![]() ![]() It’s taking the stick for the first time. It’s getting in the cockpit for the first time with your CAP instructor. Think of what can go wrong, plan for what might happen, and you will be better equipped to handle the fear that comes with those situations.”Īnd fear is always there, Campbell said. “Practice thinking through things that could happen. “Anytime you face something hard, the more you prepare, practice, and plan, the more qualified you are to handle the stress and fear,” she said. To Campbell, that fateful day 20 years ago might have ended differently without lessons she first learned in CAP – lessons she still applies in life today: Prepare. Seek out something to do within your chapter, within your life. Push outside your comfort zone and experience new things. “CAP offers incredible leadership opportunities and chances to move up in rank. Her advice to today’s cadets runs along the same lines. You get a solid understanding of what the military is about as well as the basics of wearing the uniform and learning to fly.” “It’s invaluable for preparing you for the future. It was also an early indication this was something I enjoyed doing,” Campbell said.ĬAP can help other young people achieve their goals and dreams, she said. It let me try some things in becoming a leader at a young age. She credits discipline learned and early CAP experience in the cockpit. Īfter being accepted into the Air Force Academy and training as a pilot, she was selected to fly the A-10. It’s hard to put into words, but to be in the airplane, to touch the controls, to have dreamt so long to get to fly and now it’s actually real. Five years later, after numerous hours of hard work and practice, she m ade her first solo flight over San Jose. It gave me an early start into what I wanted to do,” she said. “These cadets in uniform were my age, and I knew I had to be a part. She wanted to fly, saw CAP as the way to jump-start that childhood ambition, and joined the local John J. For Campbell it was all about that uniform. Some of her classmates saw a chance to fly, and others saw the opportunity to see what military life might be like. Air Force Academy and join the Air Force like her father, saw Civil Air Patrol cadets walking in formation at her middle school. It started back in San Jose, California, when 12-year-old Campbell, who wanted to attend the U.S. The flying, the practice, and the planning for all those what if? scenarios are what paid off that day over Baghdad. To hear Campbell tell it, it wasn’t just luck. Twenty years later, she brings that tale and other powerful stories of leadership and courage to audiences worldwide both in person and via her just-published book, " Flying in the Face of Fear. After the mission, she was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism. Much of the aircraft’s normal systems was destroyed, but Campbell manually piloted the crippled jet back to base safely – a rare feat considering the heavy damage. On April 7, 2003, her A-10 fighter was hit by enemy fire. and former California Wing cadet Kim Campbell got to do just that. Many Civil Air Patrol cadets dream about completing a harrowing – but safely landed – flight. ![]()
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