Cadet Capt. Ruthie Wriedt of the Illinois Wing’s Rockford Composite Squadron is now flying Civil Air Patrol missions as a certified CAP pilot — a role usually filled by adult members, not cadets.
Wriedt has also obtained Mission Scanner status and continues to make proficiency flights.
Her accomplishments in and outside CAP continue. Last month she passed the Amelia Earhart Award exam to advance to cadet captain, and she’s also a Federal Aviation Administration-licensed airframe mechanic.
The rare accomplishment of gaining CAP pilot certification as a cadet was celebrated in a ceremony held at Wriedt’s squadron home at Cottonwood Airport in Rockford. Lt. Col. Charles Springer, acting on behalf of Col. Alfredo Reynoso, Illinois Wing commander, presented Wriedt with her silver Civil Air Patrol wings.
“I’m a former Navy pilot myself and I know when I got my wings it was very, very special to me,” said Springer, the wing’s director of operations.
Wriedt is the first cadet to earn CAP flight wings since Springer became head of Illinois flight operations. He emphasized that she “has worked extremely hard and she’s earned these.”
“The wings I am actually going to present to her were my first pair in CAP,” Springer said. “And I vowed when I took over as D.O. that I would pass these on to the first cadet.”
Usually only one or two cadets per year achieve CAP pilot status. As he pinned on Wriedt’s wings, Springer was accompanied by the Rockford squadron’s commander, 1st Lt. Joshua Manring, and flanked by her parents, 2nd Lts. Nancy and Dirk Wriedt.
The 19-year-old is now qualified to fly as a transport mission pilot for CAP. In that role she may be called to serve flying “High Bird” missions as an airborne repeater of official communications or maintenance relocation of CAP planes from their home base to service facilities.
Wriedt, who joined Civil Air Patrol in October 2021, has been a civilian pilot for two years. She is studying aviation maintenance at Rock Valley Community College in Rockford and after graduation hopes to become a bush pilot flying people and supplies in remote areas. _____1st Lt. James McClurePublic Affairs OfficerRockford Composite SquadronIllinois Wing
