A Palmerton Area High School sophomore has received the ultimate accolade as a Civil Air Patrol Cadet Chief Master Sgt.

Civil Air Patrol Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Ethan Zych received the Group 4 Cadet of the Year Award at the annual conference of Group 4 of the PA Wing Civil Air Patrol on Jan. 20 at Iacocca Hall at Lehigh University.

Group 4 is responsible for northeastern Pennsylvania for Emergency Services Operations and other Civil Air Patrol missions.

Ethan is a member of the Braden Composite Squadron 807, which meets at 6 p.m. every Wednesday at Braden Airpark in Easton.

One Cadet is selected by the group as the highest performing Cadet of the group, which encompasses 14 counties in Northeastern PA with dozens of Squadrons.

“The award itself was actually a complete surprise; it was only revealed to me when I was called in front of the banquet for the ceremony itself,” said Ethan, 16. “I definitely had a sense of accomplishment. It feels like such a short time, and granted I have done a lot with my Cadet Career, and essentially have made my local Squadrons history as the highest performing Cadet, I have plenty more milestones and achievements to make.”

Ethan said he’s been a C/CMSgt. since early spring of 2023; however he has been a Cadet since June of 2021.

“Currently, I serve as the Squadron’s First Sergeant mainly, however I am also filling in as the Acting Cadet Commander of the 807th,” he said. “In addition to this, my secondary titles include Color Guard Commander, Emergency Services NCO, and Safety NCO. Lastly, I have also been elected as an Officer in the Group Cadet Advisory Council.”

Ethan said when he joined, “I immediately fell in love with the program.”

Since then, he said he’s attended Basic Encampment and Winter Hawk Mountain Ranger School in 2021-2022. In addition, he has also graduated the Leadership Development Course, and Hawk Mountain Ranger School in the summer of 2023.

“I have gotten my ranger qualification, and Ground Team Member 3 rating, as well as completed five orientation Flights on Cessna 182’s,” he said. “Upon joining, I also made rank very quickly, and have received awards in the past such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Non Commissioned Officer of the Year Award earlier last year.”

1st Lt Fred Branyan, 807th Braden Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, said that Ethan “has distinguished himself by commendable achievements and service to CAP which are exceptional compared to his peers as an NCO with Braden Composite Squadron 807 since Feb. 28, 2022 and unit First Sgt. since May 5, 2023.

“He has achieved almost every promotion within the 60-day time frame, something matched by few if any of our current members,” Branyan said. “He completed his five Orientation flights in 10 months, also much quicker than the usual time frame.”

“While at Summer Hawk 2023, his instructors praised his constant help to fellow students and his keeping them motivated for physical challenges such as the obstacle course,” Branyan said.

Branyan said that Ethan was a cadet Squadron Commander at LDC in June, a position filled by only four of the 44 class members.

During this course, the cadre gave him multiple team leadership courses to lead for the entire unit. In addition to these duties, Ethan was the first flight commander in the course and was rotated back into this duty three or four times.

“His physical condition is excellent and provides an example for all members to follow,” Branyan said.

He said Ethan consistently volunteers for all unit activities to include Baconfest, an annual fundraiser that covers an entire weekend, Memorial Day parades, a 5K run, and others.

“He has taken the initiative to plan training our color guard team, since we have only one cadet left who has any experience with that mission,” Branyan said. “His habit of volunteering has set an example for all of our cadets, especially the newer ones.”

Ethan has been the unit cadet Safety NCO since 2022.

“His monthly classes have been well researched, related to our missions, and presented with professional excellence,” Branyan said.

“Perhaps his most noteworthy accomplishments are essentially taking over the unit when the former cadet commander phased out in March of 2023 and keeping it functioning while absorbing several new cadets,” Branyan said.

Branyan said that Ethan has performed under high stress both inside and outside of 807 “with remarkable calm, stability, and maturity.”

“Sgt. Zych continues to exemplify all that we stand for and our core values to the highest degree,” Branyan said. “His exemplary duty performance reflects great credit on himself, our unit and the Civil Air Patrol.”

To join the squadron, email Fred.branyan807@gmail.com.