Civil Air Patrol: Fargo’s volunteer-powered squadron

Boots strike the floor in unison at the Old Terminal Building on 23rd Avenue North, ground that once trained military pilots during World War II. Teenagers in uniform fall into formation, and the Red River Valley Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol gets to work. Not one of them is required to be there.

“We are military in structure, but we are not the military,” said Senior Master Sgt. Dean McMurray, deputy commander for cadets with the squadron.

Civil Air Patrol is an all-volunteer organization, federally chartered and supported by Congress. No cadet or adult member is required to go on to serve. Still, nothing about it runs itself. Every search and rescue mission, every disaster response, every hour a cadet spends learning to lead happens because someone decided to show up.

CCEC members know this feeling well. Every vote cast, every annual meeting attended, every moment of interest in how the power gets delivered is a choice, not a requirement, and that choice is what makes a cooperative work. Civil Air Patrol runs on that same fuel: volunteers serving their communities, saving lives, shaping futures, simply because they decided to.

Deep roots, a new structure

Fargo’s ties to Civil Air Patrol stretch back to 1941. The area’s first dedicated cadet squadron, the only one of its kind in the state at the time, formed about 30 years later. This past February, the squadron reorganized again, restructuring into a composite squadron that blends cadets and adult members under one roof.

The mission hasn’t changed. Civil Air Patrol responds to flooding in Fargo and Bismarck, wildfires across the country, and searches for people who are lost. “Between the pilots and the cadets and everybody in between, everybody has a role to play,” McMurray said.

For cadets ages 12 to 18, the program builds around three pillars: character development, physical fitness and aerospace education. Members can also work toward a private pilot certificate, attend regional flight academies, or, if manned flight doesn’t pan out, earn a drone pilot certification instead.

“That’s my opportunity”

Cadet Lt. Col. Colin Curran has lived that path. He joined at 14 after a friend told him about the squadron. “I originally wanted to fly, and I looked at Civil Air Patrol and said, wow, that’s my opportunity,” Curran said.

A medical issue later disqualified him from manned flight. Rather than walk away, he shifted direction and earned his Part 107 certificate to fly drones instead.

Five years later, he’s still there, working his way up the chain of command, and he credits the people for keeping him around.

“You will find that there are some serious individuals who want the best for you, and if you want the best for yourself, they’re going to bring it out of you,” Curran said.

He’s spent hours volunteering at local food banks and the Fargo Air Museum, work he ties to one of Civil Air Patrol’s four core values: integrity, volunteer service, excellence and respect. He’s now working toward a degree in emergency management, with hopes of a career with a state agency or FEMA.

“If you stick with something and it really doesn’t matter what it is, if you stick with something, you learn about it. You become the best,” Curran said.

McMurray sees that same growth from the adult side of the room, too. He doesn’t get paid for any of it. “What keeps me coming back is the kids,” he said. “The change I see in my own son, but I see the change in everybody else’s sons and daughters.” He watches them struggle, then come out the other side of it. “That’s my payment,” he said.

Close to home

Oakley Schlenker, a cadet in the squadron, is the stepson of Mike Mahlke, CCEC line crew foreman in Fargo.

“What stands out to me most is how much Oakley has grown as a person,” Mahlke said. “He takes the program seriously, works hard and holds himself accountable. Watching him accomplish something he’s worked for and seeing how proud he is of it is pretty special.”

It’s the kind of story that plays out across the squadron every week: A parent watching a kid choose to keep showing up and become more confident along the way.

Showing up for each other

CCEC is backing that same spirit with a donation to the squadron this year, one more way a local organization can say it believes in what happens in that room on Tuesday nights. It’s a small gesture, but it echoes the same principle the cooperative asks of its own members: show up, and something bigger gets built.

Civil Air Patrol turns 85 on Dec. 1, 2026. None of what happens at the Old Terminal Building each Tuesday happens because anyone has to be there. It happens because, week after week, people decide to be.