BoG Chairman Makes First Encampment Visit, Praises S.C. Wing Event's Cadets

Maj. Jeff Parcell
Commander
Spartanburg Composite Squadron
South Carolina Wing

Participants in the South Carolina Wing’s summer encampment welcomed a special guest Wednesday – retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Judith Fedder, chairman of Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors.

Fedder remarked during her visit that she had never been to a wing encampment before, adding that she enjoyed visiting with the cadets in attendance. The encampment is being held at McCrady National Guard Training Center in Eastover.

She addressed the entire encampment after touring the facilities and watching the day’s cadet training activities. She described her initial introduction to Air Force ROTC while as a student at Michigan State and discussed the importance of the camaraderie and sense of belonging she felt during her 35-year Air Force career.

Fedder then solicited cadets to share their reasons for joining CAP and attending this year’s encampment.

“I clearly saw a structured and well-disciplined group of cadets,” she said. “They are being well taken care of, which of course is important here in South Carolina, in this heat.

“The cadre that is overseeing what the cadets are doing seems to be making sure that the training is running very well at this encampment. I am excited to hear the stories from all of the cadets of what brought them to this encampment and what brought them to Civil Air Patrol.”

Afterward, Fedder spent extra time speaking with the female cadets who make up 25 percent of the staff for the encampment. “There is nothing holding these cadets back from being as successful as they want to be, not just in Civil Air Patrol, but in the military if that’s where they choose to go, or in whatever else they want to do outside of aviation or the military,” she said.

“The only thing that would hold them back is themselves. They can do anything they want and be successful at it. Civil Air Patrol is giving them a great foundation to be that success.”

Fedder retired from the Air Force after serving as deputy chief of staff for logistics, installations and mission support at the Pentagon. She was responsible to the chief of staff for leadership, management and integration of Air Force logistics readiness, aircraft and missile maintenance, civil engineering and security forces, as well as setting policy and preparing budget estimates that reflected enhancements to productivity, combat readiness and quality of life for Air Force members.

She joined the CAP Board of Governors in 2015 shortly after retiring from the Air Force. As CAP’s top governing body, the 11-member board 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 CAP’s Senior Advisory Group.