Average time is four months per promotion. This is the first major milestone award. Named for General William Mitchell , the award signifies the passage of the cadet from the NCO corps to the CAP Cadet Officer corps. Due to its significance, the award must be present by a CAP Group Commander or higher. Cadets who have passed the Mitchell Award are promoted to Cadet Second Lieutenant.
Cadets begin taking on progressively complicated tasks and projects.
Where Phase Two cadets would be asked to execute a defined set of instructions, Phase Three cadets are the ones designing those instructions and supervising their completion. During Phase Three, cadets no longer take the Aerospace exams and instead began intensive study of CAP management and regulations called Staff Duty Analysis. This test, named for famed female aviator Amelia Earhart represents the second major level in the Cadet Program. Serving as the gateway to the final phase of the program, only those officers with a solid base of professionalism, maturity, and ethics are passed. Completion of this award confers the grade of Cadet Captain.