max went to his first Phase 1 training session, where he began learning to become a good leader.
“The year after that in June of 2006 I went to Cherry Point Air Force Academy where I learned lots of classroom instruction, drills and team-building activities,” said Max.
From that juncture, Max progressed each year as a cadet: Later in 2006, he served as support staff; in 2007, as flight sergeant; 2008, cadet commander; and for 2009, Max has served as deputy cadet commander.
“I really think that being a cadet in the Civil Air Patrol helped with my appointment to the air force academy,” said Max. “They looked at all the awards I’ve received and all the positions I’ve held.”
For Max, the application process to the prestigious school began in November 2008.
“It took me awhile—I did not get it done all at once,” said Max. “I finished in January of 2009 and I was appointed on February 9, 2009. I was so happy I was jumping up and down and shouting!”
With only a 60 percent acceptance rate and drawn out, intense application process that includes comprehensive physical fitness tests, two interviews—one with a representative from congress and one with an air force officer—plus the writing of two essays, Max said that the experience has been a roller coaster ride.
“I received a nomination from Representative Virginia Foxx and had to be interviewed by her review staff,” he said. “They liked what they saw, so then I met with an air force officer in Boone, went to three different doctors for eye and ear exams, had a test from my physical education teacher, sat for SATs three times to try and get the highest score possible, took one ACT exam, wrote two essays—-those are pretty important and are one of the last things I got done.”
And the home-schooled Max attended classes, including biology, calculus and chemistry for the past year at Wilkes Community College to earn 12 college credits towards his schooling. Whew! Despite all those rigors, the hardest part of all is yet to come—deciding if he will accept the appointment.
“It’s a big decision,” said Max, “the academy training itself is free, but after the four years of college, I would have to serve in the military for five years.”
Max has a little more time to decide, though the induction at the academy begins on June 25 and he must give the powers that be a definite answer soon. But with the steadiness and maturity beyond his 17 years—skills he learned and earned as a cadet—Max will surely make the right decision.
“My training in the Civil Air Patrol taught me to always keep the goal in view,” said Max.
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