From Dreams to Wings: Cadet Earns Spaatz Award and Aims for Military Pilot Career
ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Connor Kazemi was always going to be a pilot. Since the age of three, he’s been entranced by airplanes, according to his mom. But the cadet colonel can pinpoint the exact moment he realized he wanted to fly for the military.
“In sixth grade, we had a school project for Veteran’s Day,” he said. “We had to explore different services and the different jobs you can do in the military. That was the first time I had a thought about joining the military.”
The following year, a chance conversation between his dad and the dad of another Civil Air Patrol cadet gave Kazemi a chance to learn about CAP for the first time, more specifically, to learn how he can fly in five orientation flights.
Five years later, the rising senior and Cadet Wings graduate recently returned from back-to-back trips at Boys State and the 2024 Georgia Wing Summer Encampment where he served as Cadet Deputy Commander of Operations. He then traveled to CAP’s Cadet Officer School at Maxwell Air Force Base. During COS, the news came in that he had passed the Spaatz Award Exam. Kazemi is now the newest Spaatz recipient in Georgia Wing as of July 22.
He's using the skills he’s learned in CAP to apply to U.S. military service academies in hopes of becoming a military pilot. Kazemi was one of more than 700 people who attended the Georgia Service Academy Day in April led by Sen. John Ossoff and hosted at Dobbins Air Reserve Base.
When I went to the Naval Academy (tour) and got to stay with one of the midshipmen, I really liked the environment,” he said. “I liked the structure and discipline. There are sacrifices to going to a service academy instead of a traditional college, but it’s an amazing opportunity. At the Air Force Academy, one of the admission officers worked on a bill for one summer with a member of Congress. As someone who also wants to study political science, those opportunities are a very big plus for me.”
According to his mom, Lt. Linnet Kazemi who is also a member of the Forsyth County Cadet Squadron, her son always wanted to fly.
For Kazemi, he credits CAP for helping him get as far as he has with hopes of going further. He said when he first joined, he wasn’t thinking about the Spaatz Award.
When you look at the super chart as an airman, it’s a lot,” he said. “But when you look at just the next step or two ahead of you, it’s not that bad. When I became a lieutenant, that’s when I started doing stuff outside of the squadron like CAC (Cadet Advisory Council), then CLA (Civil Leadership Academy), then CAC again, and encampment three times (now four times). Once you make those connections and have those experiences, you can’t go back. It’s an addiction in a way.” 
Kazemi said it hasn’t always been easy but his advice to other cadets when facing adversity in CAP or while on the path to a service academy is to stop and sleep on it.
"There’s always going to be something you can do about (the problem),” he said. “Think through your options if it’s a hard scenario or just give it time. And try to find a mentor to help you through. We’re here to grow and develop ourselves, but we’re privileged to grow others and develop others, as well.”
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Lt. Col. Elizabeth Peace
Georgia Wing Director of Marketing and Public Affairs
