Interview
The B-CC public affairs staff decided to catch up with some of our alumni. When one of our own casually mentioned she helped create rocket boosters for human space flights, we decided to share with you the highlights of her Civil Air Patrol (CAP) story. Karen Petersen is a former Bethesda Chevy Chase (B-CC) Composite Squadron commander and a cadet who attained the rank of C/Lt. Col. YOU TOO CAN DO ROCKET SCEINCE is certainly a theme of the interview but not all there is to this remarkable former cadet. Petersen has a BS in Aerospace Engineering, an MS in Systems Engineering, and she is now working on an MBA.
We interviewed C/Col Petersen (ret) in December, just before Christmas; we caught up with her between working at a major aeronautics firm and getting her second master’s degree.
B-CC PAO: I understand that the Silver Spring area wasn’t the only place you lived as a child?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): That’s true. My dad was an officer in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s uniformed science Navy and we moved around a good bit. I was born in Kansas, moved when I was one, and lived on at least both coasts of the U.S. and a little overseas.
B-CC PAO: With all that travel how did you discover the Civil Air Patrol’s (CAP) cadet program?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): I had an encyclopedia set when I was a freshman in high school that I enjoyed reading. Since my dad was an officer, I always read the entries about the military and uniformed services. One of the entries was about CAP. Even though the date was 1966, CAP had done some fascinating things and they had a cadet corps. I remember that I was really interested but really shy about calling CAP. My mom helped me place the calls to find a squadron close to us in Rockville, Maryland and we found B-CC. My neighborhood CAP was lead by Major Hicks, the founder of B-CC Squadron. I think everyone in the squadron would agree that Major Hicks was a positive and dynamic force in our lives. A second father figure as it were. He passed away at the end of my tenure. We were all very sad about that.
B-CC PAO: Talk a little about squadron meetings and drill.
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): We started out meeting in a school or a church; I can’t remember which but my parents started out faithfully driving me to the meetings. I do remember, that once in the squadron, I noticed that the first sergeant was responsible for coordinating rides for all cadet participants who couldn’t get to meeting on their own. It was a big deal and when I became old enough to drive I lent a hand in getting fellow cadets to meetings. I also ended up arrange those rides during my tenure.
B-CC PAO: You mentioned being shy when you first joined the squadron. Did you remain shy and how did this affect your CAP career?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): Well, as a told you, I was interested in the uniformed services because of my dad’s participation as a Captain at NOAA and I loved flight. This was an extra-circular activity I wanted to do. I pulled together wanting to follow in Dad’s footsteps, my Girl Scout training, and desire to get involved in aviation for motivation. Part of CAP training is leadership, which means communicating with people. Later on in my CAP career when cadets would call the house and asked for Captain Petersen, it would tickle my Parents to ask them which Captain did they want.
The thing about the CAP which was good for me was the structure. At first I had higher ranking cadets ordering me around and I saw how running a flight and a squadron was done. Once I got to know people there and made rank, the shyness wore off. I had to show and explain CAP information and tasks to cadets of lesser rank. You had to overcome things like being shy.
You know I got involved to try and fly, and I went on all the O’rides that I could, but we didn’t have any pilots in the squadron at the time so extra flying was difficult. We concentrated on search and rescue which I found I was good at. I enjoyed and excelled at drill team.
Another great thing was that the Senior Members of the squadron were very supportive of the cadets.
B-CC PAO: What else do you remember?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): Encampment was great! I learned a lot about leadership structure and I remember having a great time camping. I think this is where I first started to blossom as a cadet. Then of course, being in charge of a Flight as an airman first class was amazing. I really made sure I didn’t mess up. Making first sergeant with all the responsibility that the position entailed in the squadron was also memorable. The mission activity I remember the most was assuming command. I spent a great deal of time with C/Commander Tina Clapps going over all of the operations orders and activities so the transition would be smooth. I found out later that even though Tina was a friend of mine, Major Hicks had to convince her that I was ready for command. She thought I needed more seasoning; hence, she went out of her way to go over every point of squadron activity with me. That’s the kind of pride that the squadron leadership took in its activities and the cadets corps expected quality from us.
B-CC PAO: Do you have any favorite memories?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): Drill team, encampment…especially the ones that B-CC hosted in West Virginia, and the camping. Bonnie Perry was our only female senior member at the time. The female cadets had to scramble to go on the camping trips where she was present or our activities and ability to do overnights were limited. When Bonnie had a baby our activities got cut back and it was impossible for the cadet women (girls) to participate in the Ranger groups, search and rescue teams now, but we tried.
The greatest thing I remember was the pride I felt in the tangible accomplishments I achieved in CAP. I made rank, I made things work, I got outdoors and hiked around with a purpose, and I learned things about flying and space flight that I was interested in knowing.
I had a great time. I still have my trophy for outstanding cadet at encampment. The trophy is old but still here. I also remember that all the girls were in one flight and we took honor flight at my first encampment. CAP is the only organization of its kind that I have seen in America that has a structured program that trains willing kids to perform leadership.
B-CC PAO: When did you see yourself breaking through to cadet officer status and when did you decide to push on to Spatz Cadet?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): It really wasn’t a push at first. Our squadron didn’t really push hard about rank. It was more about getting the activities done correctly and learning from the experience. I was given flight sergeant jobs as an airman first because the task needed to get done. Actually, I think Wing began pressuring our leadership to test more cadets. I actually started getting into taking the tests. The more I learned the more I got into the testing. I guess success bred success.
B-CC PAO: U.S. society seems to be getting past many of past limitations placed on women and girls concerning uniformed service activities and leadership. When you were a cadet did you find there were any problems or hesitations on female cadets giving orders?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): Actually my parents never placed any limitations on who I was or what I could be in life. CAP was a great organization because it was structurally neutral and except for safety issues gender never professionally came up in B-CC.
B-CC PAO: Which people do you remember most?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): I remember Major Hicks, Major Perry, Lt John Knowles, Tina Clapps... You know the person and thing I remember most was Major Hicks and his ability to mentor people and make the Civil Air Patrol a way of life and not just an activity. We all really felt like we belonged to a dynamic organization.
B-CC PAO: Upon reflection did CAP help you with college and your career?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): CAP nurtured my interest in airplanes and avionics. I decided to go to the University of Washington instead of the Coast Guard Academy because I wanted to study aerospace engineering. At the University of Washington, I studied avionics and enjoyed it. When I graduated the major aviation company in that city wasn’t hiring, but I looked around and my current company in California was hiring. They are part of the whole history of rocket booster development from as far back as the Apollo mission series. We have designed and built many of the major rockets for NASA’s major missions. I have helped design first stage Atlas and Delta rocket engines for satellites and Mars missions for fourteen years. Now I’m in management, designing the new J2X upper stage rocket engines for, hopefully, the new launch vehicle which will replace the current Shuttle Program. It’s obviously very exciting. There is nothing like watching your work head into space. I still get a thrill out of rocket launching.
Civil Air Patrol provided a focus for my aerospace interests. I remember learning about Hap Arnold and Billy Mitchell and what they had to do to get aviation started in America. I liked learning about the airplane and aerospace issue and I was receptive to the academics when I got to college.
What CAP also did was nurture self discipline and leadership. Learning how to manage myself and my time plus lead people to get things done. I enjoyed the CAP experiences and embraced them. The training has stuck with me.
B-CC PAO: What specifically do you do with the rocket engines?
Lt. Col Petersen (ret): For fourteen years now I have been involved in performance analysis and modeling testing (usually as computer simulations) on how the engines work under the stress of weight requirements that the engines must lift. The rocket can only carry so much fuel and oxidizer. One must balance the fuel carried against payload’s weight to determine the size and power of the engine needed. Fuel efficiency is paramount and it is necessary to measure all the parameters’ which effect delivering the payload at cost. I have written most of the modeling code in FORTRAN (a computer language). We analyze all the data before we build the actual engine. If you don’t get it right here you will have a very bad day at launch.
As soon as you prove yourself in the aerospace and data processing field, you have team members who rely on you and people you need to coach. I give credit to Civil Air Patrol in giving me the confidence to train others while doing my own work and learning on the job. You have to get the people around you to learn and grow as you work to succeed. I have had lots of opportunities to stretch and grow because of this CAP philosophy.