By Staff Sgt. Lauren Snyder, 433rd Airlft Wing Public Affairs / Published June 21, 2018
Col. Thomas K. Smith Jr., 433rd Airlift Wing commander, describes the Alamo Wing's mission to cadets of the Air Force Academy and Civil Air Patrol at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, June 8, 2018. The cadets and their chaperones caught a flight onboard a C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft, which is used to provide airlift support for peacetime, contingency and humanitarian operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren M. Snyder)
U.S. Air Force Academy cadets peer through the windshield of a C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft during an incentive flight from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, June 8, 2018. As a C-5M unit, the 433rd Airlift Wing stands ready to provide combat ready airlift and many other types of missions around the globe on a moment's notice. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren M. Snyder)
U.S. Air Force Academy cadets pose with Col. Thomas K. Smith Jr. (far left), 433rd Airlift Wing commander, and the Reserve Citizen Airmen aircrew of the C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft after an incentive flight from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, June 8, 2018. With the C-5M, the Alamo Wing provides massive strategic airlift for deployment and supply of combat and support forces worldwide. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren M. Snyder)
Members of the U.S. Air Force Civil Air Patrol pose with Col. Thomas K. Smith Jr., 433rd Airlift Wing commander, and members of the crew by a C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft after an incentive flight from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, June 8, 2018. As the official Air Force auxiliary, CAP has approximately 57,000 volunteers and 550 aircraft assigned to more than 1,500 units stateside available or currently supporting non-combat missions on behalf of the Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren M. Snyder)
U.S. Air Force Civil Air Patrol cadets climb the rear section’s stairs to the 433rd Airlift Wing C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft’s upper deck at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, June 8, 2018. Members of the official Air Force auxiliary fly nearly 100,000 hours per year performing disaster relief, counterdrug, search and rescue, fighter interceptor training, aerial observation and cadet orientation flights. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Lauren M. Snyder)
Members from the Three Rivers Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol from Grape Creek, Texas along with cadets from the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado visited here to check out the mission of the 433rd Airlift Wing and catch a flight onboard a C-5M Super Galaxy on June 8, 2018.
CAP cadets, senior members, along with Air Force Academy cadets, met with Col. T.K. Smith, 433rd Airlift Wing commander, received a mission brief, met with aircrew members and witness an aerial refueling during an incentive flight.
The cadets and those who accompanied were all welcomed aboard the giant aircraft for a three-hour nonstop flight from San Antonio, Texas, to the Lafayette, Louisiana area and back.
“I’ve just started this year; I’m 13,” said Cadet Senior Airman Calie Reyes, San Angelo Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol. “I learned about the Civil Air Patrol from my sister. I saw pictures of her in her uniform and I just wanted to do it because it looked so cool.”
“Cadets range from 12 to 21, and after 18 you can become a senior member,” Reyes said. “It’s super fun. We fly airplanes; I’ve gotten to do that already, and it’s really cool. Getting to fly a plane at 13 isn’t something that happens very often.”
Flight participants had a chance to visit the cockpit, talk to the crew and soak up the atmosphere as they rode the behemoth aircraft.
The Civil Air Patrol is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. Its congressionally mandated missions are aerospace, education and cadet programs.
The United States Air Force Academy is a military academy for officer cadets of the United States Air Force. Its mission is to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers preparing them to serve their country and succeed in 21st-century careers.