For the first time in five years, two South Carolinians rose to the rank of Cadet Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol. The two cadets from Mount Pleasant happen to be brothers.

Andrew and Harris Rowe, who are 18-year-old triplets with their sister, reached the pinnacle of the Civil Air Patrol program after four and a half years in the organization. Nationwide, there are roughly 2,400 Civil Air Patrol Colonel Cadets. In South Carolina, Andrew and Harris became the 23rd and 24th cadets to reach this accomplishment since the award’s inception in 1964.

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Only 0.5% of Civil Air Patrol cadets achieve Colonel Cadet. While reaching this rank was a personal goal for each of them, they both hope to lead by example and motivate cadets to work hard to attain this honor. Andrew added that during his time in the Civil Air Patrol, he hasn’t had the opportunity to attend a Spaatz Award presentation since it’s been a handful of years since the previous recipient.

“Reaching the Spaatz Award helps me set an example for the cadets. It’s not about the award really because throughout the program I’ve continued learning as a leader and continued determining my skills,” Harris added.

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“We’re super proud of them,” said their dad Jeff Rowe. “They’ve set goals and they achieved those goals. Even if they hadn’t achieved them, just the fact that they’ve worked hard. The icing on the cake is that they were able to achieve them.”

The brothers are going separate ways for college in the fall. However, not too far away from each other. Harris will be attending Anderson University to study marketing and Andrew is going to Clemson University to study mechanical engineering and join the Air Force ROTC with the future goal of joining the Air Force.

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