Newtown High School senior Connor Kwarcinski recently completed the 2023 Civil Air Patrol Pararescue and Survival Orientation Course — considered to be the most physically demanding and challenging course in the patrol.

The PJOC took place at the Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Of the 52 participants representing 28 states, Kwarcinski was the sole graduate from Connecticut.

The course is a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) National Cadet Special Activity which introduces cadets to some of the skills and requirements of US Air Force pararescuemen, combat rescue officers, and survival resistance and escape specialists.

Motivating Connor to participate in the program was his desire to join the military as an adult. He explained to The Newtown Bee he received advice from those he knows in the military, particularly the Air Force, who said he had promise in pararescue and combat rescue because of his aptitude and experience as a swimmer.

“It is also really physically demanding, so I kind of liked the challenge,” added Connor about the prospect of joining the training course.

Of the seven-day program, Connor spent five in the mountains north of Albuquerque. There, he gained experience and training in land navigation, survival techniques, rock climbing, rappelling from mountains and other various skills used in rescue operations.

Connor said “just getting through the day” was probably the most challenging part of the course.

“There’s a new challenge every day, a new challenge every hour, every minute,” Connor said, reflecting. “Maybe the challenge was just trying to keep that leadership, that discipline to just keep on going, forgetting about past events or current events, and think about others before yourself.”

Connor said while PJOC was both physically and mentally challenging, being trained by Air Force PJs was the best experience of his life. He owed this to the opportunity to do things kids his age do not usually get to do, with new experiences he was able to “open up to.”

He discussed it was “very easy to make friends” and find “camaraderie, early on,” as well, and confirmed he found lasting connections with other participants.

“We all had one common goal and one shared vision — to get through this course and graduate,” he said. “It was just fun to have all these people around that have the same interests as you.”

Connor cited his takeaway knowledge from camp as leadership, and “never giving up.”

“Not just in sports or anything physical, more like mental,” said Connor, referencing ways not to give up in the face of bad grades or studying in school.

He added exercising, taking care of oneself, and survival in the woods to his list of takeaways.

“It was very fun,” said Connor about the program in summary.

Home in Connecticut, Connor is a member of the CAP 399th Composite Squadron. It includes a cadet program for youth ages 12 to 18 years that provides training in leadership, aerospace education, and emergency services.

In July, Connor attended another CAP program in Connecticut: the Wing CAP Encampment. The annual encampment is a one-week boot camp for cadets at Camp Nett in Niantic.

Cadets participate in obstacle courses, leadership training, military orientation, and ride in a Black Hawk helicopter.

This was Connor’s third year attending the camp. He was given the role of First Sergeant where he was responsible for overseeing one squadron, totaling 48 cadets, providing leadership and guidance.

“If you like aerospace, if you want to become a pilot, if you want to do anything with engineering, if you want to have a military future, join the Civil Air Patrol,” said Connor. “Not only do they orient you in a certain way, but all the people running it have military experience as well.”

Outside of CAP activities, Connor is a member of the Sons of the American Legion, Squadron 16, and serves with American Legion Post 202 in Newtown.

He is also on the NHS swim team and the Regional Y of Western Connecticut Makos Swim Team in Brookfield, and is the 2023 SWC 50-freestyle champion and 2023 All-State swimmer, placing 3rd in the state for the 50-freestyle.

The high school senior said he plans on joining the Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps while attending college for space operations and physics.

Based on his experience at PJOC, Connor said he would like to become a combat rescue officer for the US Air Force following college.