Cadet 2^nd Lieutenant Elijah Cook attended​ CAP’s South East Region National Glider Flight Academy.  Located at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum at the Tullahoma Regional Airport in Tullahoma, Tennessee, this activity provided twenty cadets from all over the United States with logged flight time in gliders on a daily rotational basis for a full week.

At the Academy Lt. Cook was able to go as far as his pre-solo flight, in which he displayed the proficiency to fly the glider properly from takeoff behind a tow-ship to landing on his own.  He was on a team of five cadets who flew a Schweitzer 2-33.  His callsign was “Cookie” and the Gliders' nickname was “Nemo.”  Their instructor was Jere Matty.

According to Lt. Cook “learning new and entirely different skills is possible if one has the heart to accept and overcome difficulties.  Gliding provided me the vision to see that I CAN do incredible things, as long as I am focused and dedicated.  The time spent around aspiring young aviators with lofty dreams similar to my own was invaluable in providing a boost to my self-morale and motivation.”