CAP cadets visit Pope for taste of combat control life Published Aug. 2, 2009 By Aieman 1st Class Mindy Bloem 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE N.C. -- Ten Civil Air Patrol cadets arrived at Pope July 18 for a week-long familiarization to the intense world of Combat Control training. The orientation course is brand new to the Civil Air Patrol and is the brainchild of Tech. Sgt. Dave Siemiet, 24th Special Tactics Squadron, and his wife, Renee. His wife thought of the idea when they were on their way to visit family in Detroit last Christmas. Sergeant Siemiet, who is a Major in CAP, has been volunteering his time with the program for more than 17 years and is currently the deputy commander of the Fayetteville Composite Squadron located here at Pope. He saw a chance to shed some light on a career field that is often overlooked and not as well known as other special operations forces throughout the military. Actually, Air Force Pararescuemen formalized a training and mentorship program for cadets in 1977 with the introduction of a Pararescue Orientation Course, and it has been a huge success. A noticeable percentage of Pararescuemen in the Air Force come from cadets going through that course, Sergeant Siemiet said. Sergeant Siemiet has been immersed in Special Tactics for 5.5 years. He said he wanted to use his experience from that environment and give the cadets a worthwhile awareness of Combat Control and Special Tactics. "This course is great for the cadets because it enhances their character, and promotes awareness for our quiet professionals -- someone who does amazing missions for America but doesn't get noticed," he said. For Dimitry Pinchuk, one of the visiting cadets, the course provided new insight into the little-known career field. "It really changed my view of the combat controllers," he said. "I didn't know they operated with SEALS and other special forces, or that they were involved with so many combat operations. I thought they were just Air Traffic Controllers." Each of the 10 cadets (some from all over the country), who applied for the course, had to pass a rigorous assessment including a fitness test, uniform inspection and a board review just to get accepted to the course. The cadets had a jam-packed week. They got up every morning at 5 a.m. for physical training at the Combat Control School, and shortly after showering and eating breakfast, they began a particular training routine for the day that focused on a different aspect of the Combat Control capability and mission set. The cadets lauded the wind tunnel portion of their training as their favorite. Each of them was placed in a wall-to-wall, airflow-producing chamber that moves air upward in a vertical column. The purpose was to closely approximate the military freefall experience -- something combat controllers are well acquainted with. In addition to all of the other combat control specific training, the cadets took the Physical Ability and Stamina Test at the close of the week. The PAST is the entry-level qualification test an individual must pass if he wants to enter combat control training. One cadet, Evan Salisbury, is thinking about someday becoming a combat controller and was grateful for the familiarization week. "It was a chance to do something I would not have experienced otherwise unless I started going through the pipeline of what I'd actually have to do as a combat controller," he said. Sergeant Siemiet said the course is specifically designed to counteract the way society teaches children that it's okay to quit or that they shouldn't reach for the stars. "The best part, and the reason I've done it for so long, is to show the cadets they are without limits," he said. "We meet their limits here and spend the rest of the week surpassing those limits. We teach them to always strive to win -- to meet their goals and then surpass them." John Crandell, another cadet and soon to be senior in high school, took that lesson to heart. "If you would have asked me three days ago (about my likelihood of joining the military), I would have said I would be less likely to join, but now that I've seen all that I've accomplished, I'd say I'd be more likely to join." Sergeant Siemiet's goal is to turn the Combat Control Orientation Course into an annual activity held each summer here at Pope