Southeast Region Vice Commander, Former Board Chairman, Receives FAA Pilot Award

Col. J. Bradford Lynn, Southeast Region vice commander and former chairman of Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors and Alabama Wing commander, has been recognized with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.

Lynn (above, center) received the award in a ceremony Oct. 28 at Lanett Municipal Airport.

The award is the FAA’s most prestigious honor for a pilot, recognizing “individuals who have exhibited exemplary aviation expertise, distinguished professionalism, and steadfast commitment for at least 50 years of piloting experience and aircraft operations” while maintaining an exemplary flying safety record.

New Hampshire Leaders Also Honored by FAA

Two longtime leaders of the New Hampshire Wing — one a former wing commander, the other the wing's emergency services and search and rescue officer — have also been recognized with the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award.

Like Lynn, Col. William C. Moran and Lt. Col. Henry J. Dahlquist received the FAA honors in an Oct. 28 ceremony.

This recent Air Force Network video shows Civil Air Patrol cadets from the Aviano Air Base flying gliders as part of a High Adventure activity in Innsbruck, Austria. The Aviano Flight in Italy is part of the Mildenhall Cadet Squadron in the United Kingdom. Cadets from the Stuttgart Cadet Squadron in Germany and other CAP units in Europe also participated in the activity.

New Civil Air Patrol Commanders Hone Leadership Skills at National Headquarters

Seventeen of Civil Air Patrol’s newest commanders are at CAP National Headquarters this week, honing their leadership skills in the 2023 Region and Wing Commanders College.

“This college is designed to provide new region and wing commanders the tools and resources needed for a successful command,” said Col. Rose Hunt, Great Lakes Region commander, who is overseeing the leadership training with Col. Joe Winter, deputy director.

Participants in the graduate-level course, set for Nov. 5-10 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, were selected by their region commanders and approved by Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, national commander/CEO.

High-Altitude Balloon Challenge

Wisconsin Cadets Capture 2023 Kittinger Cup

This five-cadet team from the Wisconsin Wing’s Stevens Point Composite Squadron (pictured, above) finished first  in the third annual Civil Air Patrol’s High-Altitude Balloon Challenge, receiving the 2023 Kittinger Cup and an accompanying $5,000 prize for an experiment exploring cold welding in low Earth orbit.

The Stevens Point team — (from left) Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Barrett Dubos, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Lily Schaefer, and Cadet Senior Airmen Greyson Krepsky, Micah Ritter, and Alex Albright — led the 115 teams totaling about 950 cadets who participated.

As part of the competition, cadets worked for four months to create almost 1,000 science experiments launched on two weather balloons, which reached burst altitudes of 100,325 and 100,318 feet, respectively.

Aerospace Education Adds 4 New STEM Kits

Nov. 8 is National STEM Day, recognizing the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, and their impact. Civil Air Patrol’s Aerospace Education program recently expanded its STEM Kit program to benefit CAP’s nearly 30,000 cadets and to support its more than 3,500 K-12 educators and their students as well.

“Our STEM Kit program is growing,” said Sue Mercer, who manages the STEM Kit program.

The AE team recently launched four new STEM kits that focus on circuitry, security systems, generators, and more; early computer science principles; structure design and building; and entry-level, hands-on coding principles without computers or the internet.

Send questions about the new kits or the program to this link.

Kentucky Team Takes Great Lakes Region Title

The Kentucky Wing finished first in the Great Lakes Region’s fourth annual Gray Flag competition Oct.13-14, besting four other wings in responding to scenarios involving aircrews, communications, ground teams, and small Unmanned Aerial Systems.

In finishing first overall, the Kentucky Wing captured the air and ground operations categories. The Ohio Wing topped the field in communications, and the Indiana Wing led the way in sUAS. The Illinois and Wisconsin wings participated as well.

The Air Force Historical Foundation is hosting Chief Master Sgt. Wayne Fisk, a retired Air Force pararescueman involved in Operation Ivory Coast, the raid on the Son Tay prisoner of war camp, and later the rescue of the crew of the SS Mayaguez in 1970 and 1975, respectively.

Fisk, awarded two Silver Stars for his actions, was an Alaska Wing cadet before his Air Force career. He will be the featured speaker for the Nov. 9 session of the historical foundation's “War Stories” series, which airs at 7 p.m. ET via Zoom.

NHQ News

The Choice is Clear: Give a Smarter Gift Today

Now more than ever, donors are giving smarter, tax-savvy gifts that not only support our work to serve our community and nation, but also their own financial goals.

Gifts from non-cash assets like IRAs and stock portfolios can make a powerful impact on Civil Air Patrol today. Thanks to our partnership with FreeWill, you can give to CAP and help us maintain accurate records of the gifts you make, reducing overhead and making sure your generosity goes further.

Digital Magazine Now Available Online

The Fall issue of Civil Air Patrol Volunteer is ready to be enjoyed. Print copies of the magazine were delivered to adult members over the past week, and an easy-to-read digital edition is available for cadets and other members not receiving the print edition.

The cover story on the Michigan Wing's Operation Wolverine was written by cadets, and just in time to celebrate Native American Heritage Month in November, the Legacy Profile story features Maj. Victor “Vic” Apodaca, the first American Indian to graduate from the Air Force Academy. Apodaca was also the first name highlighted on the cover art mock-up of the of the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial wall in the Spring issue of the Volunteer.

Other featured articles in the fall Volunteer include:

• “Walking with Giants,” the story of Maj. Cleveland Brown Sr., a Texas Wing squadron leader who once stood as a protector of presidents and their families as a U.S. Secret Service special agent.
• “Great Expectations,” the story of Cadet Airman Clovis Hung (now a cadet airman first class), who graduated from California's Fullerton College with five associate degrees at age 12.
• “A Life of Service,” the story of Lt. Col. Ruth Grogan, a longtime mentor who, upon her passing in 2023, donated in excess of $600,000 to CAP to help with cadet education and training.

CAP's Information Technology Team Launches Registration Zone; D2R Tool Coming Soon

Thanks to Civil Air Patrol's Information Technology team, there's now a way to simplify your event management. CAP’s new Registration Zone app is now available, transforming the way members will be able to manage events.

The Registration Zone will help say goodbye to the hassle of multiple solutions, as it will bring all event essentials into a unified platform. Members can now access RZ in eServices and learn more at this link.

Coming soon is the IT team's Dare to Reimagine member application development sandbox. D2R is a new tool featured here that will help revolutionize how members contribute to advancing CAP efforts through cutting-edge IT solutions.

Kathy Conyers, CAP's chief information officer, recently thanked Col. Joe Sirois, Lt. Cols. Paul Combellick and David Dlugiewicz, and Maj. Todd Gamber. The four volunteers from IT's innovation team meet daily and have contributed to the development of the tool.

Check Out This Year's Holiday Greeting Card

Each year Civil Air Patrol's national artist, Maj. Ron Finger, paints a beautiful CAP holiday scene that we use as a greeting card. While previous cards have been aviation-centric, this year’s edition offers a more human touch featuring a mission pilot from the North Pole Composite Squadron.

Cards will be available from Vanguard again this year, and if you’re searching for a unique holiday gift item, rumor has it this may be the first in a series of collectible holiday ornaments from Vanguard. Stay tuned.

Silvered Wings Series Resumes with L-17 Navion

Maj. Ron Finger's second series of vintage aircraft artwork — the Silvered Wings Series — resumes this week.

Debuting in August 2022 and continuing into 2023, this series features the work and writing of Finger, a volunteer staff member on the Marketing and Communications team who serves as CAP's national artist.

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

Volunteer Positions Open in Cadet Programs, Logistics

Cadet Programs is now accepting applications for two new volunteer staff positions — Digital Course Designer, Video Content Creator, and Podcast Creator. The deadline for applying for these Cadet Programs positions is 5 p.m. CT Nov. 12.

The logistics team, meanwhile, has two volunteer staff positions open. The deadline for applying for National Aircraft Maintenance Officer and National Supply Manager is 5 p.m. CT Nov. 20.

Details and the desired requirements for these five new positions as well as others are available here.

This Week's Top Headlines

“Young Eagles, Civil Air Patrol: Flight Groups Are Eager to Take Alamogordo to the Skies”

-Yahoo.com

“'Civil Air Patrol Returns to Driggs (Idaho)”

-TetonValleyNews.net

“Civil Air Patrol to Celebrate 75 Years of Search and Rescue Efforts at Camarillo Airport”

-VCStar.com

For more information, go to Operation Pulse Lift's new webpage on GoCivilAirPatrol.com. There you will find the latest Blood Donation Center schedules, instructions on how to set up a BDC, and other mission information.