Lt. Col. Kirk Dehn is the next commander of the Idaho Wing, succeeding Col. Robin Vest after serving as wing vice commander since December 2022.
Col. Jason Hess, Rocky Mountain Region commander, selected Dehn to command the wing. The change of command ceremony is set for Sept. 21 at the Coeur d’Alene Composite Squadron in Hayden. Vest’s command began Sept. 16, 2021.
Before his tenure as vice commander, Dehn held a variety of leadership and command roles including, including wing chief of staff and director of operations and Coeur d’Alene commander and deputy commander for cadets.
He joined Civil Air Patrol as a cadet at the Montana Wing’s Malmstrom Composite Squadron in in 1990, achieving the rank of cadet lieutenant colonel before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1996. He rejoined CAP as a member of the Nevada Wing before moving to Idaho and joining the Coeur d’ Alene squadron in 2011.
Dehn’s awards include the Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Combat Action Medal, Wing Commander’s Commendation Award (three devices), and the CAP Lifesaving Award (with star).
He was recognized as the Idaho Wing’s Senior Member of the Year in 2017 and 2019.
A 22-year veteran of the Air Force, he served as a structural craftsman in the 219th Rapid Engineering, Deployable, Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer, or RED HORSE, Squadron, with multiple deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations worldwide. He retired from military service in 2018.
Dehn bas a degree in aviation science and education and holds a Federal Aviation Administration multi-engine commercial pilot’s certificate. He is a charter pilot._____Capt. Stephanie PaytonDirector of Public AffairsIdaho Wing
