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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Max Rogovin, a junior at White Plains High School, was named cadet officer in the Lt. Anthony L. Willsea Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol, the first since Oct. 2010, said Capt. Andres Bermudez, its commander and Mamaroneck resident.
The Civil Air Patrol, founded one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor, is a nonprofit, volunteer organization with 61,000 members nationally that acts as an auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force, according to its website. It performs emergency services for Westchester, including search and rescue (ground and air), disaster relief, advanced aerial reconnaissance, shelter management, communication capabilities and counterdrug efforts.
Rogovin, 17, was featured in a promotion ceremony and color guard presentation Wednesday night at the Westchester County Airport. The high school student's hard work allowed him to ascend to Cadet Officer, a distinction known as the Billy Mitchell Award, as well as the assumption of Cadet Command of the Civil Air Patrol squadron.
"It's the culmination of a lot of work," said Rogovin, who hopes to be accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy. "It's always nice to be rewarded and recognized for working so hard."
The history buff decided to join when he met CAP volunteers at an air show featuring old fighter planes in September 2009. "I love aviation, I'm fascinated with it,” he said.
Bermudez, a lawyer by trade, presented Rogovin and all of the cadets promoted Wednesday, with his new insignia. The next step for Rogovin is Cadet First Lieutenant, then Cadet Captain.
"I'm extremely proud of him," Bermudez said. "He does a lot of hard work for the squadron. He wants to go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis and being a cadet officer gives him a leg up on that."
Bermudez and the Civil Air Patrol also made the following promotions:
- First Lieutenant - John A. Lentini, Gregory C. Vadella and Margaret Tummolo
- Second Lieutenant - Kleiver Gomez
- Cadet First Lieutenant - Britt Franza
- Cadet Chief Master Sergeant (Armstrong Award) - Richard A. Ware Jr.
- Cadet Senior Master Sergeant (Doolittle Award) - Jessica Perreira
- Cadet Master Sergeant (Lindbergh Award) - Miguel E. Conkright
- Cadet Technical Sergeant (Rickenbacker Award) - Alec T. Miller
- Cadet Non-Commissioned Officer (by being promoted to Cadet Staff Sergeant) - James A. Converso
- Cadet Senior Airman (Feik Award) - Briana M. Ross, Albert Flores
- Cadet Airman First Class (Arnold Award) - Jason V. Holzberg, Amy Quijano, Erik Rey, Leanora K. Ware, Jonathan Juarez
- Cadet Airman (Curry Award) -BingBing Xie, Steve Juarez, Caleb Cardoso, Guillermo Rodas, Jason Miller, Kimberly Washington, Gherson Marroquin
The following awards and decorations were also awarded:
- Disaster Relief Ribbon - Margaret Tummolo
- Certificate of First Flight - Jason V. Holzberg, Brianna M. Ross
- Membership Award - James A. Converso, Denise B. Keena-Ross, Richard M. Holzberg and Jeffrey S. Ross
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