Lt. Col. Robert McCartney, Col. Rick “Ginzu” Ostermeyer and his wife Kim.
The Omaha Composite Squadron held its third annual Dining Out on December 9, 2013 at Omaha’s Arbor Hall to recognize the accomplishments of its members. Close to 70 members, families and friends attended the event.
The evening began with traditional military courtesies, toasts, recognition of those who gave their lives in service to our country through the MIA/POW missing man table, and some fun as the cadet commander, Cadet Lt. Col. Matthew Haijsman, led the group in the grog bowl ceremony.
Honored guests included:
Col. Rick Ostermeyer, United States Marine Corps
Col. David Plum, Commander, Nebraska Wing, CAP
Lt. Col. Darrell McMillan, Vice Commander, Nebraska Wing, CAP
AWARDS / RECOGNITIONS
Col. David Plum, Lt.Col. Darrell McMillan, Col. Rick Ostermeyer and Lt.Col. Bob McCartney
After dinner, Col. Rick “Ginzu” Ostermeyer addressed those in attendance on his leadership experience as as a wartime pilot and Colonel in the United States Marine Corps, and personally recognized several cadets for their excellent demeanor, dedication and motivation. He expressed his and his wife’s gratitude for the invitation and invited all the cadets to approach the head table and personally greeted each one of them.
Lt. Col. Bob McCartney, OCS commander, recognized the Nebraska Wing Commander and Vice Commander for their attendance and presented them with a special “Travel Award.” Several seniors, parents and cadets were also awarded commendations and achievement certificates for their efforts.
The following Cadets were recognized:
- C/LtCol. Matthew Haijsman – Cadet Officer of the Year Award
- C/Capt. Matthew Norrie – Amelia Earhart Award
- C/SMSgt McKenna L Krueger – Cadet NCO of the Year Award
- C/TSgt Ty C Sarvis – Jr. Cadet of the Year Award
- C/CMSgt. Mark Hoover – Commander’s Commendation Award
Cadet LtCol Haijsman receiving “Cadet Officer of the Year” Award
Cadet Capt. Matthew Norrie receiving the Amelia Earhart Award
C/SMSgt McKenna Krueger received the “Cadet NCO of the Year” award
Cadet TSgt. Ty Sarvis receiving the “Junior Cadet of the Year” award.
The following Seniors received Special Commander’s Commendations:
- Maj. Thomas Pflug
- 2d Lt. Monica Dwyer
- Lt. Col. Jim Arbuckle
- Maj. John Pineda
Lt. Col. Jim Arbuckle receiving one of the the Commander’s Commendation awards.
The Omaha Composite Squadron is located at the Chalco Hills Recreation Area, Omaha, NE, and meets weekly on Monday nights. The squadron’s website is www.omahacap.org.
Civil Air Patrol, an official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 60,000 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 500 members of CAP serve in Nebraska. For more information, visit www.nebraskacivilairpatrol.org.
