History of Bell County Composite Squadron
"TX-403" was originally chartered as the CenTex Composite Squadron on 15 January 1987. In 1999, the name was changed to Bell County Composite Squadron. Then in 2007, it was renamed again to honor the late General Robert M. Shoemaker. Unfortunately, Shoemaker Composite Squadron was deactivated in 2014, but not for long. Thanks to the leadership of Apollo Composite Squadron out of Georgetown, TX, a number of members were able to to re-charter TX-403 as "Bell County Composite Squadron" in January 2020.
A Tribute to 4-Star General Robert M. Shoemaker:
General Shoemaker (1924-2017) was born in Almont, Michigan and graduated from the US Military Academy (West Point) in 1946. He was one of the founders of the US Army's 1st Cavalry Division (Air Mobile) program in the early 1960s. Among the countless achievements during his 36-year military career, he served as the III Corp Commander at Fort Hood, TX in the 1970s. As a civilian, he continued serving the public as the Bell County Commissioner in the 1980s.
A Special Thanks to Those Who Support Us:
We would like to thank the City of Temple Manager and the Draughon-Miller Central Texas Regional Airport Manager and all of the dedicated firefighters at the Temple Fire Station 8 for their kind support of Civil Air Patrol.
