N.H. squadron makes wing history with 2 Spaatz winners
Maj. Penny H. Hardy
Public Affairs Officer
New Hampshire Wing
NEW HAMPSHIRE -- In a first-time-ever ceremony for the New Hampshire Wing, two cadets from the same squadron recently received their Gen. Carl A. Spaatz awards -- Civil Air Patrol's highest cadet honor -- the same night.
Cadet Col. Heather D. Barrington, now a cadet first class at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and Cadet Col. Mark A. Leno III, now a junior at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pa., received the coveted Spaatz awards i
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Photo by Maj. Penny H. Hardy |
| Cadet Col. Heather D. Barrington and Cadet Col. Mark A. Leno III with their Gen. Carl A. Spaatz awards. |
n the presence of their fellow Highlanders Cadet Squadron members, friends and families, New Hampshire Wing staff and others.
Each cadet also received a citation from New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch and an engraved clock from the New Hampshire Wing. The gubernatorial citations were presented by state Rep. John DeJoie, standing in for the governor.
In receiving the Spaatz award, Leno achieved his goal of achieving all CAP honors from Curry to Spaatz without failing a single time. A political science major in college with a minor in history, he studied at the International Hellenic and Mediterranean Studies School in Athens, Greece, in the fall of 2006 and has been on the dean's list every semester at Gettysburg.
In CAP Leno was an International Air Cadet Exchange cadet to Austrailia in 2004. That same year he was also New Hampshire Wing Cadet of the Year and cadet encampment commander. A graduate of cadet officer school and Northeast Region leadership school, he took first place in the Northeast Region speech contest in 2003 and was a member of the drill team for several years.
Barrington will graduate this June from the Air Force Academy, where she is a behavioral science major, and go on to pilot training. She has completed her first solo and cadet flying class and is an officer in the Honor Guard at the academy, where she was commandant of cadets in 2006.
She, too, is past New Hampshire Wing Cadet of the Year and was cadet encampment commander in 2002. She was squadron cadet commander in 2001 and chairman of the advisory council.
Less than a dozen New Hampshire Wing cadets have received the Spaatz award, so having two cadets from the wing, as well as from the same squadron, receive one at the same time was a major event. In the absence of Col. Don Davidson, wing commander, who was attending the Nevada Wing Winter Encampment, Lt. Col. Bill Moran represented the wing.
Col. Dale Hardy, former wing commander, presented Leno with his award while State Director Sidney Girardin presented Barrington with hers. Girardin was instrumental in Barrington receiving a chance to test for the Spaatz, as she was in Texas working with basic cadets at the time.
