About
St. Mary's Composite Squadron has been serving Southern Maryland since 1975. We have been at our current location, the Walter F. Duke Terminal at St. Mary's Airport, since 2002. Civil Air Patrol cadets pursue flight training, learn survival skills, explore careers in aviation, gain knowledge of cyber security, and build leadership experience, all while maintaining an active lifestyle. In Maryland Wing, our squadrons collaborate regularly to ensure all of our cadets have the opportunity to pursue their specific interests. Pilots can build hours aboard Civil Air Patrol's fleet of single-engine, piston-driven aircraft. Adult Officers advance their leadership training, serve as aircrew on our aircraft, and lead cadets on ground teams during Search and Rescue missions.
2023 UAS4STEM National Champions
In 2023, cadets from St. Mary's traveled to the world's largest airshow, EAA AirVenture, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. While there, they competed in the UAS4STEM National Competition, bringing home first place in the Beginners Division. The UAS4STEM competition is a contest that blends leadership aptitude, aerospace knowledge, flight skills, coding, and search and rescue into one incredible event. The unmanned aerial vehicles that teams operate require a minimum crew of four to fly. Each team builds their aircraft, tests it, and performs practice flights for months prior to the competition. On game day, teams brief a panel of judges in a scored flight readiness review which documents test procedures, flight safety, understanding of aviation rules, and knowledge of flight physics. Teams who are rated as "Ready to Fly" then move on to the timed flight event: Each team has 30 minutes to fly a series of waypoints, perform maneuvers at those waypoints, and seek out a number of ground targets. Teams are graded on their safety of flight and ability to report the position and description of those targets to the judges. Also on the field are special event targets. In previous years, teams would drop water balloons on these targets. Competition teams consist of 4 to 10 middle and high school students, between the ages of 13 and 18. Read more about the team's success here. Read more about the competition here.
2025 UAS4STEM National Champions
In 2025, our cadets repeated their 2023 success, again attaining first place in the Beginners Division. This time, Cadet Master Sergeant
Rachel Rioux would win the Dewey O. Broberg Jr. Memorial Scholarship for dedication to her team, determination, and adherence to
the rules and purpose of the competition. Read more about her success and that of her team here.
Partnerships
We maintain close ties with our friends at NAS Patuxent River, EAA Chapter 478, Nalls Aviation, the St. Mary's County Airport Advisory Board, and a variety of other local youth organizations, non-profits, and businesses. These partners aid us in advancing our aerospace education mission by providing funding, tours, facilities, and much more. You can read the latest St. Mary's County Airport Advisory Board annual report here.
The Patch
The St. Mary's Squadron patch is one of the most recognizable in Maryland Wing. Surrounded by a ring of gold, symbolizing our close partnership with Naval Aviation, the St. Mary's patch features three aircraft rising from the Southeast, the geographic location of Naval Air Station Patuxent River. The aircraft on top is a fast mover; a high-altitude, high-performance jet, symbolized in the most recent iteration by the F-18 Super Hornet in US Naval Test Pilot School markings. On the opposite end of the spectrum of speed, there are slow-moving rotorcraft, represented by an OH-58 in similar markings. Bridging the gap between the two, in terms of both speed and placement on the patch, is general aviation, represented by a Cessna featuring a brilliant red, white, and blue Civil Air Patrol livery. Together, the three represent a typical day in the pattern at NAS Patuxent River where the squadron was based from 1975 to 2001. Surrounding these aircraft is a ring of orange, symbolizing CAP's mission of Search and Rescue, as well as NAS Patuxent River's mission, flight test. At each flank of the patch are the historical charter numbers of the St. Mary's Squadron: 18089, founded in 1975, and its predecessor, 18027, founded in 1953 and closing sometime in the 1960's. Each aircraft is trailed by a red banner, symbolizing the three mission areas of CAP: Cadet Programs, Aerospace Education, and Emergency Services. Below the aircraft is the squadron motto, inspired by the title of a series of biographical books, movies, and series about the Mercury Astronauts, some of whom trained at NAS Patuxent River as test pilots.
