ARBUTUS, Maryland – On Saturday, 03 July 2010, eleven members from the Civil Air Patrol’s Maryland Wing participated in the annual Arbutus Independence Day Parade held in Arbutus, Maryland.

The day began when a flight of United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolts roared overhead to signal the start of the parade. The eleven members of the Maryland Wing joined color guard teams, church groups, local fire departments, cheer leaders and numerous other participants in a convey which spanned across Arbutus and passed up to 5,000 spectators.

In addition to those who marched proudly on foot, the Maryland Wing’s Drug Demand Reduction truck and the Maryland Wing “jet” gave the Civil Air Patrol an added presence at the event. Cadet Ken, the Maryland Wing’s Drug Demand Reduction mascot, also marched in honor of our nation’s independence.

The participants, and their duties, included:

- Captain Sherry McManus, Fort McHenry Composite Squadron (FMCS) Emergency Services Officer – leader of the marching formation

- Captain Walt Murphy, Middle East Region Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) Coordinator – driver of the DDR truck

- Second Lieutenant Jake Kellogg, FMCS Assistant DDR Officer – passenger in the DDR truck

- Second Lieutenant Patrick McManus, FMCS DDR Officer – driver of the vehicle towing the Maryland Wing “jet”

- Senior Member Tony Moe, FMCS Historian – participant in the marching formation

- Senior Member Ping Lai, FMCS Supply Officer – photographer and participant in the marching formation

- Cadet/First Lieutenant Stacey McManus, FMCS – “Cadet Ken” DDR mascot

- Cadet/Chief Master Sergeant Zachary McManus, FMCS – participant in the marching formation

- Cadet/Airman Malcolm Scott, FMCS – passenger in the Maryland Wing “jet”

- Cadet/Airman Timothy Jacobs, FMCS – participant in the marching formation

- Cadet/Airman Bronte Goldsmith, FMCS – participant in the marching formation

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 72 lives in fiscal year 2009. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 23,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years.

More than 1,500 members of CAP serve in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 42 search and rescue missions and were credited with 31 finds. For more information, visit www.mdcap.org.

The Fort McHenry Composite Squadron meets weekly on Tuesday evenings at the Catonsville Armory, 130 Mellor Avenue in Catonsville, Md. Prospective members are always welcome. For more information or directions, visit the squadron website at www.ftmchenrycap.org.