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Board of Governors Gains Retired Air Force Generals
When Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors convenes April 23 in New York, two new board members will be attending — retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Kirk S. Pierce and retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Christopher S. Walker.
The 11-member Board of Governors is Civil Air Patrol’s top governing body. It consists of four Air Force appointees, three members appointed jointly by the secretary of the Air Force and CAP's national commander, and four members-at-large selected by the CAP Senior Advisory Group.
Both Pierce and Walker are recent Air Force appointees to the board, and the April 23-26 gathering at the Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens will be their first in-person board meetings.
Pierce retired from the Air Force as commander, Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, 1st Air Force (Air Forces Northern and Air Forces Space), following a distinguished 35-year career. He succeeds retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Kevin McLaughlin, a former board chair, whose term ended in December.
Walker retired as assistant adjutant general and commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard. He succeeds retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Cedric George, whose board term ended in November.
“I am excited to welcome Lt. Gen. Pierce and Brig. Gen. Walker to the Board of Governors,” said Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, CAP’s national commander and CEO. “Their vast and diverse Air Force experiences will contribute greatly to CAP’s growth and success in the years ahead.”
This week’s meeting will be hosted by board member Sharon DeVivo, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology president and CEO. The agenda includes selection of Phelka’s successor. His three-year term as national commander/CEO ends in August.
Pierce is no stranger to members of Civil Air Patrol, thanks to his command of 1st Air Force. As part of his duties as the combined/joint forces air component commander responsible for planning and conducting air defense and air sovereignty operations in the continental U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, he ensured CAP was organized, trained, and equipped to fulfill Air Force-assigned missions.
He is also the first 1st Air Force commander to fly with CAP.
Pierce retired in 2023 with more than 5,000 flight hours in a variety of Air Force aircraft, along with Civil Air Patrol aircraft at Tyndall Air Base, Florida, and Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Tyndall is home to 1st Air Force and Maxwell to CAP National Headquarters.
He began flying with Civil Air Patrol nearly two years before his retirement, accumulating about 140 hours of flight time.
“It gives me a great opportunity to get out and fly,” Pierce said in a March 2023 interview with CAP.news. “It’s a big part of our command, and I’m really excited about doing it.”
Qualifying to pilot CAP aircraft gave Pierce a unique distinction among 1st Air Force commanders. “We have three aircraft out in front of our headquarters — a CAP 182, an F-15, and an F-16 — and as far as I can tell I’m the only one that has had a mission check in all three of those aircraft,” he said.
He has commanded at the squadron, group, and wing levels and served and commanded in various operational assignments in support of operations Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Enduring Freedom, and Allies Welcome.
Pierce’s awards and decorations for his Air Force service include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with two bronze oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart for combat service during the Iraq War, as well as the U.S. Air Force Command Pilot Badge, the Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, and the Headquarters Air Force Badge.
A 1988 graduate of the Air Force Academy, Walker served as a C-130 navigator in weather reconnaissance and tactical airlift squadrons throughout the world. . He served in various operations and contingencies, such as Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Joint Guard/Joint Forge, and Volant Oak/Coronet Oak.
He commanded at the squadron and group levels and retired as a master navigator with more than 5,200 hours in WC-130s and C-130E/H/H3s, including more than 400 combat and combat support hours.
In 1997 he left active duty to join the Air National Guard and serve as a C-130 H3 evaluator navigator. Before Walker retired in 2023 as assistant adjutant general and commander, he provided command and control over all Air National Guard forces assigned to West Virginia and was the principal adviser to the adjutant general on all matters related to the Air National Guard. The West Virginia Air National Guard has more than 2,100 members and consists of two flying units — the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston and the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg.
While with the Air National Guard, Walker also served with the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Manpower, and Reserve Affairs. “During my dual-hat tenure serving with the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Manpower, and Reserve Affairs, I fell in love with the Civil Air Patrol mission, and mentoring the cadets of CAP across the nation became my passion,” he said.
Walker’s awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters.