Brig. Gen. Regena Aye, Civil Air Patrol’s incoming national commander/CEO, announces five appointments to her senior staff:
Col. Rose Hunt, national executive officerA resident of Hebron, Illinois, with more than 25 years of service in CAP, Hunt is in her third year as the first female commander of the Great Lakes Region. In her role as region commander, she oversees more than 6,600 volunteers, 66 powered aircraft, 110 vehicles, and six gliders across Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Hunt joined the Wisconsin Wing’s Eau Claire Composite Squadron in 1997 after her son, Ken, became a cadet. She has tackled increasingly demanding roles since then in her quarter-century in CAP, among them Wisconsin Wing finance director, National Finance Committee member, Wisconsin Wing chief of staff, and vice commander before assuming command of the wing in 2014. Under her command over the next four years, wing membership grew by more than 15%.
Hunt has also served as director of CAP’s Region and Wing Commanders College and led the National Mentoring Program before becoming region commander.
Outside of CAP, Hunt served for years as the CEO/owner of a corporation in the hospitality industry. She works with her son, Corey Hunt, brokerage partner at 1st Class Real Estate Elevate serving the greater Houston area.
Chief Master Sgt. Todd Parsons, CAP command chiefAye is extending into 2025 Parsons’ tenure as command chief, the role he assumed in February 2022 under Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, CAP’s outgoing national commander/CEO.
As national command chief, Parsons heads CAP’s 475-member noncommissioned officer corps. For the past two years, he has served as an adviser to Phelka and participated in the command team’s decision-making on technical, operational, and organizational issues.
A resident of Manassas, Virginia, he is also responsible for reviewing Air Force, CAP-USAF, and CAP wing instructions and policies and providing input and recommending changes for instructions and policies affecting CAP members.
Parsons assumed responsibility as national command chief after four years as command chief of the Mid-Atlantic Region. Originally a CAP major, he resigned as an officer in February 2018 to become a chief master sergeant, based on his rank and 28 years of experience in the U.S. Army.
Col. Joseph R. Winter, national inspector generalWinter, who lives in Washington, D.C., is a former U.S. Air Force inspector general now serving as vice commander (north) of CAP’s Mid-Atlantic Region, which consists of the Delaware, Maryland, National Capital, and West Virginia wings.
As a CAP member for 30 years, he brings a wealth of experience to the position. He previously served as chief of the organization’s Education and Training program, where he was responsible for the execution of member training opportunities in leadership, management, and functional tasks. He previously served as the inaugural provost of Volunteer University — CAP’s flagship education and training institution.
Winter joined CAP in 1993 as a cadet in the New York Wing, where he rapidly advanced through the program and was named the New York Wing Cadet of the Year. As an adult member, he served as Maryland Wing director of cadet programs and eventually became wing commander (2016-2020).
Outside CAP, Winter remains an Air Force officer, now serving as deputy commander of the 175th Mission Support Group based in Baltimore. Previously, he served as commander of the 175th Wing Force Support Squadron and was the 175th Wing inspector general and director of wing inspections.
In addition, he is employed by Loyola University Maryland as an affiliate faculty member with the Communications Department, teaching courses in public speaking, media relations, and media writing.
Col. Matthew Phillips, chief of the Legal Officer CorpsAye is also extending the tenure of Phillips, who became the Legal Officer Corps chief in September 2021 under Phelka. He previously served on the national staff as deputy chief of the Legal Officer Corps and director of the National Legal Officers College.
Phillips, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, joined Civil Air Patrol in 2010. As legal officer of the North Carolina Wing and the Mid-Atlantic Region, he managed command-directed investigations while providing command counsel to three wing commanders and two region commanders. In addition, he was chief of staff of the wing from 2015-2016 and commanded Group 4 from 2018-2020.
Phillips is also a CAP pilot qualified as an observer and scanner, as well as a CAP cadet/Air Force ROTC orientation pilot.
Outside CAP, he is an associate provost and teaching professor of law and ethics at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Chaplain (Lt. Col.) John F. Reutemann III, chief of the Chaplain CorpsReutemann, known as “Father John,” serves as a chaplain in both Civil Air Patrol and the Air Force.
Currently stationed at Osan Air Base in South Korea, he was promoted to Air Force major in 2023, marking yet another milestone in his journey serving members of CAP and the military. Prior to that, he was an instructor at the U.S. Air Force Chaplain Corps College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama — also the home of CAP National Headquarters.
While there, he also served as the course director for the Basic Chaplain Course, which all new active-duty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve chaplains attend. He planned and executed the very first integration of CAP chaplains into that training, certifying them to do backfill for active-duty chaplains.
Reutemann has previously served as the deputy chief of staff for Cadet Programs for Rocky Mountain Region (2017-2019) and as the wing chaplain for the Montana Wing (2013-2017).
He joined the CAP in August 1996 as a cadet in the Maryland Wing’s Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron. He served on cadet advisory councils at the wing, region, and national levels and earned the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award, CAP’s top cadet honor, in 2002.
“These incredible volunteers bring diverse experiences and tremendous talents to national leadership,” Aye said. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Col. Jason Bailey and such a fantastic team in the coming years, as we strive to lead CAP toward excellence in all we do.”
The new national officers will join Phillips and Parsons in the performance of their duties during a change of command ceremony Aug. 17 at the CAP National Conference in San Antonio, when Aye will succeed Phelka, national commander/CEO since August 2021, and Bailey will follow Aye as national vice commander.
