Cadet Col. Paul Fleckenstein of the Bismarck Composite Squadron is the North Dakota Wing’s newest recipient of Civil Air Patrol’s highest cadet honor, the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award.
Fleckenstein, who joined CAP in March 2019, traces his initial interest in the organization to aspirations of training to become a private pilot. Upon participating in the 2019 Joint Dakota Encampment, though, he began to see membership as a platform for personal growth and community service rather than simply a path to a flight scholarship.
He has since graduated from three National Cadet Special Activities — the Space Force Operations Academy in Colorado, National Blue Beret, and the Great Lakes Region Powered Flight Academy, where he soloed.
Fleckenstein has also served on cadet staff at multiple encampments across several wings, including an executive position at the 2023 Joint Dakota Encampment.
A homeschooled senior, the cadet competes in Legacy High School varsity boy’s cross-country team in Bismarck. He’s also passionate about the outdoors, frequently engaging in mountain biking and longboarding.
Fleckenstein’s sights are set on attending the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and becoming a fighter pilot
He joins the less than one-half of 1% of cadets who attain the Spaatz award after completing the cadet program’s 16 achievements, passing a rigorous cumulative battery consisting of a strenuous physical fitness exam, a written essay on a persistent moral issue, and two 60-question cumulative exams on aerospace and leadership._____Lt. Col. Pamela K. LeathAssistant Public Affairs OfficerNorth Dakota Wing
