Civil Air Patrol Responds to Spring Flooding

Several Civil Air Patrol wings have ramped up flood-related missions in the wake of winter melt and heavy rain this spring.


Flooding in the Midwest along the Mississippi River has prompted photo flights from Iowa and North Dakota aircrews, and cadets in Utah found an interesting way (above) to help out on the ground.

Through Massachusetts Wing's Williams, Cadets Learn Leadership Can Be Messy

A gaggle of waterlogged Civil Air Patrol cadets huddled on the hallowed ground of Gettysburg National Military Park. Hours before, rain had fallen in buckets, just as it had on the second day of the pivotal July 1863 Civil War battle.


There — fittingly in soggy muck where Union and Confederate blood once soaked the soil — Lt. Col. Thomas Williams (pictured, at right) of the Massachusetts Wing taught the cadets a hard lesson:


Sometimes leadership, like life, is messy.


“Overall … what I see in the world is the world is not linear. The world is complex, full of wicked problems,” Williams said. “Most of what we teach in schools and in life and in Civil Air Patrol is linear thinking — A plus B is going to equal C. And I don’t think that’s correct.


“It’s frustrating to see people take on wicked problems. And even if they understand complexity, they still try to distill that wicked problem into something simplistic, neat and tidy. And it doesn’t work,” Williams said.


This is one of the many leadership lessons the retired Army reservist colonel offers to CAP cadets. His five commonalities of effective leadership are interesting, too.

More About Lt. Col. Williams and His CAP Impact

CAP Introduces JROTC, ROTC Cadets to Flight

For years now, Civil Air Patrol has provided orientation flights to Junior ROTC and ROTC cadets nationwide, and 2023 has been no exception.


In fact, Junior ROTC flights are on the rise with recent rides provided by CAP's Alaska, Arizona, Florida (above), Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina wings. In all, pilots from 30 CAP wings have flown 3,119 Junior ROTC cadets this fiscal year.


ROTC flights, meanwhile, are down from the previous year. Regardless, pilots in 25 CAP wings have provided rides to 534 ROTC cadets.

Civil Air Patrol Celebrates Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month on Social Media Platforms

In recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Civil Air Patrol spotlights Maj. Kenny Loui.


Loui grew up in a diverse family environment featuring Thai, Chinese, and American cultures. He treasures his Asian and Asian American heritage and the ability to embrace shared experiences. During his 13 years in CAP, he has served in numerous capacities.


Loui joined CAP with San Francisco Cadet Squadron 86, where he first served as a cadet programs officer. He has been a training officer for several encampments, visited Hong Kong through the International Air Cadet Exchange, and worked with the Young Falcons of Korea (South Korea’s air cadet program).


He is CAP’s assistant national school program coordinator, where he supports our members involved in the Cadet-at-School Program (CAP’s school-sponsored squadrons).


Use the hashtags #CivilAirPatrol, #aapiheritagemonth, and #AAPI to follow CAP's observance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Command Chiefs' Meeting Evokes Positive Comments

Chief Master Sgt. Todd Parsons, CAP's national command chief, met with Air Force Chief Master Sgt. JoAnne Bass in her office at the Pentagon in April.


Comments from both the CAP and Air Force command chiefs following their first meeting were positive. It was an absolute honor to meet with Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Bass today, Parsons said. Her passion for all members of the Total Force Team was on full display.


Parsons said Bass is a phenomenal leader who is laser-focused on the needs of her people, including the the Air Force auxiliary, Civil Air Patrol. I look forward to more opportunities to partner with her and showcase the CAP NCO Corps.


Bass’ comments on the visit, posted on Facebook, were equally positive:

Idaho Team Completes Successful Military

Radio Competition


The Idaho Wing’s Coeur d’Alene Composite Squadron mounted a solid performance in the recent QRPX HF military radio competition, placing in the top 15% 36th of the 250 military and auxiliary stations participating.


Using call sign Q240, the 22-member team contacted 44 stations across the U.S. and Canada. The competing stations were allowed to use only their radio’s lowest power settings and only field expedient antennas.


Participating members gained extensive experience throughout the activity as well as knowledge about how HF systems work. They proved able to cope effectively in complicated and stressful environments.

More About the Military Radio Competition

Kentucky Wing's Bryant is New Vol U Provost

The new provost of Volunteer University is Lt. Col. Mike Bryant of the Kentucky Wing, who has served as interim provost since Oct. 1.


Selected by Col. Bryan Cooper, chief of CAP's Education and Training program, and his selection team, Bryant previously served as the program's chair for Level II in-person training and as a Vol U dean with oversight over the Level I-V online chairs and the virtual in-residence coordinators.


I am excited to continue working with Vol U to move members through their professional development,Bryant said.

More About Vol U and Lt. Col. Bryant

NHQ News

Olienyk, Vogt Named to Leadership Team

Two vacant leadership positions at National Headquarters have been filled by Chief Operating Officer John Desmarais.


Ron Olienyk is CAP's new director of operations, and Marie Vogt is the director of personnel and member actions. Both Olienyk and Vogt are familiar faces, each having served as interim directors before their recent promotions.


Olienyk has been with CAP since 2009. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2006 after 22 years as a KC-135 navigator and his final assignment as an Air Command and Staff College instructor. His first job with CAP was as the eLearning manager. in that role, he managed the development and implementation of CAP’s first Learning Management System.


For the last six years, Olienyk has been serving as deputy director of operations. In addition to his work with the eLearning program, Ron has worked special projects like the CAP annual conferences and CAP Congressional Gold Medal ceremony as well as supporting numerous cross functional teams supporting operations programs,Desmarias said. He also helped establish the Air Force Rated Preparatory Program.


Vogt has been with CAP since 2005. She was initially hired in Public Affairs but has worked in numerous roles, including executive assistant to the executive director (now chief operation officer), Development and Membership. “Marie has worked numerous special projects and additional duties in the corporation, which gave her a well-rounded education in all mission and support areas,” Desmarais said.


Vogt was most recently the membership services manager responsible for processing new member applications, renewals, and rejoins. She implemented and managed CAP’s five-year background rescreening program for active adult members and was responsible for launching electronic filing systems for records.

More About CAP's Operations Support
More About Membership & Personnel Actions

CAP Launches 2023 JanEX Prize Competition

This year, the JanEX Innovation Team invites Civil Air Patrol's innovative members to spend the next 30 days thinking about innovation in a “NUEW” way. Ideas are encouraged to be:

  • New: Is it something that's never been done before?
  • Useful: Will it bring real value to CAP and address a real problem or opportunity?
  • Ethical: Does it align with our core values?
  • Wow: Is it awesome?


Ideas for the Maj. Gen. Mark Smith JanEX Prize competition can be submitted using this 30 Days of NUEW submission form and will be accepted from May 2-May 31. To provide support to CAP members, the JanEX team will be available for online coaching sessions May 10 and May 24 with members of CAP Project Mercury alumni. These workshops will be online webinars to help members refine their submissions. Details will be forthcoming.


We are very excited to partner with member inventors for this fun event and look forward to receiving innovative submissions,said Cadet Col. Tom Huynh, a member of the JanEX team.


For more information, go to these Frequently Asked Questions or contact the team at this link.

Bronze Sponsors Added for National Conference

AC Supply and Skydio are two of the bronze sponsors for the 2023 National Conference, scheduled for Aug. 17-19 at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue, Washington.


Civil Air Patrol members attending the conference will hear from keynote speakers, meet with friends old and new, and attend learning sessions on numerous CAP programs and activities.

 

Registration for the conference is open, accessible through the National Conference webpage. Hotel reservations (with a CAP discount) are also available.


Sponsored by:

Aircraft Artwork Series Carries On Into Spring

The popularity of Maj. Ronald C. Finger's “Timeline Flight” paintings leading up to CAP's 80th anniversary has inspired a second series of vintage aircraft artwork — the Silvered Wings Series.


Debuting in August 2022 and continuing into the spring of 2023, this series once again features the work of Finger, a national staff member on CAP's Marketing & Strategic Communications team.


Check out the latest vintage CAP aircraft in the Silvered Wings Series, as posted on CAP.news:

Latest Series Installment: Meyers OTW-125 'Out-to-Win'

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InstaPhoto of the Week #Civil Air Patrol

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