Like Mother, Like Son

By CAP Maj. Steve Alvarez 
Public Affairs Officer
Pegasus Composite Squadron, Texas Wing

Like most kids, Eileen Brzoska was looking for adventure when she was in seventh grade in 1989. Then she saw a group of kids dressed alike and she immediately knew it was the sort of gang she wanted to join.

“I discovered CAP at our yearly local air show at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport,” Brzoska said. “There were these kids dressed in military clothing and I wanted to be like them. I had to find out who they were and what they were doing and conveniently I stumbled upon the local CAP information booth and would have joined on the spot, but was only 12 so I had to wait a year.”

Brzoska became a cadet of Squadron 209 out of Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. She stayed in the Civil Air Patrol until her senior year of high school in 1994.

“From a very young age, I enjoyed anything that flew—planes, rockets, satellites, space ships, fighter jets—anything,” Brzoska said. “CAP offered everything I was interested in that my school career did not. Because I was interested in flight, I had set my sights on attending the Naval or Air Force Academy. I had always admired the U.S. military and wanted to attend college at a military academy to pursue a degree in aerospace and achieve a pilot’s license. CAP hit on everything I wanted—training in military customs and courtesies, search and rescue training, aerospace education, and flight training. I had found my people!”

The former cadet staff sergeant these days still maintains her relationship with the organization she grew to love, only now she is a CAP supporter. She is the mother of Cadet William Brzoska who just joined CAP in the fall of 2019 and is a member of the Texas Wing’s Pegasus Composite Squadron at Camp Mabry in Austin, Texas.

“I joined CAP because I like anything military related,” William said. “And I want to become a private pilot.”

The seventh grader, who would like to be a military medic, learned about CAP from his mother.

“I have really been enjoying CAP so far, especially the o-rides,” William said. “My first o-ride and taking control of the plane was amazing. Taking control of the plane and flying it was something I had dreamed about for a long time,” he said.

For Brzoska, who as a cadet received the Honor Cadet Award for the Pennsylvania Wing at the Fort Indiantown Gap Encampment, selling the CAP to her son was easy.

“William has always had similar interests to myself growing up,” Brzoska said. “I had a feeling he would enjoy CAP as much as I did and from the time he expressed similar interests, I knew I would present this as an opportunity for him when he was of age to join. When I mentioned CAP to him, what the organization did, and the opportunities it provided, he was all in before even attending a meeting.  He has been waiting to join for quite some time.”

But this isn’t the same CAP that Brzoska grew up in. The changes have been drastic and for the better.

“CAP has grown in so many capacities from my initial experience,” Brzoska said. “My local squadron was quite small with about 15 cadets and 8 senior members. We did not have a CAP plane and our orientation flights were in the private planes of the senior pilot members. While my opportunities at the time with CAP seemed robust, they were nothing compared to what currently exists today in the organization. The current opportunities are nothing short of amazing. The organization as a whole has developed tremendously and it makes me quite happy to see the advancement and progress achieved.”

Brzoska said that with the increased communication and technology available, CAP feels more accessible. As a cadet her squadron met weekly, for two hours on a weekday, and they had a few hard copy books, paper tests, uniform inspections, drilling, and training. 

“Today’s CAP feels even more tight knit and dedicated to the cadet’s success,” Brzoska said. “While the technology has changed in regards to communication and some activities such as drone certification, the core values remain steady. In my mind, this is what makes CAP unique and honorable; embracing change and new technology while remaining steadfast in your foundational values.”

Brzoska states her biggest challenge during CAP was the fact that she could not devote more time to it, despite wanting to. Nonetheless, she said that CAP helped define her core character and that it provided her with self-confidence to set goals, develop a plan, and hold herself accountable. She would eventually earn a nomination to the U.S. Naval Academy, but she attended Penn State University studying aerospace engineering and obtaining a degree in hydrogeology.

“I’d say that’s about as big of an impact you can have on someone,” Brzoska said. And she is appreciative for CAP. “I would like to send a huge thank you to everyone involved in CAP that makes it happen. In our day-to-day, we often lose sight of the impact and influence we have on others. Thirty years on, that impact is still with me and that positive influence was enough to want my children to have this great experience and opportunity as well.”  

William, like his mother, has enjoyed his first few months in CAP immensely and is looking forward to continuing in the program.

“I would absolutely recommend CAP to my friends and family,” William said. “CAP provides some rare and fun experiences.”

When asked about following in his mother’s footsteps, William said: “Honestly, I don't have any feeling around that. She’s always been my mom. It is who she is. CAP is a part of our family.”