Thirteen new Civil Air Patrol wing commanders will hone their leadership skills next week in the 2018 Wing Commanders College at CAP National Headquarters in Alabama.
Participants in the intense, graduate-level course begins Sunday and runs through Thursday. They are selected for the course by their region commanders and must 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 college’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.
Col. Rose Hunt, former Wisconsin Wing commander, is the course director.
Course highlights will include Smith’s presentation on “Ethics and the Commander” and Brig. Gen. Ed Phelka’s “Servant Leadership” presentation. Phelka is CAP’s national vice commander.
Also scheduled are presentations by CAP-USAF’s commander, Air Force Col. Michael Tyynismaa; John Salvador, Civil Air Patrol’s chief operating officer; and numerous directors, assistant directors and subject-matter experts at CAP National Headquarters.
Commanders participating in the 2018 college:
Delaware Wing – Col. Robert Mooney
Florida Wing – Col. Luis Garcia
Georgia Wing – Col. Andrea Van Buren
Hawaii Wing – Col. Chantal Lonergan
Illinois Wing –Col. Robert Dempsey
Iowa Wing –Col. Joseph Hackett
Louisiana Wing – Col. Pat Yglesias
Michigan Wing – Col. Rajesh Kothari
Puerto Rico Wing – Col. Edgardo Torres
Rhode Island Wing – Col. William Stranahan
Washington Wing – Col. Shelly Norman
West Virginia Wing – Col. James Dodrill
Wisconsin Wing – Col. Denese Helgeland
