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Kansas Wing’s 50-Year Blood Transport Mission: 'Absolute Godsend' for Red Cross
Recognition with an American Red Cross Lifetime Hero Award is a great honor. But recipients will tell you that what the award represents is what’s important.
That’s certainly the case with Capt. Brad Hawthorne, commander of the Kansas Wing’s Wichita-based Air Capital Composite Squadron, one of the 10 that make up the Kansas Wing. The wing received the Red Cross award Dec. 14, 2023, in Wichita.
For the past 50 years, Kansas Wing volunteers have transported blood products for the Red Cross across the state and into neighboring states.
Above and beyond the recognition, for participants "It’s knowing that the Kansas Wing is making a difference in the lives of its community,” Hawthorne said. “We do these missions because they are important to the American Red Cross and the lives we impact in the process.”
Most of the transports are ground deliveries, but sometimes Kansas Wing pilots fly the products to where they’re needed. Deliveries are made throughout Kansas, especially in the state’s sparsely populated western regions, and to neighboring states.
The Kansas Wing’s service hasn’t gone unnoticed by other Civil Air Patrol wings. Brig. Gen. Regena Aye, CAP national vice commander, joined the former Capitol City Composite Squadron in Topeka in 1989 at age 17.
Aye first began hearing about the blood transport missions as a cadet. Now she touts them in presentations and in responses to inquiries from other wings.
“I hope promoting the mission will inspire others to engage in this effort,” she said. “It does not require a lot of training to do this mission, so it is a great opportunity to serve for new members and long-term members alike.”
Aye was one of four previous Kansas Wing commanders who joined the current commander, Col. Mark Lahan, at the Tribute to Heroes breakfast in December.
She’s honored to be a part of such a historic mission. “These missions save lives and help our communities,” Aye said. “They allow us to enact our mission and vision statement.”
As a cadet, she was inspired by the story of Col. Patricia A. Lane, a Kansas Wing commander who delivered an organ desperately needed by a young patient. Lane braved challenging wintertime weather to make the delivery. She received the Civil Air Patrol Medal of Valor for the mission.
“The story was legendary,” Aye said.
Today’s Kansas Wing volunteers are continuing the legacy created by Lane and others. The wing carried out 121 transport missions totaling 170 sorties —168 by ground, two by air — for the American Red Cross in 2023.
One of the most deeply invested in the mission is the Air Capital squadron’s Hawthorne, who has received 18 Certificates of Recognition for Lifesaving for his role. His squadron was recognized with Civil Air Patrol’s 2023 national Col. Dion DeCamp Ground Team of the Year Award and with the 2022 North Central Region award of the same name.
Hawthorne participated in his first Red Cross mission in October 2014, just three months after he joined CAP. Some 9½ year later, he has been involved in two aerial and approximately 500 ground missions.
For aerial mission missions two crewmembers are on board — a pilot and an observer. When a mission is assigned, the pilot goes directly to the airport to get the aircraft, while the observer heads to the regional blood center to pick up the blood product.
“These missions are time-critical, often with patients needing the blood as soon as possible,” Hawthorne said.
Lahan has been Kansas Wing commander since May 2022. He participates in the blood transport missions by driving the blood, plasma, and lab samples to wherever they’re needed. He also serves as an incident commander and wing alert officer, managing various missions.
The Kansas Wing received a CAP Unit Citation Award in 2021 covering its 838 Red Cross blood transport missions from Jan. 1, 2015-Dec. 31, 2021.
Most of the wing’s transport missions are tied directly to saving a life, while others are conducted to resupply a hospital with blood products.
“On many occasions the transport team has been met at the emergency room doors by the ER staff who receives the delivery and then administers it directly to the patient,” according to the award nomination citation.
Even with the 2021 award, Lahan said the Lifetime Heroes honor was unexpected. “I was very surprised when I was notified that we were selected, completely caught me off-guard,” he said. “I think most other members were as well.”
No one affiliated with the Red Cross in Kansas was surprised, though. They’re fully aware of the mission’s value.
In a “2023 American Red Cross Tribute to Heroes” video accompanying the award presentation, Gary Haworth, affiliated with the Red Cross in Wichita, commented on how vital the wing’s assistance is.
“They are a godsend for us,” Haworth said on the video. “Absolute godsend."
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Loretta Fulton
Contributing writer
Civil Air Patrol is observing National Volunteer Week, April 21-27, by saluting its 67,500 members who provide premier public service around the clock and the calendar, including nights, weekends, and holidays, wherever the need. Nowhere is this dedication to service more evident than in the Kansas Wing.
This look at the wing's 50-year blood transport mission is 21st in a regular series of articles showcasing how CAP and its members make an impact in their communities and throughout the nation.