Friends of Eglin Composite Squadron

08/17/2026

08/17/2026

The Eagle's Quill Newsletter #26-08 August 2026
The Eagle's Quill is the official newsletter of Eglin Composite Squadron.

08/06/2026

08/06/2026

Eglin Composite Squadron Celebrates 60th Anniversary and Honors 2025 Award Recipients
The Eglin Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, celebrated its 60th Anniversary Awards Presentation at the Air Force Armament Museum on 3 August 2026. Members, families, and distinguished guests gathered to recognize outstanding achievements across all mission areas and to honor the squadron’s legacy of service to Eglin Air Force Base and the Emerald Coast.

2025 “Of the Year” Award Recipients
The squadron proudly recognized its top performers for 2025:

Senior Member of the Year: Lt Col Dale Robinson

Cadet of the Year: C/2d Lt Seth Bittenbender

Phase II Cadet of the Year: C/CMSgt Aden Baker

Phase III Cadet of the Year: C/1st Lt Preston Blackburn

Phase IV Cadet of the Year: TFO Mason Pridgen

Cadet Programs Officer of the Year (Squadron, Group, Wing, SER): Maj Sara Fishbein

Cadet Orientation Pilot of the Year (Squadron, Group, Wing): Lt Col Ty Alexander

Air Force Association Cadet of the Year: C/2d Lt Seth Bittenbender

VFW Cadet NCO of the Year: C/CMSgt Jackson Cloud

AFSA Cadet of the Year: C/CMSgt Rovy‑Marvidson Flores

Florida Wing Ground Team of the Year
The squadron’s Ground Team was honored as the Florida Wing Ground Team of the Year, with members receiving the Commander’s Commendation Award for their exceptional performance:

Lt Col Michael Bittenbender
Maj Jarett McGinness
C/2d Lt Seth Bittenbender
C/CMSgt Logan Eash
C/CMSgt Elisha Bittenbender
C/CMSgt Aden Baker

Additional team members previously recognized include Maj Chris Pogozelski, Capt Donald Reisch, 1st Lt Rebecca Williams, and Lt Col George Williams.

ACE Plus Program – Shalimar Elementary School
Several members were honored with the CAP Achievement Award for their support of the Aerospace Connections in Education Plus (ACE Plus) program:

Lt Col Dale Robinson
SM Stirling Naber
C/2d Lt Seth Bittenbender
C/CMSgt William Crowder
C/CMSgt Elisha Bittenbender
C/SSgt Nathanael Mims

Their efforts brought hands‑on aerospace education to local students and strengthened CAP’s community outreach mission.

NASA Aviation SkyWatch Mission
Members supporting the NASA Aviation SkyWatch Mission were recognized with the CAP Achievement Award and Certificates of Appreciation from NASA:

Lt Col Dale Robinson
Maj Christopher Pogozelski
2Lt George Vasquez
SM Benjamin Santos
C/CMSgt Logan Eash
C/CMSgt Cameron Cunningham
C/MSgt Austin Cunningham
C/SMSgt William Crowder

Their work collecting atmospheric data contributed to national aviation research and safety initiatives.

The Eglin Composite Squadron thanks all members, families, partners, and guests who helped make the 60th Anniversary celebration a success. The squadron remains committed to serving the community, developing young leaders, and supporting the United States Air Force.

Eagles Lead.

04/30/2026

Congratulations to C/MSgt Will Crowder, C/SSgt Nathanael Mims, C/CMSgt Seth Bittenbender and C/SMSgt Elisha Bittenbender on the receipt of the CAP Achievement Award for their support of the ACE Plus program and the Shalimar Elementary 5th grade class! Their actions brought credit upon themselves, the squadron and Civil Air Patrol.

A formal award presentation will be held during the June 1st meeting at the Air Force Armament Museum. Eglin Composite Squadron meets at 6:30 PM at the museum on the first Monday of each month.

04/22/2026

ACE - Aerospace Connections in Education - is Civil Air Patrol's STEM program for grades 1-6. When a local Civil Air Patrol squadron adopts a local classroom that is using the ACE curriculum, it's known as "ACE Plus."

Eglin Composite Squadron adopted Ms. Amy Kranich's 5th grade class at Shalimar Elementary School and facilitated three lessons in March and April.

For the final ACE Plus event, Eglin Composite Squadron arranged a tour of the Air Force Armament Museum for the entire Shalimar Elementary 5th grade. Volunteer museum tour guides and Civil Air Patrol members escorted more than 70 students around the museum and answered questions about the various aircraft and exhibits.

04/16/2026

Ms. Amy Kranich is an Aerospace Education Member (AEM) in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Ms. Kranich teaches 5th grade at Shalimar Elementary, using CAP’s Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) curriculum. ACE is designed to engage and inspire early-aged youth toward an interest in aviation, space, and other STEM-related careers. Civil Air Patrol offers free lesson plans and STEM kits for teachers in grades 1-6.

When local Civil Air Patrol squadrons join with upper-grade Aerospace Connections in Education classrooms, it is known as “ACE Plus.” Cadets from Eglin Composite Squadron helped reinforce Ms. Kranich’s lessons in March and April, facilitating three lessons.

On April 15th, Lt. Col Dale Robinson lead a lesson on communication and trust. Students had to navigate an obstacle course while blindfolded – the “pilot” - and following the directions of another student- the “navigator.”. Cadets set up the courses and monitored the students as they navigated the course. Once every student had a chance to be both pilot and navigator, students discussed the need to give clear, understandable directions. They also discussed the difficulty of completing tasks because they failed to listen carefully to the directions. SM Stirling Naber and cadets C/MSgt Will Crowder and C/SSgt Nathanael Mims facilitated the lesson.

04/14/2026

Eglin Civil Air Patrol Team Completes Second Skywatch Mission

Aviation Skywatch, an official CAP mission, is the 2026 CAP/NASA Mission. This will be the fifth mission conducted by Civil Air Patrol in collaboration with NASA, building on the success of the previous CAP/NASA missions. The mission harkens back to Operation Skywatch, a U.S. Air Force program in the 1950s designed to identify and track aircraft before radar was available; CAP helped train the skywatchers of the Ground Observer Corps.
Teams around the world collect data and record atmospheric conditions and identify and track specific aircraft across multiple regions. The data is used by NASA scientists to help them better understand weather conditions and their impact on aviation
There are three Observation date in 2026. An Eglin Composite Squadron Skywatch Team has recorded data on March 14th and April 11th. They recorded data on more than 20 specific aircraft in their observation area. The team plans to participate in the May 16th Observation date, as well. Teams must participate in two of the Observation dates to receive credit.

04/08/2026

Civil Air Patrol cadets from Eglin Composite Squadron facilitated a character and leadership lesson for Ms. Amy Kranich’s 5th grade class at Shalimar Elementary School on April 8th. The students learned about NASA’s legendary flight director Gene Kranz. Kranz led NASA through the Gemini and Apollo programs, including the Apollo 13 mission. During the Apollo 13 mission in April 1970, an explosion damaged the spacecraft while enroute to the moon. Kranz led his team to find solutions that brought the astronauts home safely.

Following a discussion of team and leadership traits, Ms. Kranich’s students had an opportunity to practice their own leadership skills with two different challenges. The first challenge required teams of students to arrange panels from a comic strip in the correct order. The second was the Tinker Toy Challenge. Student teams had 10 minutes to plan the tallest freestanding tower possible, without actually putting any parts together. At the end of the planning session, each team had just 60 seconds to actually assemble the structure. Following each challenge, students discussed the team building skills they learned and identified the leaders that emerged in each.

Leading the lesson was Eglin Composite Squadron commander Lt. Col. George Williams, assisted by SM Stirling Nabors, and Cadets C/CMSgt Seth Bittenbender, C/SMSgt Elisha Bittenbender, C/MSgt Will Crowder, and C/SrA Nathaniel Mims.

Ms. Amy Kranich uses Civil Air Patrol’s Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE) curriculum in her classroom. Civil Air Patrol provides free lesson plans and materials for grades 1-6. Eglin Composite Squadron has adopted Ms. Kranich’s classroom; this was the second collaboration between Ms. Kranich and the local squadron. Lt. Col. Dale Robinson presented Ms. Kranich with a certificate of adoption.

The squadron plans to assist the class with another lesson in the future, plus is coordinating a field trip to the Air Force Armament Museum later this month.