The Civil Air Patrol's 157th hosted a rocket launch on March 27, conducting hands-on aerospace education and having a blast.

The Newton County Composite Squadron put up more than 15 rockets. Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the first rockets were loaded with class A8-3 rocket engines. The next round of rockets sported the bigger class B6-4 engines, which provided better thrust. The cadets launched everything from rockets with an aluminum flashlight as cargo to mini rockets.

"It was a blast!" Cadet Technical Sergeant Daniel Higginbotham said. Higginbotham has been a member of the 157th squadron for over two years and has been a former flight sergeant.

Cadets spent two and a half hours launching rockets before turning over to some seminars.

However, before seminars, they had to clean up. Cadets spread out in a search line formation and looked for debris and trash. After their search, they quickly fell into the marching formation and marched back to "Base Camp."

The first seminar the cadets participated in was led by Cadet Airman Rebekah Townsend, who is in charge of organizing the squadron's Physical Training night.

The next seminar was led by Cadet Staff Sergeant Jonathan Sugg, who taught a Customs and Courtesies lesson to the cadets that were there. The first subject covered was "How to Report to an Officer." After a demonstration, cadets partnered up and practiced reporting. The next subject was "When to Come to Attention." Cadets were once again given a demonstration, then they split into groups to practice by themselves.

The third and final seminar was led by Sgt. Higginbotham, who gave the cadets a refresher course on the chain of command. The cadets learned the beginning of the chain: Element Leader, Flight Sergeant, Flight Commander, Deputy Commander of Cadets, Squadron Commander, Group Commander, and finally Wing Commander.

The day wrapped up with a Safety Debrief led by Cadet Airman Abigail Sugg. She told cadets that they "had done an excellent job remembering to follow the model rocketry safety code."

If you would like to come out to visit the GA 157, they meet at the Covington Municipal Airport, Mondays, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.. All young people 12-18 years old who are interested in military, aerospace, and flying are invited to come out.