Who is Sam Canders? A Veteran Sam joined the Army ROTC while in college working towards a degree in Aeronautical Science with a minor in Meteorology. Upon graduating, he was commissioned into the Army as a Second Lieutenant. Through a very competitive process, he was chosen to be an Aviation Officer. The day after graduating from college, Sam traveled to Alabama to begin the year long training to become a helicopter pilot. The final phase of training culminated in his mastering the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. After being stationed in Hawaii and returning to the continental United States for Military Officer Training, Sam was stationed in Honduras for almost two years, where he served in a joint task force for humanitarian support and counter drug operations. During those two years, Sam also served in Haiti doing peace keeping operations in support of Operation Secure Tomorrow. Sam considers the job he held as Company Commander in Honduras, where he was responsible for over 55 personnel and 12 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, to be the finest and most challenging job he held while in the Army. It provided him with tremendous opportunities to grow as a leader and as a person. After almost 7 years of service in the Army, Sam decided to join the private work sector where he became an airline pilot. After a short time, he returned to service by joining the Air National Guard where he flew C-130s, RC-11s and C21s. He currently holds the rank of Major. During his time in the Air National Guard, Sam has done four tours to Afghanistan. Three of those tours were flying a C-130 and doing transport operations throughout Afghanistan, and one was a special missions tour flying the RC-11. In all, Sam has spent approximately two and a half years of his time in military service on deployments and has flown approximately 800 combat hours and over 200 combat sorties. A Pilot Sam’s job of piloting a Boeing 747-400 for Kalitta Air, LLC takes him around the world to locations such as India, China, Russia, and Belgium on a monthly basis. In addition to regularly flying one of the world’s largest aircraft, Sam is also rated to fly helicopters, sea planes, balloons, and is a certified flight instructor. An Avid Balloonist In January of 2006, Sam set out to make a world record balloon flight by attempting to cross the United States in an open basket balloon. He made it from Southern California to Nebraska, traveling over 1300 miles, spending 63 hours aloft, and reaching an altitude of 20,000 feet when crossing over the Rockies. Sam has also participated in the Gordon Bennet Balloon Race, the oldest aviation race in the world, placing fourth. He completed the race in 67 hours and flew from Geneva, Switzerland to Cordoba, Spain. A Steward of Maine’s Woodlands Sam cares for a 139 acre farm in Pittsfield, where he sponsors a local farmer with a small fruit farm and organic vegetable business. He believes in the right of individuals to grow food, harvest crops, raise animals, and feed their family, neighbors, and community, and will fight to protect individual property rights. A Small Business Owner As an owner and operator of a rental management agency, home inspection and handyman service as well as a private landing area (ME62) in West Pittsfield, Sam understands the trials small business owners face. He believes that small business and entrepreneurship are at the core of America’s spirit and its economic engine. Sam will work to do away with any needless regulations, cut government spending, and lower taxes so that businesses can begin to grow. A Natural Leader During his time in the military, Sam served in multiple positions on various levels of responsibility which honed and strengthened his natural leadership skills. These skills are a necessary asset for any candidate willing to go to Augusta as a representative for the constituents of District 15 and fight to restore their rights. As a Platoon leader, he was in charge managing and overseeing the training of 6 rated crew members and 12 mechanics/crew chiefs as well as being responsible for overseeing the maintenance and accountability of over $30 million of equipment. When Sam became a Company Commander, his responsibilities grew to include 26 rated crew members, 21 mechanics/crew chiefs and over $140 million of equipment. He assisted in the planning of counter-narcotics operations, disaster relief, and MEDEVAC operations as an Operations Officer and assisted in the planning and execution of operations to support joint, combined, and inter-agency operations in Central America as an Assistant Director of Operations. vimeo/51818261
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 17:00:19 +0000
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