Fifteen aspiring Civil Air Patrol commanders from across the nation will hone their leadership skills next week at the Wing Commanders College at CAP National Headquarters in central Alabama.
Participants in the intense, graduate-level course, which begins Sunday and runs through Thursday at Maxwell Air Force Base, include 15 wing commanders representing seven of eight CAP regions. They were selected for the course by their region commanders and approved by Maj. Gen. Mark Smith, CAP’s national commander/CEO.Wing Commanders College 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 17 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.
Col. Rose Hunt, who commanded CAP’s Wisconsin Wing from 2014-2018, will serve as this year’s director.
Course highlights will include Smith’s presentation Monday on “Ethics and the Commander” and Brig. Gen. Ed Phelka’s presentation Thursday on “Servant Leadership.” Phelka is CAP’s national vice commander.
Also scheduled are presentations by CAP-USAF’s commander, Air Force Col. Mark Wootan; John Salvador, CAP’s chief operating officer; and numerous directors, assistant directors and subject-matter experts at CAP National Headquarters.
The 2019 participants:
Alabama WingCol. James Harris
Alaska WingCol. Kevin McClure
Arkansas WingCol. Robert Allison III
California WingCol. Ross Veta
Colorado WingCol. John Rhoades
Georgia WingCol. Jeffrey L. Garrett
Maine WingCol. Blain Cote
Missouri WingCol. Thomas Martin
Nebraska WingCol. Robert Whelan Jr.
Nevada WingCol. Deb Pierce
New Mexico WingCol. Annette Peters
Pennsylvania WingCol. Kevin Berry
Texas WingCol. William Schroder
Vermont WingCol. Ann Brechbuhl
West Virginia WingCol. Connie Moody
