Cadet Lieutenant Colonel Dan Upshaw
claims to be a 'typical' Cadet. "I'm the cadet commander of the largest and best
squadron in Georgia Wing. That sounds like I'm being a typical Cadet, saying good stuff
about my squadron; but it's true."
All right, maybe he only claims to sound like a typical
Cadet...
During his Cadet career, Dan has been to four encampments
and at the last one he served as Cadet executive officer. He's also the GAWG CAC Chairman
and represents GAWG on the SER CAC. "It's a huge job, but it is fun - at times."
Dan transferred to his current unit - Peachtree City-Falcon
Field Composite Squadron (GA116) - earlier this year and became the cadet commander in
April. "I transferred because I thought there would be more training opportunities.
Plus, it's always better to be where you can train with other Cadet officers."
 And training with other Cadet officers was clearly his goal
when he set his sights on attending Cadet Officer's School. "I wanted the experience,
the chance to build my leadership and team work skills, and to get to meet more Cadets. I
also have this crazy idea that it might help me when I take the Spaatz."
Yes, Dan is typical: a typical Cadet overachiever. In
addition to attending COS this year, Dan is also going to England with IACE. The biggest
impact these activities are having on his schedule? Well, according to Dan: "I should
be catching up on my school work right now, I'm behind. COS and IACE are a big sacrifice.
No sarcasm!"
Dan went to COS without any expectations, other than to have
a good time. He spoke with as many prior COS attendees as he could, which only made him
look forward to attending even more.
And the typical day at COS? Read on... "We got up
around five-thirty or six in the morning. Breakfast was usually at six-thirty, but you
could go earlier if you wanted. I finally figured this out later on in the week and was
able to avoid the lines."
 "The
first thing after breakfast was usually a lecture, followed by a period where our flights
would gather together in what was called a 'seminar'. We would usually discuss the topic
of the lecture with our flight instructors. My instructors were LtCol Ed Phelka, CAP and
Maj Gary Van Handle, USAFR."
"Sometimes the first lecture would be followed by a
second lecture. This is how the morning would go, then lunch was at twelve or
twelve-thirty. Then in the afternoon there were usually more lectures and seminars, except
on the first and last full days when we had Team Leadership Projects right after
lunch."
"Dinner was around five or five-thirty and there was
study time before and after dinner. The first four days there were volleyball games after
dinner. Lights out was at ten-thirty."
These full days were not followed by carefree nights,
however. "The daily schedule was extremely tight. I was reading or doing work for the
assignments right up until I went to bed, which was often after lights out."
"But every night I looked forward to the next
day."
 As with any
learning experience, a good instructor makes all the difference - and Dan's were, well,
amazing. "They were great. They fed off of each other very well. LtCol Phelka was a
Cadet and since he works so closely with the Cadet Program, it was great having him
because he knew exactly where we were coming from and could help us a lot."
 "Major Van Handle was awesome too. Just the simple fact that he was an
F-4 pilot was amazing. Not many people have the opportunity to associate so closely with
pilots. His experience was so valuable: you could really tell he knew what he was talking
about."
Dan has nothing but good things to say about the training he
received. "The lectures were all good, some were even great. All of them were at
least informative and none of them were boring. They were wonderful insights into
leadership and they were invaluable."
And the high point of the activity? "Project X, most
definitely!" Typical!
Apparently feeling that the students had it too easy, Mother
Nature decided to throw in a challenge of her own. "It stormed throughout the week.
On July third lightning struck the fire alarm system in our building. All one hundred and
four cadets had to pack up everything and move to rooms that were kind of scattered on the
base. Even though they kept the flights together, some people had to walk five minutes
just to get to their rooms."
 COS is not your
typical CAP activity. All the attendees are officers; they've already done the standing in
formation and marching everywhere thing. The emphasis here is on classroom instruction.
"It was a completely collegiate atmosphere. Even though I knew it was going to be a
laid back activity, I figured that we would still have formations and march a few times.
But we didn't."
Apparently this laid back atmosphere made an impression.
According to Dan, "Sometimes it's good just to keep your mouth shut. There are times
to be assertive when others are too assertive, but do it tactfully. You don't want to look
like you're bullying the bully. A laid back attitude, even when people are rude, goes a
long way towards showing your leadership abilities." Sounds like he got his money's
worth right there!
 Dan plans
on perpetuating the reputation of Cadet Officer's School as one of CAP's premier National
Cadet Summer Activities: "This is a wonderful activity. I would say priceless. If you
really pay attention and go with the mind set of getting as much out of it as you can, you
will learn so much! I did.
And Dan's final word on the subject of COS: "I am not
only happy that I went, I am proud that I went."
Thanks, Dan! |
Capt. Shawn Stanford started out as a Cadet in Connecticut Wing's
Stratford Eagles Composite Squadron (1977-'81), where he competed in the National Cadet
Competition in 1980 and '81. After eight years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps,
he rejoined CAP as a senior member at Richards-Gebaur Composite Squadron in Missouri Wing.
He is the commander of the Wyoming Valley Composite Squadron 209 in Pennsylvania Wing. He
is also a recipient of the Brig. Gen. Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager Aerospace
Education Achievement Award.
