SC Cadet awarded scholarship to Space Camp
Submitted by Maj Lavonne Adams

C/SMSgt Kenneth Griffing, son of Kenneth and Sharon Griffing and member of the Richland Cadet Squadron: the WG Sanders Middle School Civil Air Patrol Enrichment Program in Columbia, received the Bernard Curtis Brown II Memorial Space Camp Scholarship.  Griffing, a ninth grade homeschool student from Columbia, was one of 15 recipients of 245 applicants worldwide.  He was eligible to apply as the child of an active-duty military parent.  SFC Kenneth Griffing is finishing up a three-year assignment as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson.   

Funded by the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC), the scholarship is named for an 11-year-old boy who died on September 11, 2001.  Brown was a passenger flying on American Airlines Flight 77 when it was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon. The son of Navy Chief Petty Officer Bernard Curtis Brown, he was en route to represent his school in a National Geographic event in California. The scholarship covered the cost of traveling to and attending the NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.

The NASA Space Camp is an eight-day program that shows firsthand what it takes to be an astronaut. Activities included simulated Space Shuttle missions, training simulators, rocket building and launches, scientific experiments, and lectures on the past, present, and future of space exploration.  

In his essay response to the application process, Griffing detailed why he should be selected, his patriotism, future goals,  community service, and intentions after  camp. Two letters of recommendation  were required with one submission from Maj Lavonne Adams, squadron commander. 

After attending the week long camp in early June, Griffing described it as "fun and challenging"  and his favorite parts were SEAL OPS, a simulated mission recapturing the territory, and Escape and Evasion to avoid getting captured by the counselors using military tactics."

It is important to note that the NASA Space Camp is not managed by Civil Air Patrol; however, cadets who graduate are authorized to wear the National Cadet Special Activities ribbon.