Berry Assumes Pa. Wing Command

Col. Kevin J. Berry is the new commander of the Pennsylvania Wing after taking over May 18 from Col. Gary L. Fleming during the 2019 Wing Conference and Banquet.

Berry joined Civil Air Patrol as a cadet in the New York Wing in 1968. “I first joined when the Thunderbirds flew the F-100 and Lyndon B. Johnson was president!” he recalled. “I took my first ride in a small plane in a CAP North American Navion piloted by a World War II 50-mission B-17 pilot.”

He returned to CAP as a senior member in 2006. Since then he has held a variety of command and staff positions at the wing level and below, including command of Pennsylvania Wing Group 2, Butler County Composite Squadron 712 and Golden Triangle Composite Squadron 603. He also served as the wing chief of staff and aircraft maintenance, operations officer for wing groups 1 and 6 and aerospace education officer for Group 1 and the Butler County squadron.

In addition to his private pilot certificate, which he has held for 40 years, Berry has attained a Master rating in aerospace education and command and is rated as a Mission Pilot. He is Senior-rated in Communications and Technician-rated in Cadet Programs, Health Services, Logistics and Retention and Recruiting. He is also rated as an Incident Commander Level 3 and a Communications Unit Leader and in Mission Radio.

While serving the wing as government liaison, in 2016 he helped shepherd House Bill 49 through the state Legislature and saw it signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf. The law extended death benefits awarded to first responders and emergency service personnel to CAP members.

Fleming, his predecessor, served four years as wing commander. During his tenure he cemented the relationship between CAP and the air and ground elements of the Pennsylvania National Guard. He will continue to support the wing as professional development and finance officer.

1st Lt. Rusana Kasriel
Public Affairs Officer
Pennsylvania Wing