Maryland Cadets Lead Way as CAP Teams Sweep UAS4STEM Top Beginner Spots

Checks for champs

For their Beginners Division finishes, checks went to the (from left) second-place Redstone Composite Squadron for $1,000, the first-place St. Mary's Composite Squadron for $1,250, and the third-place Greeneville Composite Squadron for $750.

UAS4stemgraphic AMA Civil Air Patrol cadets swept the Beginners Division of the Academy of Model Aeronautics' UAS4STEM national drone competition at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, with teams from the Maryland, Alabama, and Tennessee wings taking the top three positions in results announced July 26.

The Maryland Wing's St. Mary's Composite Squadron team finished first, the Alabama Wing's joint entry from the Redstone and Mountain Lakes squadrons placed second, and the Tennessee Wing's Greeneville Composite Squadron cadets came in third.

This year’s national finals consisted of two six-team fields, the Advanced Division and the Beginner Division.

UAS4STEM is the Academy for Model Aeronautics’ Unmanned Aerial Systems for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math program.

The Beginner Division competitors focused on fundamentals of drone programming and flying.

Additional cadets from the Alabama Wing’s Redstone Composite Squadron, which reached the national finals for the third straight year, represented CAP in the Advanced Division.

The Advanced teams competed in developing a mechanism to pick up and transport items to different locations.

St. Mary's Composite Squadron team

(From left) Cadet Airmen Eli Barrett and Matthew Matthias II, Cadet Master Sgt. Rachael Rioux, and Cadet Airman Josiah Huckabee .

mdwing2 MDstmarys The first-place St. Mary's Composite Squadron consisted of:

Cadet Master Sgt. Rachael Rioux (team lead)
Cadet Airmen Eli Barrett, Josiah Huckabee, and Matthew Matthias II

Alabama Wing Joint Beginner Division Team

(From left) Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Johnathan Drake, Cadet Tech. Sgt. Emily Butera, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Judah Cobert, Cadet Airman Paul Valcarcel, Cadet Airmen 1st Class Lara Valcarcel and Christopher Parakkal, and Cadet Staff Sgt. Benjamin Booth.

ALwing ALredstone In second place, the Alabama Wing’s joint team consisted of:

Cadet Chief Master Sgts. Judah Cobert and Johnathan Drake
Cadet Tech. Sgt. Emily Butera (team captain)
Cadet Staff Sgt, Benjamin Booth
Cadet Airmen 1st Class Christopher Parakkal and Lara Valcarcel
Cadet Airmen Elizabeth Parakkal and Paul Valcarcel

Booth is a member of the Mountain Lakes Composite Squadron, while the other cadets belong to the Redstone Composite Squadron.

Greeneville Composite Squadron team

(From left) Cadet 2nd Lt. James Bailey, Cadet Tech. Sgt. Gavin Murray, Cadet 2nd Lt. Noah Helton, Cadet Airman 1st Class Gabe Starr, Cadet Staff Sgt. Helen Bailey, and Cadet Airmen 1st Class Aaron Zweifel, and Aiden Zweifel.

TNwing TNgreenev The third-place Greeneville Composite Squadron team consisted of:

Cadet 2nd Lts. James Bailey and Noah Helton
Cadet Tech. Sgt. Gavin Murray
Cadet Staff Sgt. Helen Bailey
Cadet Airmen 1st Class Gabe Starr, Aaron Zweifel, and Aiden Zweifel

Alabama Wing -- Redstone Composite Squadron Advanced Team

(Back row, from left) Cadet Capt. Greyston Harper, Cadet Lt. Col. Aidan Anderson, Cadet Senior Airman Thomas Fleming, Cadet Airman 1st Class Jeremy Fielding Jr., (front row, from left) Cadet Maj. Ben Lambertson, Cadet Lt. Col. Aeryn Anderson, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Brody Stokes, and Cadet Capt. Kristianna Berger

The Redstone Squadron's Advanced Division cadets, five of whom also participated last year, were:

Cadet Lt. Cols. Aeryn Anderson and Aidan Anderson
Cadet Maj. Ben Lambertson
Cadet Capts. Kristianna Berger and Greyston Harper
Cadet Master Sgt. Brody Stokes (team captain)
Cadet Senior Airman Thomas Fleming
Cadet Airman 1st Class Jeremy Fielding Jr.

All but Berger, Fielding, and Fleming competed in 2022. Redstone finished second overall last year in an eight-team national finals field and fifth in 2021.