Suffolk Cadet Squadron VII

1963 - Suffolk Cadet Squadron VII squadron was originally formed as Suffolk Composite Squadron under Suffolk Group, New York Wing.  With Lou Gaines as the Squadron Commander, Joe Borgess, Irv  Kole and Len Totora (Drill Sergeant) were the original seniors.  They had a group of 20-25 cadets in the squadron drill team (!!!).  Kurt Geiger (who joined later) was flying for a charter company. 

Squadron meetings were held at the Huntington Armory located just South of the railroad tracks and 1/2 block West of Park Ave.  The armory's garage area was used as the drill area. We had a small office and access to a meeting room.

19? - Len Totora took over as Squadron Commander.

19? - Joe Borges took over as Squadron Commander.  Joe Borges worked for Pan Am as first officer. His trips generally went from JFK to south Africa to north Africa and back among many other destinations.  One of the trips he mentioned was a trip to Beirut his crew left the airplane and waved to the new crew as they come on board. This was the airplane that was blown up at the airport.  He retired from Pan Am and bought an airport, Moneta Smith Mt. Lake  in Virginia, with Harold McMahone (not sure of spelling).

1973 - E. Paul Vogel joined the squadron.

197? - E. Paul Vogel took over as Commander from Joe Borges. Greg Power, a cadet in the squadron, later married Commander Vogel's daughter.  Greg joined the United States Air Force and rose to the rank of Lt. General.  He retired about 2006.

1985 - Stan Scharf relieved Paul Vogel as Squadron Commander and led the squadron for 11 years.  During that time, Ray Waldinger joined the squadron and became the Cadet Programs Oficer.

1994 - A.E. [Lonnie] McLaughlin Jr. joined the squadron and became its Public Affairs Officer.

1996 - Stan Scharf stepped down as Squadron Commander and Maj. Ray Waldinger took over. Capt. McLaughlin was Deputy Commander in the fall of 1997 when Ray fell ill.  The following March (1998), with Ray unable to continue his duties, Squadron Command was turned over to Capt. McLaughlin with former Cadet  Commander, Dan Rogers, serving as Deputy Commander.

2001 - During this time, [following 9/11/2001] increasing Reserve Forces activity forced the squadron to cancel more and more meeting nights due to lack of access.  It became obvious that we had to find another place to hold our meetings.  We were offered meeting space in the Auditorium building of the Northport VA Hospital, but the only space for our office equipment was at the back of the stage.  With the help of Joe Sledge, the Northport VA Hospital's Building Manager, and the cooperation of the Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) who also met there, we eventually were assigned a small office space in half of their storage room.  Eventually, the Sea Cadets removed all their equipment to allow us to have the office to ourselves.

2003 - Maj. McLaughlin, badly in need of a respit, turned squadron command over to its Aerospace Officer, Lt. Col. [Air Force Col., Ret] W. Glenn Mackey, who had joined in January of 1999.  Maj. McLaughlin returned from to CAP from his hiatis in March of 2005, and was assigned Public Affairs Officer (PAO). A short time later, he took over as Deputy Commander again.

2007 - Lt. Col. Mackey turned squadron command over to Capt. Darren Cioffi, with Maj. McLaughlin remaining as Deputy Squadron Commander and PAO.  Lt. Col. Mackey continued as Aerospace Officer.

2008, November - Capt. Cioffi [who was moving upstate to take a new job] turned over squadron command to 2nd Lt. Robert Litzke, who had joined early in 2007 as Cadet Programs Officer.  Maj. McLaughlin remained as Deputy Squadron Commander, PAO and Finance Officer. Cadet Programs Officer was taken over by 2nd Lt. Mitchell Sahagian, who joined in February of 2008.  2nd Lt. Richard Merlino, who joined in June of 2008, took over as Emergency Services Officer and Testing Officer. He has since transferred to LI Group as part of their Communications Depaertment.  Late in the year, Cadet 2nd Lt. Jonathan Miranda turned 18 and decided to become a Senior Member.  Based on his activities and progression as a cadet, he has been awarded the rank of Technical Flight Officer (TFO) and been assigned as the squadron's Administration Officer and Personnel Officer.