National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol
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| National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the National Commander | |
 Major General Edward D. Phelka since 26 August 2021 | |
| Civil Air Patrol | |
| Style | National Commander |
| Status | Chief executive officer |
| Abbreviation | CAP/CC |
| Member of | CAP Command Council CAP Senior Advisory Group |
| Appointer | CAP Board of Governors |
| Term length | Three years, can be extended |
| Constituting instrument | CAP Constitution and Bylaws[1] |
| Formation | December 1, 1941 |
| First holder | Maj Gen John F. Curry, USAAF |
| Deputy | National Vice Commander of the Civil Air Patrol |
| Website | www.gocivilairpatrol.com |
Since 1975, the National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol (acronym: CAP/CC) is the highest senior official within the Civil Air Patrol. From 1941 until August 1975, the National Commander of CAP was an appointed active duty Air Force officer, typically a General Officer. In September 1975, this became a civilian position held by an active CAP member. Current and former National Commanders are the only members of the Civil Air Patrol who hold the CAP rank of major general. The original name of this position was chairman of the CAP Board. Gen Carl A. Spaatz, USAF, became the first chairman after he retired from the Air Force in 1948.[2] Since 2012, the National Commander also serves as the chief executive officer of the CAP Corporation.[a]
The current National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol is Major General Edward Phelka.[3]
List of officeholders[]
Chairman of the National Board (1948–1975)[]
Upon adoption of the CAP Constitution and Bylaws on 26 May 1948, the CAP Board was redesignated as the National Executive Board (NEB), but the designation was later changed to the National Executive Committee (NEC) on 26 April 1960.
- Gen Carl A. Spaatz, USAF (Ret), Aug 1948 – Apr 1959
- Col (later Brig Gen) D. Harold Byrd, CAP, Apr 1959 – Apr 1960
- Col (later Brig Gen) William C. Whelen, CAP, Apr 1960 – Apr 1962
- Col (later Brig Gen) Paul W. Turner, CAP, Sep 1962 – Oct 1965
- Brig Gen Lyle W. Castle, CAP, Oct 1965 – Oct 1968[b]
- Brig Gen F. Ward Reilly, CAP, Oct 1968 – Oct 1970
- Brig Gen Samuel H. DuPont, Jr., CAP, Oct 1970 – Oct 1973
- Brig Gen William M. Patterson, CAP, Oct 1973 – Aug 1975
CAP National Commanders (1975–present)[]
On 1 September 1975, the original CAP title of chairman of the national board was redesignated as national commander, and the US Air Force-appointed national commander became the executive director. On 8 March 1995 during a reorganization of CAP National Headquarters, the title of executive director was changed to Senior Air Force Advisor.
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| 1 | Brig Gen William M. Patterson |
September 1975 | September 1976 | 1 year | |
| 2 | Brig Gen Thomas C. Casaday (1918–2010) |
September 1976 | September 1979 | 3 years | |
| 3 | Brig Gen Johnnie Boyd |
September 1979 | August 1982 | 2 years, 11 months | |
| 4 | Brig Gen Howard L. Brookfield (1929–2019) |
August 1982 | August 1984 | 2 years | |
| 5 | Brig Gen William B. Cass |
August 1984 | March 1986 | 1 year, 7 months | |
| 6 | Brig Gen Eugene E. Harwell (1930–2020) |
March 1986 | August 1990 | 4 years, 5 months | |
| 7 | Brig Gen Warren J. Barry (1922–2015) |
August 1990 | August 1993 | 3 years | |
| 8 | Brig Gen Richard L. Anderson (born 1955) |
August 1993 | August 1996 | 3 years | |
| 9 | Brig Gen Paul M. Bergman (1940–2012) |
August 1996 | March 1998 | 1 year, 7 months | |
| 10 | Brig Gen James C. Bobick |
March 1998 | August 2001 | 3 years, 5 months | |
| 11 | Brig Gen Richard L. Bowling |
August 2001 | December 2002 | 1 year, 4 months | |
| 12 | Maj Gen Richard L. Bowling |
August 2001 | August 2004 | 3 years | |
| 13 | Maj Gen Dwight H. Wheless (1940–2017) |
August 2004 | July 2005 | 11 months | |
| 14 | Maj Gen Antonio J. Pineda[c] |
July 2005 | October 2007 | 2 years, 3 months | |
| 15 | 
|
Maj Gen Amy Courter (born 1961) |
2 October 2007[d] | 7 August 2008 | 10 months |
| 7 August 2008[e] | 17 August 2011 | 3 years | |||
| 16 | 
|
Maj Gen Charles L. Carr Jr. |
17 August 2011 | 15 August 2014 | 2 years, 11 months |
| 17 | 
|
Maj Gen Joseph Vazquez |
15 August 2014 | 2 September 2017 | 3 years |
| 18 | 
|
Maj Gen Mark E. Smith |
2 September 2017 | 26 August 2021 | 3 years, 11 months |
| 19 | 
|
Maj Gen Edward D. Phelka |
26 August 2021 | Incumbent | 0 months |
USAAF/CAP-USAF Commanders[]
 | This section contains information of unclear or questionable importance or relevance to the article's subject matter. (February 2021) |
Civil Air Patrol-United States Air Force (CAP-USAF) is responsible for ensuring Civil Air Patrol — the Air Force auxiliary — is organized, trained, and equipped to fulfill Air Force-assigned missions. CAP-USAF provides day-to-day support, advice, and liaison to CAP’s more than 60,000 members and provides oversight for CAP programs, with emphasis on safety and program requirements. CAP-USAF personnel are also the primary function interface between other federal agencies and CAP.
As of 2020, CAP-USAF is staffed with approximately 200 active-duty, Reservist, and civilian airmen at CAP National Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base and locations in New Jersey (Detachment 1, McGuire Air Force Base), Maryland (Detachment 2, Andrews Air Force Base), Ohio (Detachment 3, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base), Georgia (Detachment 4, Dobbins Air Reserve Base), Minnesota (Detachment 5), Texas (Detachment 6), Colorado (Detachment 7, Peterson Space Force Base), California (Detachment 8, Beale Air Force Base), and Florida, as well as in Puerto Rico and at several overseas Air Force installations.
- Maj Gen John F. Curry, USAAF, Dec 1941 – Mar 1942
- Col Earle L. Johnson, USAAF, Mar 1942 – Feb 1947[6]
- Brig Gen Frederic H. Smith Jr., USAF, 21 Feb 1947 – 30 Sep 1947[7]
- Maj Gen Lucas V. Beau, USAF, 01 Oct 1947 – 31 Dec 1955
- Maj Gen Walter R. Agee, USAF, 01 Jan 1956 – 31 Mar 1959
- Brig Gen Stephen D. McElroy, USAF, 01 Apr 1959 – 15 Dec 1961
- Col Paul C. Ashworth, USAF, 15 Dec 1961 – 31 Jul 1964
- Col Joe L. Mason, USAF, 01 Aug 1964 – 30 Apr 1967
- Brig Gen William W. Wilcox, USAF, 01 May 1967 – 31 Oct 1968
- Maj Gen Walter B. Putnam, USAF, 01 Nov 1968 – 31 Oct 1969
- Brig Gen Richard N. Ellis, USAF, 01 Nov 1969 – 31 Oct 1972
- Brig Gen Leslie J. Westberg, USAF, 01 Nov 1972 – 28 Aug 1975
- Brig Gen Car S. Miller, USAF, 29 Aug 1975 – Nov 1977
- Brig Gen Paul E. Gardner, USAF, Nov 1977 – 31 July 1980
- Brig Gen H. W. Miller, USAF, 01 Aug 1980 – Aug 1981
- Brig Gen David L. Patton, USAF, Aug 1981 – May 1984
- Col John T. Massingale Jr., USAF, May 1984 – 31 Oct 1989
- Col Clyde O. Westbrook Jr., USAF, 01 Nov 1989 – Jun 1990
- Col Joseph M. Nall, USAF, Jun 1990 – Aug 1992
- Col Ronald T. Sampson, USAF, Aug 1992 – Mar 1995
- Col Garland W. Padgett Jr., USAF, Mar 1995 – May 1998
- Col Dennis B. Parkhurst, USAF, May 1998 – Jul 2001
- Col Albert A. Allenback, USAF, Jul 2001 – Jul 2002
- Col George C. Vogt, USAF, Jul 2002 – Oct 2005
- Col Russell D. Hodgkins Jr., USAF, Oct 2005 – Apr 2009
- Col William R. (Bill) Ward, USAF, Apr 2009 – 31 Jun 2011
- Col George H. Ross III, USAF, 01 Jul 2011 – 04 Oct 2011
- Col Paul D. Gloyd II, USAF, 04 Oct 2011 – May 2014
- Col Jay Updegraff, USAF, May 2014 – Aug 2014
- Col Michael D. Tyynismaa, USAF, Aug 2014 – Apr 2019
- Col Mark A. Wootan, USAF, Apr 2019–present[8]
Notes[]
- ^ Change made upon adoption of the Constitution and Bylaws of the CAP Corporation made official on 1 Oct. 2012.
- ^ USAF approved the grade of Brigadier General, CAP, via order PANHQ 9, 15 March 1968
- ^ On 6 August 2007, the Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors suspended the CAP national commander, Maj Gen Antonio J. Pineda, for a period of up to 180 days. Brig Gen Amy S. Courter, CAP national vice commander, assumed the duties of the National Commander during this period.[4]
- ^ On 2 October 2007, the Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors voted 9-1 to remove Antonio Pineda from his position as National Commander. He was removed from the CAP and stripped of his two-star general's rank after NEWS OF THE FORCE, a military news e-zine based in Tampa, Fla., first broke the story that Pineda had cheated on his Air Force Air Command and Staff College tests.[5]
- ^ Maj Gen Amy Courter was unanimously elected to the position of National Commander on 07 Aug 2008 during a live webcast. She is the first woman to be elected to the position by the National Board.
References[]
- ^ "Constitution and Bylaws 2016" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. 27 August 2021.
- ^ "Spaatz Award Fact Sheet" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. March 2018.
- ^ "Major General Edward D. Phelka" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. 26 August 2021.
- ^ "U.S. Civil Air Patrol's Board of Governors suspends CAP national commander". CAP News Online. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- ^ Archived 2018-08-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ohio Wing web page created by National Historian Bio of Gen Johnson
- ^ "GENERAL FREDERIC H. SMITH JR. > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display". www.af.mil. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
- ^ "Colonel Mark A. Wootan" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. 27 August 2021.
- National Commanders of the Civil Air Patrol
- Civil Air Patrol
- People of the Civil Air Patrol
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