ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A St. Pete middle school just became the second middle school in Florida to form a partnership with the US Air Force and launch a Civil Air Patrol Cadet Squadron program.
Now, 36 local students are exploring new opportunities with our US Military.
Walking inside an Azalea Middle School classroom, you feel like you’re on a military base. The difference is that the cadet in command is just 13 years old.
“Most of my family was in the military such as my mom, my dad, and my uncle, so I do hope to join the military,” explained Cadet Daniel Hansen who led Monday’s drills inside his classroom.
It’s a natural career path for Hansen, with his family’s background, but getting exposure to an auxiliary arm of the US Air Force this early is pretty incredible.
Cadet Jacey Anderson also feels grateful to have the experience. Her brother went to boot camp and it piqued her interest in the military.
“I think it’s really cool because it proves that there are some really smart kids out there strong enough to get into programs like this,” she elaborated.
The Civil Air Patrol Cadet Squadron teaches students leadership, character building, along with science, technology, engineering, and math. The US Air Force even provides the program with games, tools, and lessons to enhance STEM education.
Captain Willis Reese helped bring the program to Azalea Middle School to enhance their existing Engineering and Aeronautics program.
“I wish they had any of this when I was a kid. I struggled so hard coming to school. This would have been my jam and brought me to school every day,” Reese explained.
It comes at a critical time. The Air Force Academy is seeing a 28% drop in applications for the class of 2026 from the year prior.
While the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Squadron program isn’t a recruiting tool, it does introduce kids to the possibilities early and if they chose to pursue a career in the military, they can come in at a higher rank because of this experience.
“It’s really cool when you think about it to be flying planes or on ships defending our country,” Anderson added.
The Azalea students will visit places like Macdill Air Force Base and the Kennedy Space Center and Reese said they’ll even get the opportunity to fly a military plane with the help of a civil air patrol pilot.
