Squadron History

Squadron 36 in its present form came into existence in 1968 after the San Jose Composite Squadron 36 divided into two units; San Jose Search and Rescue (which exists to this day) and the John J. Montgomery Memorial Cadet Squadron 36.

Squadron 36 is named for aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery, who made the first manned, controlled, heavier-than-air flights in the United States.

Much of our unit's early history has largely been lost to time, though rededicated efforts are currently underway to discover our origins and unit experiences. The squadron has, however, been able to locate sporadic bits of history to include the fact that former cadet Jason Dahl, the captain of United Flight 93 and forever associated with September 11, 2001, was a former Squadron 36 cadet.

Squadron 36 has continued to produce several members for the armed forces academies, to include one young lady that has garnered much press in recent years with her accomplishments as an Air Force pilot (Kim Campbell [Reed].) Further, Squadron 36 has been honored several times in its history as a Squadron of the Year at various CAP levels and, of course, has produced many cadet recipients of milestone awards including the Spaatz Award (former Cadet Steven Stanton: Spaatz Award #504, awarded Headquarters Civil Air Patrol on March 2, 1979.)

History of the Squadron Patch

Version 1: 1992-2000	Version 2: 2000-present

In 1992, then-commander Jim Sena ordered a contest within Squadron 36 to create its own squadron patch. After several entries, Sean P. San Filippo's design was selected. With minor modifications, the insignia was created as shown above and left. The insignia's parts were chosen as the following:

• Name - Across the top of the patch is the name John J. Montgomery, who is the aviation pioneer for whom our squadron is named.
• Eagle - Predominantly displayed on the right side of the patch is the bald eagle, which represents the United States of America and the aviation superpower that we are.
• Olive Branch - Clutched In the talons of the eagle is an olive branch that symbolizes the peaceful, benevolent ideas that the Civil Air Patrol is founded upon.
• Border - The black border represents the squadron colors.
• Earth - The earth represents where we came from.
• Moon - The moon represents where we have gone.
• Stars - The stars for where we are heading.
• Motto - Across the scroll are the words Exceed the Challenge. This is the squadron motto and the idea on which senior and cadet members strive.
• 36 - The large "36" in the upper left-hand corner represents the squadron's informal numerical designation.
• Yellow - The yellow color represents the torch of knowledge that our cadets strive for.
• Scroll - The scroll represents camaraderie between senior and cadet members.
• White - The white on the patch stands for the pure eagerness of youth, striving for knowledge.

The manufacturer of these insignia is not known, although currently-unsubstantiated stories imply that these insignia were made in Korea.

In 2000, Squadron 36 supplies of its Version 1 patch were running low. In coordination with then-commander Jerry Horne and with consultation from former commander, Jim Sena, Mike "Monty" Montgomery provided a sample to Vanguard Industries, Inc. with instructions to correct the shape of the patch to better emulate command-style patches in the Air Force and to correct the color of the eagle's legs from black to gold.

Vanguard Industries Inc. maintains this template and can reproduce Version 2 indefinitely.

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