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Nevada Cadet Receives Spaatz Award
Cadet Col. Gerald Mon Père received Civil Air Patrol’s top cadet honor, the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award, during the Tahoe-Truckee Composite Squadron’s Christmas dinner and awards banquet Dec. 14.
Col. Deborah Pierce, former Nevada Wing commander, presented the award at the squadron’s headquarters in Truckee, California
Mon Père joined the Tahoe-Truckee squadron in February 2016, a month after turning 12, The honor cadet of the 2016 Nevada Wing Encampment, he has also attended Noncommissioned Officer School, the National Emergency Services Academy, and the Cyber Defense Training Academy.
He is a distinguished graduate of both Cadet Officer School and the Air Force Academy’s National Character & Leadership Symposium. In June he graduated from the Pararescue & Survival Orientation Course as its honor cadet.
Mon Père has also held numerous leadership positions from the squadron to the national levels. From 2020-2022 he served as his squadron’s cadet commander of his squadron. He currently chairs the Pacific Region’s Cadet Advisory Council.
He serves as the region’s representative to the National Cadet Advisory Council and as strategic communications coordinator as well. At encampments he has served as a flight and squadron commander, cadet safety officer, adjutant, deputy commander for operations, and more.
Mon Père has served on staff at seven encampments and is preparing to serve as group superintendent for another this winter in Oregon.
He has been decorated five times with the Commander's Commendation Award for “clearly and unmistakably exceptional” actions spanning Nevada, Oregon, and Montana.
Less than one-half of 1% of CAP cadets receive the Spaatz award. It comes after attaining the cadet program’s 16 achievements and passing a rigorous cumulative battery composed of a strenuous physical fitness exam, an argumentative essay on a perennial moral debate, and two 60-question cumulative exams on aerospace and leadership.
“This program has equipped me with the education, training, experience, and confidence to lead others under a variety of conditions,” Mon Père said. “It has prepared and equipped me exceptionally to continue my leadership journey into adulthood.”
He is a sophomore studying political science and philosophy at Emory University in Atlanta and hopes to commission into the Army after graduation.
“The number of lessons I’ve derived from my experiences, both educational and practical, in this program has been enormous,” Mon Père said.
“If I had to pass on only one lesson to the next generation of cadets, it is simply this: He who acts is he who leads. Be someone people want to follow because you take initiative and get things done. This program is not that difficult to succeed in, so long as you are willing to apply yourself.”