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Home / Inter-Service Academy Flight Competition – 2022

Inter-Service Academy Flight Competition – 2022

4/c Marcella Silberger | May 20, 2022 
cadet in helo

NEW LONDON, Conn – The Inter-Service Academy Flight Competition took place on April 15th-17th at Stewart International Airport, NY. The United States Military Academy at West Point hosted the Coast Guard and Naval Academy Flight teams for a series of eight events to demonstrate aviation knowledge, practical skill, and teamwork. The events were judged by a panel of General Aviation specialists. The Coast Guard Academy had eleven Cadets participate in the competition under the mentorship of CDR Ryan Angelo (‘04) and Chief Greg Case; 1/c Paul Gerlach, 1/c Devin McClure, 3/c Theodore Guba, 3/c Alex Regan, 3/c Alex Smigal, 3/c Ryan Younes, 4/c Gustava Drew, 4/c Marcella Silberger, 4/c Laird Strand, 4/c Anna Tate and 4/c Riley Vicinanzo.

The competition kicked off at 0800 on Friday morning with a safety and operations briefing for all personnel to mitigate the risk of the flight events – aligning with the Coast Guard practice of risk analysis for fleet mission operations. The events included cross country flight planning & navigation, an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) simulator course, precision power-on and power-off landings, a target message drop, an aircraft recognition exam, an E-6B Flight calculations exam, and a written knowledge test.

The Coast Guard Academy took 1st place in the Inter-Service Academy Flight Competition, winning five out of the eight events. 1/c Devin McClure – E6B, power-off landings and navigation; 1/c Paul Gerlach – IFR simulator; and 3/c Alexander Regan – Aircraft Recognition.

Team Photo: (from left to right) (front row): Chief Greg Case, 4/c Riley Vicinanzo, 4/c Marcella Silberger, 4/c Anna Tate, 4/c Gustava Drew, 3/c Ryan Younes. CDR Ryan Angelo; (back row): 3/c Theodore Guba, 4/c Laird Strand, 3/c Alex Smigal, 1/c Paul Gerlach, 3/c Alex Regan and 1/c Devin McClure.
Team Photo: (from left to right) (front row): Chief Greg Case, 4/c Riley Vicinanzo, 4/c Marcella Silberger, 4/c Anna Tate, 4/c Gustava Drew, 3/c Ryan Younes. CDR Ryan Angelo; (back row): 3/c Theodore Guba, 4/c Laird Strand, 3/c Alex Smigal, 1/c Paul Gerlach, 3/c Alex Regan and 1/c Devin McClure.

1/c Paul Gerlach, Team Captain, commented on the competition environment, “it’s great to get a good result but safety is our number one priority.” His favorite event was the message drop. He said it was exciting to “fly low above the airport with the rain and wind gusts, while executing the drop procedure with the Drop Master, Riley Vicinanzo, in the right seat. When the door was open the wind and rain rushed in, it was noisy as I [he] gave the command ‘drop away’ and the capsule fell away towards the target on the ground.”

Coast Guard Cadets engaged in both competition and camaraderie with Cadets from West Point and Midshipmen from the Naval Academy. Cadet and Midshipmen Aviators alike shared their experiences and worked collaboratively to cover ground handling responsibilities, keeping the aircraft events running smoothly. 1/c Devin McClure shared his remarks on the event: “The Inter-Service Flight Competition has been missed amid the pandemic and poor weather in the past three years, but the Coast Guard Academy has an active group of aviators who will lay the groundwork for the future team.”

Head Coach, CDR Angelo shares his enjoyment of watching the Cadets coming back smiling, flying safe, having fun and learning something about Aviation. Chief Case observed the teams’ progress through the academic year, he is proud of the work put in by the Cadets to promotes safety, fun and learning in an aviation environment as an extension of the Academy experience.

A special thanks to CDR Ryan Angelo, Chief Greg Case, Coach Chris Lutat and the Coast Guard Aviation community for the continued support of aspiring Cadet Aviators. Mission accomplished! Fly Bears!

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Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

  1. If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  2. If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  3. If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  4. If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  5. All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.

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