Written by: 1st Lt Diana Layton
This summer has been exciting for three local Grant County students. Cadet Master Sergeant
Gabriel Stanton, and Cadet 2nd Lt Noah Rumfelt were attendees of this year’s summer
encampment; accompanied by their Squadron Commander, Captain John Banks. The cadets are
members of Potomac Highlands Composite Squadron, located on Airport Road in Petersburg.
Civil Air Patrol offers week-long encampments for cadets; West Virginia Wing holds its
encampment at Camp Dawson in Kingwood, WV.
The week at Camp Dawson consisted of early mornings, busy days, exciting memories and
successful stories. A few favorite events of the week included the obstacle course, rocket
building and launching, riding on a C-130 and Blackhawk and of course the exhilarating rappel tower. The purpose of summer encampment is to build a foundation for cadets to expand
their CAP experience, challenge youth mentally and physically to show them their own potential
and define their leadership and teamwork skills. Additional activities consisted of land and water
survival courses, a climbing wall, leadership reaction course and the confidence course.
West Virginia Wing’s 2025 Summer Encampment was made up of over 100 cadets from
over five different states. Civil Air Patrol takes pride in volunteering time to invest in America’s
youth by developing confident leaders, good citizens and future aerospace leaders. CAP’s cadet
program curriculum focuses on four major areas: leadership, character development, aerospace
education, and fitness. If you would like to learn more about Civil Air Patrol and all it can offer
to you and your family, please join us for a weekly meeting. Potomac Highlands Composite
Squadron holds weekly meetings on Thursday evenings, starting at 6:30 p.m..
