Lt. Col. Al Reynoso is the next commander of the Illinois Wing, Col. Rose Hunt, Great Lakes Region commander, has announced.
A formal promotion to colonel and change of command ceremony is scheduled for July 20, the last day of the Illinois Wing Summer Encampment at Marseilles Training Center. Reynoso will succeed Col. Andrew Loy, wing commander since July 2021.
“Leadership is not just about commanding but about inspiring journey,” Hunt said. “A true wing commander knows that each mission’s success lies in the unity, skill, and unwavering spirit of their team.
“We entrust this responsibility to Alfredo Reynoso, where courage meets wisdom and vision meets success. We look forward to the new heights he and his team will lead Illinois Wing.”
Reynoso’s Civil Air Patrol career has spanned 19 years in the Illinois Wing. He has been the wing’s liaison to the Illinois Emergency Services Agency since last year and has served as Group 2 emergency services officer since 2012.
Reynoso’s Civil Air Patrol career has spanned 19 years in the Illinois Wing. He has been the wing’s liaison to the Illinois Emergency Services Agency since last year and has served as Group 2emergency services officer since 2012 to the present.
He commanded Group 2from 2007-2010 and served as wing deputy commander from 2010-2016, wing emergency services officer from 2015-2017, and adviser to the wing commander from 2012-2015.
Reynoso holds private pilot and commercial pilot ratings and has earned Master Commander, Level 1 Incident Commander, Master Ground Team Member, Senior Emergency Services, Inspector General Technician, and Operations Officer Technician qualifications.
“I thank Col. Hunt for the honor, trust, and opportunity to command the Illinois Wing,” Reynoso said. “I look forward to serving with all of the Illinois Wing volunteers to accomplish the mission of CAP’s federal charter.
“Accomplishing that mission will be the principal focus of the Illinois Wing while at the same time caring for the volunteers, without whom that mission cannot be performed.
“I will endeavor to earn the trust of Illinois Wing volunteers by offering and encouraging all volunteers to greater and more meaningful service, accomplishment, and development opportunities as they present themselves,” he said.
Reynoso’s military experience includes 24 years of service in active-duty and reserve assignments in the U.S. Army. He was commissioned a second lieutenant of artillery and commanded the gun section of an artillery battery as a first lieutenant.
He qualified as an Army aviator and transferred to aviation as a founding member of the new Army Aviation Branch. As an Army captain he commanded the headquarters company of an aviation battalion, followed by an overseas assignment as executive officer of a combat aviation company (attack). He commanded a general support aviation company for the 8th Infantry Division as an Army major.
Upon joining the Army Reserve as a personnel officer, he was part of the initial staff forming a newly activated reserve aviation group. He then assumed command of Company B (Theatre), 2nd Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment. Having been promoted to lieutenant colonel, Reynoso assumed command of the 3rd Aviation Maintenance Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment.
Reynoso is a U.S. Military Academy graduate with an MBA from Webster University. His military education includes the Army Maintenance and Test Pilot course, Command and General Staff College, Foreign Area Officers Course, Latin America, Aviation Staff Officers’ course, the Field Artillery Officers Advance and Field Artillery Officers Basic Course, and the Airborne course._____Lt. Col. Paul R. HertelDirector of Public AffairsGreat Lakes Region
