36112,
12
August
2022
|
22:16 PM
America/Chicago

Board of Governors Gains Two New Members

A rising U.S. Air Force general and one of the nation’s aerospace industry leaders are the newest members of Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors.

The 11-member Board of Governors is CAP’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.

Brig. Gen. Richard R. Dickens and Amy Kohler Hudnall were recently appointed to the CAP board , both effective immediately.

Dickens is the vice commander of First Air Force, U.S. Air Forces Northern, and U.S. Air Forces Space, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and succeeds Brig. Gen. William Betts, who previously served in that role. Betts moved to a new Air Force assignment.

Hudnall is the recently retired director of the Georgia Center of Innovation – Aerospace. She replaces Stacy Bechdolt, who has served on the CAP board the past six years.

“I thank Gen. Betts and Ms. Bechdolt for their leadership and look forward to the opportunity of working with Gen. Dickens and Ms. Hudnall,” said Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, Civil Air Patrol’s national commander and CEO. “Their vast and diverse experiences, in the Air Force as well as the public sector, will contribute greatly to CAP’s growth and success in the years ahead.”

Brig. Gen. Richard R. Dickens

In his new role with First Air Force, Dickens is the principal adviser to the Air Forces Northern and Air Forces Space commander and is the deputy combined forces air component commander for Northern Command.

1afHe supports the deployment, sustainment, and redeployment of U.S. Air Forces  in support of U.S.  Northern and U.S. Space commands, Defense Support to Civil Authorities, theater security cooperation missions across North America, Civil Air Patrol (when executing Air Force missions), inland search and rescue coordination, emergency preparedness, and worldwide contingency support for human spaceflight.

“We are grateful for the excellent support we receive from CAP,” Dickens said. “Recently, we’ve seen them surge to support the ongoing flood relief efforts in Kentucky, not to mention their multiple other missions across the rest of the country.”

Dickens received a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994. He entered the Air Force through commission from Officer Training School in 1997 and is a graduate of both Joint Undergraduate Navigator Training in 1998 and Joint Undergraduate Pilot Training in 2002.

He also is a graduate of Air Command and Staff College, the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, and the National War College. He holds a master’s degree in aeronautics,

Dickens is a command pilot and previous instructor pilot with more than 2,650 hours and 688 combat hours in the F-15E. He has participated in operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Freedom’s Sentinel.

Before his assignment to First Air Force, he served as commander of the 505th Command and Control Wing at Hurlburt Field in Florida.

Amy Kohler Hudnall

As director of the Georgia Center of Innovation – Aerospace in Atlanta, Hudnall used her more than 20 years of broad aerospace experience managing a wide-ranging program to accelerate the growth of Georgia’s $57 billion aerospace industry. In this leadership role, she worked with diverse clients — from aerospace entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies — to address business and technical challenges in order to create new products and business models.

GAcenterHudnall led collaborative efforts with many business and university research partners to strengthen Georgia’s aerospace ecosystem. Major focus areas included aerospace workforce, cybersecurity, and unmanned aerial systems.

“I am honored to have this opportunity to support the important missions of Civil Air Patrol,” she said.

Her previous experience includes work at the National Aerospace Development Center in Anniston, Alabama; supporting aerospace workforce development projects in the Southeast; and serving as a U.S. Air Force officer for nine years in an Air Force laboratory and in both operational and training units. As an International Training Management Officer, she directed the initial administration of Peace Carvin, an F-16 training program for the Republic of Singapore — a training partnership with the Air Force that continues today.

Hudnall holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of New Hampshire and received her Air Force commission through ROTC.

She serves on the board of directors for the Atlanta Aero Club, SAE International-Atlanta, and the Aerospace States Association as well as the Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering Advisory Council.