CAPITAL CLOSE-UP

Photos by Susan Robertson, CAP National Headquarters
Civic Leadership Academy
A Live Civics Lesson for Youth
By Kimberly L. Wright
TTo find out
what’s going on
in Washington, D.C., most
people read newspapers,
scan online coverage and
watch the nightly news.
One group of young U.S.
Civil Air Patrol stars
recently had the opportunity to do
more than watch. They were there,
and not as mere tourists.
Civic Leadership Academy, an elite
cadet enrichment program, annually
gives top cadets from across the country
the opportunity to gain an insider’s
perspective of civics in action and
a better understanding of how their
vast, powerful nation is governed.
This year 24 cadets participating in
the activity visited sites of national
significance, met the movers and
shakers behind the scenes and read an
assortment of supporting text so they
could interact with the experience on
an advanced level.
Among the sites on the CLA agenda
were the CIA, the FBI, Capitol
Hill, the Pentagon, the State
Department, the Supreme Court,
Arlington National Cemetery,
Women in Military Service for
America Memorial, the Smithsonian’s
National Air and Space Museum, the
National World War II Memorial, the
Civic Leadership Academy cadets, above,
from across the nation took advantage
of a wealth of opportunities to grow as
citizens and professionals, including
interacting with members of Congress
and other public officials, observing the
Supreme Court in action and digesting it
all with the aid of outside readings and
guidance to help them make the most of
their adventure.
Korean War Veterans Memorial, the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the
Lincoln Memorial and the America’s
Heroes Memorial (the Pentagon’s
Sept. 11 memorial).
Lt. Col. Beverly L. Scoggins, the
Civil Air Patrol Volunteer 24 May-June 2007