Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Cadet Colonel Max Foster-Webb, 20, of Xenia, has his new rank insignia pinned on by his parents, Paul Webb and Capt. Amber Jones, CAP, during a Saturday ceremony at the WACO Museum and Aviation Learning center
Mike Ullery | Miami Valley Today
By Sam Wildow
TROY — What started out as a way to make new friends as a young teen has grown into a passion for leadership and service for Cadet Colonel Max Foster-Webb when he recently earned one of the highest awards available in the Civil Air Patrol’s Cadet Program.
The Ohio Wing and Dayton Aero Cadet Squadron 706 of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) hosted the presentation of the General Carl “Tooey” Spaatz Award to Foster-Webb, of Xenia, on Saturday at the WACO Air Museum and Aviation Learning Center in Troy.
Foster-Webb joined CAP’s Cadet Program in 2013 at the age of 12, initially to make friends. Now 20, Foster-Webb was promoted to the rank of Cadet Colonel and plans to become a CAP senior member next year when he is 21.
“He quickly fell in love with the program and developed an unwavering desire to explore as much of it as possible,” said CAP Major Justin MacKellar, the Dayton Aero Cadet Squadron 706 Public Affairs officer.
He has spent his past eight years in a multitude of roles as a cadet leader, including squadron cadet first sergeant, flight commander, and cadet commander, in addition to other staff roles such as cadet communications officer and cadet emergency services officer. He also served as a representative on Cadet Advisory Councils at the Group, Wing, Regional, and National levels.
Foster-Webb is a graduate of the Michigan Wing Encampment in 2015 and since went on to staff five subsequent encampments throughout Indiana, Kentucky, and Michigan. He attended the National Blue Beret at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2018 and Regional Cadet Leadership School in Connecticut in 2019. He has attended a total of eight different cadet activities in seven different states and three different regions.
Foster-Webb holds ratings as a skills evaluator for Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Ground Team Members (Levels 1-3), Flight Line Marshalling, Mission Staff Assistant, Mission Radio Operator, and Urban Direction Finding. He is also a qualified ground team leader and an instructor.
On Saturday, Foster-Webb was awarded the Spaatz Award after undergoing rigorous testing and demonstrating his proficiency with successful cumulative examinations in the areas of leadership, aerospace, and physical fitness.
Named after General Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, the first chief of staff of the Air Force, the award is the highest achievement a cadet is eligible to attain in the CAP cadet program, MacKellar said. Since its inception in 1964, there have been 2,373 Spaatz Awards earned. CAP Major General Edward Phelka said the award has been given to less than 1% of the participants in CAP’s Cadet Program.
Phelka said Foster-Webb “has demonstrated superior performance,” adding that the Spaatz Award is “truly the pinnacle achievement of the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program.”
“I hope you’ve enjoyed your journey,” Phelka said to Foster-Webb. “This is a milestone along the way.”
Foster-Webb said he was “shell-shocked” to receive the award,
“What’s come of the program, in my eight years, is so many friends, from not only around the nation, but around the world,” Foster-Webb said. “And so many different opportunities and different leadership skills that I use in my everyday life that I absolutely could not have obtained without the support of all of my friends and family in CAP.”
Foster-Webb continues to have a passion for servant leadership outside of CAP in his civilian life as a firefighter and EMT. He is currently working as a store manager in a local grocery store.
