Hillsdale Civil Air Patrol cadets train to perform the color guard

Home City News Hillsdale Civil Air Patrol cadets train to perform the color guard
Hillsdale Civil Air Patrol cadets train to perform the color guard
Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell with her sister Chloe after attending the Honor Guard Academy in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Courtesy | Heather Tritchka-Stuchell

Cadet 2nd Lt. Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell and the Civil Air Patrol Hillsdale Composite Squadron are training to perform a color guard at community events.

“There are quite a shocking shortage of people who can present colors,” Olivia’s mother and Deputy Commander of the Hillsdale Composite Squadron Heather Tritchka-Stuchell said. “The closest Civil Air Patrol group is about two hours away, and the Jonesville American Legion said they’re the only ones they know of around here that have a team, and sometimes they don’t have enough members.” 

Because of the shortage, Heather Tritchka-Stuchell said she is hoping to have two or three cadet teams to perform color guard duties. She anticipates the teams will be in high demand once they are trained.

The Civil Air Patrol is a Total Force partner and Auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force that operates emergency services, aerospace education, and a cadet program. The cadet program is for students between the ages of 12 and 21 to learn about leadership, aerospace, fitness, and character. CAP has the same ranking system as the U.S. Air Force, and cadets can move through the ranks by attending a hands-on program called Encampment and completing benchmark tests.

When Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell joined a CAP squadron in Jackson, Michigan, at the age of 13, she noticed that several cadets had to drive a far distance to participate in the program. Because of this, she and her mother worked with Hillsdale City Manager David Mackie and Airport Director Ginger Moore to start a Hillsdale squadron at the Hillsdale Airport on Nov. 2, 2018.

“I facilitated the meetings and invited people, really hoping that someone would step forward and make it their thing, but nobody did, so I had to make it my thing to get it going,” Heather Tritchka-Stuchell said. “I don’t have any military background but I figured I could learn this to get it going for Olivia.”

Heather Tritchka-Stuchell runs the local program with the help of Maj. Debra Sandstrom, who comes from Battle Creek, Michigan, to make sure that the program is run correctly.

Currently at 21 members, with a few more in the process of joining, the Hillsdale squadron has now outgrown the airport and is moving to hold weekly meetings on the campus of Hillsdale College. Starting on Feb. 3, the meetings will take place on Mondays at 6 p.m. in the Old Snack Bar.

The squadron has also had help from Hillsdale College Associate Dean of Men Jeffrey Rogers, who has facilitated the squadron’s move to the college campus and is working to create a Hillsdale College GOAL program to connect students with the squadron. 

One Hillsdale College student already involved with the program, junior and Cadet Col. Victoria Schmidt, said she was happy for the ability to continue her CAP training at college and to teach it to others.

“It’s a very young squadron, but they are very motivated. It’s a very nice opportunity to pass on the knowledge I had from my CAP training in Colorado,” Schmidt said.

As cadet commander of the squadron, Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell set goals for the group, one of which was to establish a color guard. In order to prepare for establishing a color guard in her squadron, Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell attended CAP’s Honor Guard Academy in Fort Knox, Kentucky for one week over Christmas break.

“I went to Kentucky because we had nobody in the squadron who knew how to do color guard,” Olivia Tritchka-Stuchell said. “I did the basic course which taught everything from how to even start a color guard; a lot of facing and marching movements; work with practice rifles; and posting the colors.”

The Hillsdale squadron has received funding from the Jonesville American Legion and other local businesses such as the Hillsdale Hospital, Stillwell Ford, and the Rotary Club, so that they can buy the proper materials for a color guard.

“I think it’s exciting that this young, growing squadron we have is already building a color guard,” said squadron member and Jonesville High School freshman Carter Lucas. “I think it will bring in a lot of kids my age and inspire them to make an impact.”

“The color guard teaches the cadets to really work as a team and it teaches them a lot of history and traditions of the military,” Carter’s father Scott Lucas added. “The color guard is a highly sought after position in the military so it’s a very big honor for them to do the same thing in their community.”