Family, not flying, is what drew a Guam-based cadet some 6,500 miles to South Dakota, but before his visit ended Cadet Master Sgt. Noah Seth Olson received his first two Civil Air Patrol orientation flights.
The Andersen Air Force Base Cadet Squadron member was visiting his grandparents with his family when 1st Lt. Aaron Giddings, commander of the nearby Sioux Falls Composite Squadron, learned Olson had never received an orientation flight because the overseas squadron lacked CAP aircraft.
Giddings followed up arranging for a pair of flights piloted by 1st Lt. Thor Bardon of the local Lincoln County Composite Squadron, who had lived in Guam for part of his childhood.
“It was an honor to fly with him,” Bardon said.
“Being able to give a cadet from my former home the opportunity for his first flights in a CAP aircraft made it even more special.”
