Wedding earns award
By Linda Luck
Published in News on February 22, 2004 2:06 AM
Jason Wedding of the Goldsboro Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol has earned the Mitchell Award.
This award honors the late Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell, an aviation pioneer and staunch supporter of an independent Air Force for the United States. The award is earned after completing the first eight achievements of the cadet program. In addition, the cadet must pass an arduous 100-question examination on leadership theory and aerospace topics.
Since its inception over 30 years ago, only 42,000 cadets in the nation have earned this honor. Jason started in Civil Air Patrol at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in 2000.
Aviation activities have long been an interest of his. In 2002, while working on his Boy Scout Eagle project, he noticed that migratory flocking birds created aviation hazards. He worked with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Seymour Johnson Air Force Safety Office and the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program and built a modified crow trap. The trap has become a model for both military and civilian airports through out North Carolina.
Jason is an active volunteer with the American Red Cross, having volunteered over 600 hours over the last six years. In 2001 he was selected as the Pacific Region American Red Cross Woodrow Wilson Award recipient for Exemplary Youth Volunteer Service and the Andersen Air Force Base Volunteer of the Year, Teen Category. He is a 2003 graduate of Eastern Wayne High School and is currently attending Wayne Community College.