Kearns will succeed Lt. Col. Lincoln Carlisle, who has led the wing as interim commander since October upon the selection of Col. Dennis Bissell as commander of the Mid-Atlantic Region. The assumption of command ceremony for Kearns is planned in January at Wing Headquarters in Burlington, North Carolina.
“I congratulate Col. Lincoln Carlisle on his leadership as interim wing commander and warmly welcome Lt. Col. Brendan Kearns, in whom I have complete confidence to lead the North Carolina Wing and its dedicated members to continuous improvement, dedication, and overcoming challenges in the pursuit of new heights of excellence,”
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Kearn’s CAP career spans 16 years with North Carolina Wing, beginning in 2010 as an adult member in the Apex Cadet Squadron.
Kearns’ career has exemplified a continuous and progressive increase in responsibilities and command with leadership roles at all levels in the North Carolina Wing, Mid-Atlantic Region, and at the national level. His experience includes squadron command of the Apex Cadet Squadron, Group 2 commander, and as deputy wing commander for the past three wing commanders.
Other experience includes liaison officer to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Response Coordination Center and deputy liaison officer to FEMA Region 4, and director of CAP’s Mid-Atlantic Search and Rescue College and deputy director for the Aeronautics and Aerospace Business Academy – a national cadet special activity.
Kearns has also served as wing encampment commander five times and participated in every encampment since 2012. Other staff positions included wing liaison officer to North Carolina Emergency Management as well as assistant wing director roles in safety, operations and personnel, and wing director of finance. He also served as the program director for the Ranger Program in North Carolina from 2017-2025, just recently stepping down.
Kearns is also highly involved with the strategic partners of North Carolina Wing and was instrumental in the development of the strategic alliance with Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.
Kearns has been a motivated and energetic participant in all aspects of the response to the operational and emergency services missions, supporting North Carolina Wing and Mid-Atlantic Region responses to multiple natural disasters, search and rescues, and other homeland security missions. Kearns holds multiple mission qualifications including incident commander-Level 1, ground team leader, liaison officer, and mission observer.
He is a graduate of both the National Inland Search and Rescue Planning Course and the Basic Inland Search and Rescue Course. Additionally, he is a graduate of the National Safety College in 2022 and the National Staff College in 2016.
Kearns holds a total of 10 CAP Master ratings in command, aerospace education, cadet programs, emergency services, operations, logistics, finance, personnel, safety, and administration.
He has been recognized with numerous awards and commendations during his CAP career, receiving 19 wing commanders’ commendations, one national commander’s commendation, three meritorious service awards, and eight exceptional service awards. In addition, he was selected as the North Carolina Wing Senior Member of the Year, Incident Command Team Member of the Year, and Mid-Atlantic Region Incident Command Team Member of the Year twice. He was also recognized as both Mid-Atlantic Region and Civil Air Patrol’s Wing Director of Finance of the Year in 2015.
His professional career has extended over 35 years with experience in treasury, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and investment banking. He is a certified cash manager and certified treasury professional, selected twice as one of the top 300 treasury professionals by the Association of Financial Professionals. Currently he is the regional treasury manager for the Americas for Hitachi Energy, which is highly involved in all areas of electrical grid manufacturing and expansion.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Brockport and his master’s from Campbell University in North Carolina
Kearns and Patricia, his wife of 34 years, live in Cary, North Carolina. The entire family, including both children, Brigid and Brendan, are members of the North Carolina Wing.
