Civil Air Patrol Cadet Col. Daniel C. Hince of Prince William Composite Squadron was presented the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award certificate on Saturday, August 6, 2022, at the Virginia Wing Headquarters located at Chesterfield County Airport.
Brig. Gen. Bryan E. Salmon, Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander, 15th Air Force, Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., was the presiding official for this special event. Brig. Gen. Salmon also serves as the Assistant Adjutant General for Air Strategic Initiatives for the Virginia National Guard. Hince earned his Spaatz Award, number #2415, on July 24th, 2022.
Parents Dan and Teri Hince, grandparents Britt and Therese Hayes, Hince’s four siblings, extended family, and several CAP members celebrated Hince’s cadet, academic, and athletic achievements. Hince will be a freshman this Fall at Longwood University in Farmville, studying history and international relations as a member of the 2026 class.
Hince has served in CAP since January 2017. As a cadet, he served in every cadet leadership position, from element leader to cadet commander. He currently serves as the Virginia Wing Cadet Advisory Council Chair and representative to the Mid-Atlantic Region Cadet Advisory Council. Outside of CAP, Hince is active in theater, youth and children’s ministries at his place of worship, and sports through Northern Virginia Homeschool Athletic Association, where he lettered in varsity cross country, track, and field, and basketball.
The Spaatz Award is CAP’s highest cadet honor. It is presented to cadets who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, character, fitness, and aerospace education. Cadets qualify for this prestigious award after devoting an average of five years to progress through sixteen achievements in the CAP Cadet Program.
Along the way they develop self-discipline, a strong sense of personal responsibility, the ability to lead and persuade, and the foundation necessary for pursuing a career in aviation, space, or technology. The final step a cadet must complete to earn the Spaatz Award is a rigorous four-part exam consisting of a challenging physical fitness test, an essay exam testing their moral reasoning, a comprehensive written exam on leadership, and a comprehensive written exam on aerospace education. Upon passing the Spaatz Award exams, the cadet is promoted to the grade of cadet colonel.
On average, only five cadets in one thousand earn the Spaatz Award. Since the award’s inception in 1964, CAP has presented the Spaatz Award to only 2,400+ cadets nationwide. Spaatz Cadets are expected to serve as role models for junior cadets and become leaders in their communities as they enter adulthood. Hince’s achievement adds to Virginia Wing’s longstanding record of cadet program excellence of 85 Spaatz awards earned to date.
