Commanders Head to Natl. HQ for Leadership Training
Region Commander, Vice Commander, 16 Wing Commanders Participating
Eighteen commanders from across Civil Air Patrol will hone their leadership skills next week in the Wing Commanders College at CAP National Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
Participants in the intense, graduate-level course, which begins Sunday and runs through Thursday, include a region commander, a region vice commander and 16 wing commanders. They were selected for the course by their region commander and had to be approved by Maj. Gen. Mark Smith, CAP’s national commander.
The program focuses on three main blocks of study: leading the organization, wing commander responsibilities and focus lessons. The curriculum features seminars, lectures and hands-on exercises in 20 sessions on such topics as leadership, accountability, expectations of commanders, legislative affairs, media relations and branding, safety, ethics, legal matters, finances and resources.
By the course’s end, participants will have a better understanding of how to select and develop subordinate unit commanders as well as how to manage CAP’s emergency services, aerospace education, cadet, information technology, public affairs, membership development and logistics programs.
For the third straight year, Col. Jon Stokes, commander of CAP’s Pacific Region, is course director.
Course highlights will include Smith’s presentation Tuesday on “Ethics and the Commander” and Col. Brad Lynn’s presentation Wednesday on “Servant Leadership.” Lynn, former Southeast Region vice commander and Alabama Wing commander, is a member of CAP’s Board of Governors.
Also scheduled are presentations by Air Force Col. Michael Tyynismaa, CAP-USAF commander; John Salvador, CAP chief operating officer; and numerous directors, assistant directors and subject-matter experts at National Headquarters.
The 2017 participants:
Pacific Region
- Col. Carl Morrison, vice commander
Southwest Region
- Col. Joe R. Smith, commander
Alaska Wing
- Col. Carl Brown, commander
Connecticut Wing
- Col. James Ridley, commander
Kentucky Wing
- Col. Darrel Williamson, commander
Massachusetts Wing
- Col. John Flaherty, commander
Mississippi Wing
- Col. Hank Rogers, commander
Montana Wing
- Col. Mitch Edwards, commander
National Capital Wing
- Col. JD Ellis, commander
New Jersey Wing
- Col. Joe H. Abegg Sr., commander
New York Wing
- Col. Thomas Carello, commander
Ohio Wing
- Col. David Jennison, commander
Oklahoma Wing
- Col. David Roberts Jr., commander
South Carolina Wing
- Col. Lee Safley, commander
Tennessee Wing
- Col. Dent Young, commander
Utah Wing
- Col. Michael Fernandez, commander
Virginia Wing
- Col. Dean Gould, commander
Wyoming Wing
- Col. Jeffrey Johnson, commander