During Women's History Month, Civil Air Patrol is featuring alumni who have done just that — made history. Two have been in the spotlight in the past week — Lt. Col. Rochelle Kimbrell, the former CAP cadet who recently rejoined the Colorado Wing after a 22-year military career during which she became the Air Force's first Black female fighter pilot, and Cadet Col. Kathryn Christmas, a former CAP cadet who’s regimental commander at The Citadel and preparing for her career as a pilot in the Air Force.
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Meet Former CAP Cadet and Air Force Trailblazer Lt. Col. Rochelle Kimbrell
For retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Rochelle Kimbrell, the road to becoming the military branch’s first Black female fighter pilot can be traced to her days as a Civil Air Patrol cadet in the Colorado Wing’s Parker Composite Squadron.
Nearly 31 years after originally joining CAP on April 1, 1991, at age 14, she’s again part of the organization. Now a member of the Pikes Peak Composite Squadron, she especially enjoys speaking with young people who may not realize the sky’s the limit until they meet her.
As she speaks with them, she draws on her experiences as an Air Force Academy graduate and as a fighter pilot in sharing advice about pursuing their dreams. Kimbrell retired from the Air Force after 22 years and then rejoined the Colorado Wing, where she holds the CAP rank of lieutenant colonel.
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Meet Citadel Regimental Commander Cadet Col. Kathryn Christmas
In May, Cadet Col. Kathryn Christmas will address The Citadel’s Class of 2022 for the final time as its regimental commander — the second female commander in the school’s 179‐year history.
She will have earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and will commission in the U.S. Air Force with a pilot slot reserved. Christmas credits Civil Air Patrol as instrumental in helping her achieve her goals.
“Ever since I was in elementary school, I knew that I wanted to serve my country,” the former South Carolina Wing member said. “In what capacity, I did not know at the time, but after years of mentorship and hard work, I achieved my goal.”
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28 Wings Conduct 4-Region
Communications Exercise
More than half of Civil Air Patrol’s 52 wings conducted a U.S. Department of Defense-style communications exercise March 4-5 involving a post-hurricane scenario in the eastern half of the U.S.
Using only HF radios for communications for Operation Starlift, participants from 28 wings responded to a National Headquarters request for a flight over specific airports to see if they were operational in the wake of a simulated hurricane affecting the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and Southeast regions.
The goal of the exercise, according to Maj. Chuck Brudtkuhl, was to receive the traffic on HF radio, fly the mission, and report back to NHQ within six hours.
“Everything was carried out in a timely manner,” said Brudtkuhl, the communications operations division head for CAP. “{For the most part}, we completed our response in less than six hours.”
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Save the Date for Candy Bomber's Life Celebration |
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The Halvorsen Aviation Education Foundation, the Airlift/Tanker Association, and Civil Air Patrol’s Utah Wing have set The Candy Bomber’s Life Celebration for May 20-21 in the Provo, Utah, area.
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Gail Halvorsen was an Airlift/Tanker Association Hall of Fame Inductee and Civil Air Patrol alumnus who brought candy, comfort, and hope to deprived German children as “Uncle Wiggly Wings” during the 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift.
A special program featuring highlights of Halvorsen's life will be presented. Distinguished guests, speakers, entertainers, and the community will join together for a groundbreaking for the new Halvorsen Heritage Center, which will host an operating location for the Utah Wing. Streaming access and recorded highlights will be made available to remote participants.
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148th Cadet Earns 'Wings' Through CAP Program |
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Cadet 2nd Lt. Jacob Anderson of the Oklahoma Wing earned his FAA private pilot certificate March 9, becoming CAP's newest pilot.
Anderson (seen with his CAP instructor, Lt. Col. William J. Rowden) is the 148th Cadet Wings graduate. He belongs to the Gordon Cooper Composite Squadron in Shawnee.
“I’m super-proud of him. I’m a bit partial as he is one of my cadets,” said Lt. Col. Robin Rowden, wife of Anderson's instructor and Shawnee squadron commander. “He comes from a family of nine siblings. Without the support of the Cadet Wings program it would have been a huge challenge for him to acquire the funding to achieve this.”
Cadet Wings is funded through the U.S. Air Force in an effort to overcome a looming shortage of pilots. It is awarded to CAP cadets to offset the cost of flight training.
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Familiar CAP Teams Competing in CyberPatriot Finals |
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Three familiar CAP cadet teams will be competing for a CyberPatriot XIV title this weekend in Bethesda, Maryland.
Colorado Wing’s Air Academy Cadet Squadron, California Wing’s Fullerton Composite Squadron 56 and North Carolina Wing’s Union County Composite Squadron are representing CAP in the All Service Division of the finals.
All three teams also competed in the 2021 championship round.
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Smith JanEX Prize Honors CAP Spirit of Innovation |
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Igor Sikorsky, the Ukrainian-born American pioneer in helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, said it well: “The work of the individual remains the spark that moves mankind forward.”
In the 80-year history of Civil Air Patrol, Maj. Gen. Mark Smith, former national commander, provided one of those sparks that fueled the U.S. Air Force auxiliary through innovation.
The ideas fueled by what is now known as the JanEX Project will be “the building block for the next 80 years,” said Lt. Col David Dlugiewicz, vice commander of the Ohio Wing and a member of CAP's innovation team.
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To honor Smith’s legacy, Civil Air Patrol has commissioned the JanEX Prize to honor the most forward-thinking innovations through its “100 Ideas in 100 Days” initiative. CAP will bestow gold, silver, and bronze medals to the best ideas of the annual competition.
Award winners will be announced in August at the 2022 National Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
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AFA CyberCamps Scheduled for This Summer |
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The Air Force Association is offering CyberCamps through the summer for groups to introduce students to cyber security concepts and prepare them for their first CyberPatriot competition.
The AFA offers a standard camp as well as an advanced camp. The standard version is for students and cadets who have no previous cyber security or CyberPatriot experience, while the advanced camp is for students who have some experience and want to learn additional concepts.
CAP Cyber Programs will sponsor two weeks of AFA CyberCamps this summer. The standard and advanced camps are both set for July 11-15 and Aug. 1-5.
CAP units at any echelon can host a camp with no cost for the electronic versions of the material. Units will be responsible for paying printing costs for the cadet participants as well as securing a camp location, computers, internet access, and instructors.
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Let Your Taxes Work In Your Favor
Are you organizing your finances before the tax deadline? Consider two ways you can save on taxes while supporting Civil Air Patrol:
- IRA gifts help reduce your future tax burden and can meet your required minimum distribution.
- Donations of appreciated stocks help you avoid paying capital gains tax.
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This Week's Top Headlines |
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“Anna Cummins Named Air Force Military Child of the Year”
(Colorado Springs, Colo.)
“Civil Air Patrol Phone Team Helps Find Hunter in the Black Hills”
(Rapid City, S.D.)
“Tempe Educator's Dream of Blasting into Space at Long Last Came True”
(Tempe, Ariz.)
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Every unit of blood collected through the combined efforts of Civil Air Patrol volunteers saves three lives. During its 23-month response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Operation Pulse Lift has collected this number of units: |
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Operation Pulse Lift's new two-year COVID-19 anniversary (April 15) stretch goal is 12,000 units. |
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CAP Marketing & Strategic Communications
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