National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol

Since 1975, the National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol (acronym: CAP/CC) is the highest senior official within the Civil Air Patrol. From 1941 until August 1975, the National Commander of CAP was an appointed active duty USAAF or USAF officer, typically a General Officer. In September 1975, this became a civilian position held by an active CAP member. Current and former National Commanders are the only members of the Civil Air Patrol who hold the CAP rank of major general. The original name of this position was Chairman of the CAP Board. Gen Carl A. Spaatz, USAF, became the first Chairman after he retired from the Air Force in 1948.[1] Since 2012, the National Commander also serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the CAP Corporation.[2]

National Commander of the
Civil Air Patrol
Flag of the National Commander
Incumbent
Maj Gen Mark E. Smith, CAP
since 2 September 2017
Civil Air Patrol
StyleNational Commander
StatusChief executive officer
AbbreviationCAP/CC
Member ofCAP Command Council
CAP Senior Advisory Group
AppointerCAP Board of Governors
Term lengthThree years, can be extended
FormationDecember 1, 1941 (1941-12-01)
First holderMaj Gen John F. Curry, USAAF
DeputyNational Vice Commander of the Civil Air Patrol
Websitewww.gocivilairpatrol.com

The current National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol is Major General Mark E. Smith.

USAAF/CAP-USAF Commanders
  • Maj Gen John F. Curry, USAAF, Dec 1941 - Mar 1942
  • Col Earle L. Johnson, USAAF, Mar 1942 - Feb 1947[3]
  • Brig Gen Frederic H. Smith Jr., USAF, 21 Feb 1947 - 30 Sep 1947[4]
  • Maj Gen Lucas V. Beau, USAF, 01 Oct 1947 - 31 Dec 1955
  • Maj Gen Walter R. Agee, USAF, 01 Jan 1956 - 31 Mar 1959
  • Brig Gen Stephen D. McElroy, USAF, 01 Apr 1959 - 15 Dec 1961
  • Col Paul C. Ashworth, USAF, 15 Dec 1961 - 31 Jul 1964
  • Col Joe L. Mason, USAF, 01 Aug 1964 - 30 Apr 1967
  • Brig Gen William W. Wilcox, USAF, 01 May 1967 - 31 Oct 1968
  • Maj Gen Walter B. Putnam, USAF, 01 Nov 1968 - 31 Oct 1969
  • Brig Gen Richard N. Ellis, USAF, 01 Nov 1969 - 31 Oct 1972
  • Brig Gen Leslie J. Westberg, USAF, 01 Nov 1972 - 28 Aug 1975
  • Brig Gen Car S. Miller, USAF, 29 Aug 1975 - Nov 1977
  • Brig Gen Paul E. Gardner, USAF, Nov 1977 - 31 July 1980
  • Brig Gen H. W. Miller, USAF, 01 Aug 1980 - Aug 1981
  • Brig Gen David L. Patton, USAF, Aug 1981 - May 1984
  • Col John T. Massingale Jr., USAF, May 1984 - 31 Oct 1989
  • Col Clyde O. Westbrook Jr., USAF, 01 Nov 1989 - Jun 1990
  • Col Joseph M. Nall, USAF, Jun 1990 - Aug 1992
  • Col Ronald T. Sampson, USAF, Aug 1992 - Mar 1995
  • Col Garland W. Padgett Jr., USAF, Mar 1995 - May 1998
  • Col Dennis B. Parkhurst, USAF, May 1998 - Jul 2001
  • Col Albert A. Allenback, USAF, Jul 2001 - Jul 2002
  • Col George C. Vogt, USAF, Jul 2002 - Oct 2005
  • Col Russell D. Hodgkins Jr., USAF, Oct 2005 - Apr 2009
  • Col William R. (Bill) Ward, USAF, Apr 2009 - 31 Jun 2011
  • Col George H. Ross III, USAF, 01 Jul 2011 - 04 Oct 2011
  • Col Paul D. Gloyd II, USAF, 04 Oct 2011 - May 2014
  • Col Jay Updegraff, USAF, May 2014 - Aug 2014
  • Col Michael D. Tyynismaa, USAF, Aug 2014 - Apr 2019
  • Col Mark A. Wootan, USAF, Apr 2019–present

Chairman of the National Board[5]
  • Gen Carl A. Spaatz, USAF (Ret), Aug 1948 - Apr 1959
  • Col (later Brig Gen) D. Harold Byrd, CAP, Apr 1959 - Apr 1960
  • Col (later Brig Gen) William C. Whelen, CAP, Apr 1960 - Apr 1962
  • Col (later Brig Gen) Paul W. Turner, CAP, Sep 1962 - Oct 1965
  • Brig Gen Lyle W. Castle, CAP, Oct 1965 - Oct 1968[6]
  • Brig Gen F. Ward Reilly, CAP, Oct 1968 - Oct 1970
  • Brig Gen Samuel H. DuPont, Jr., CAP, Oct 1970 - Oct 1973
  • Brig Gen William M. Patterson, CAP, Oct 1973 - Aug 1975

CAP National Commanders[7]
  • Brig Gen William M. Patterson, CAP, Sep 1975 - Sep 1976
  • Brig Gen Thomas C. Casaday, CAP, Sep 1976 - Sep 1979
  • Brig Gen Johnnie Boyd, CAP, Sep 1979 - Aug 1982
  • Brig Gen Howard L. Brookfield, CAP, Aug 1982 - Aug 1984
  • Brig Gen William B. Cass, CAP, Aug 1984 - Mar 1986
  • Brig Gen Eugene E. Harwell, CAP, Mar 1986 - Aug 1990
  • Brig Gen Warren J. Barry, CAP, Aug 1990 - Aug 1993
  • Brig Gen Richard L. Anderson, CAP, Aug 1993 - Aug 1996
  • Brig Gen Paul M. Bergman, CAP, Aug 1996 - Mar 1998
  • Brig Gen James C. Bobick, CAP, Mar 1998 - Aug 2001
  • Brig Gen Richard L. Bowling, CAP, Aug 2001 - Dec 2002
  • Maj Gen Richard L. Bowling, CAP, Dec 2002 - Aug 2004
  • Maj Gen Dwight H. Wheless, CAP, Aug 2004 - Jul 2005
  • Senior Member Antonio J. Pineda, CAP, Jul 2005-Oct 2007 (removed from office for misconduct & stripped of rank)[8]
  • Brig Gen Amy S. Courter, CAP, Oct 2007 - Aug 2008[9]
  • Maj Gen Amy S. Courter, CAP, Aug 2008 - Aug 2011[10]
  • Maj Gen Charles L. “Chuck” Carr Jr., CAP, Aug 2011 - Aug 2014
  • Maj Gen Joseph R. Vasquez, CAP, Aug 2014 - Sep 2017
  • Maj Gen Mark E. Smith, CAP, Sep 2017–present

Notes
  1. "Spaatz Award Fact Sheet" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. March 2018.
  2. Change made upon adoption of the Constitution and Bylaws of the CAP Corporation made official on 1 Oct. 2012
  3. Ohio Wing web page created by National Historian Bio of Gen Johnson
  4. "GENERAL FREDERIC H. SMITH JR. > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display". www.af.mil. Retrieved 2015-12-22.
  5. Upon adoption of the CAP Constitution and Bylaws on 26 May 1948, the CAP Board was redesignated as the National Executive Board (NEB), but the designation was later changed to the National Executive Committee (NEC) on 26 April 1960
  6. USAF approved the grade of Brigadier General, CAP, via order PANHQ 9, 15 March 1968
  7. On 1 September 1975, the original CAP title of Chairman of the National Board was redesignated as National Commander, and the US Air Force-appointed National Commander became the Executive Director. On 8 March 1995 during a reorganization of CAP National Headquarters, the title of Executive Director was changed to Senior Air Force Advisor.
  8. On 6 August 2007, the Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors suspended the CAP national commander, Maj Gen Antonio J. Pineda, for a period of up to 180 days. Brig Gen Amy S. Courter, CAP national vice commander, assumed the duties of the National Commander during this period. "U.S. Civil Air Patrol's Board of Governors suspends CAP national commander". CAP News Online. 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  9. On 2 October 2007, the Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors voted 9-1 to remove Antonio Pineda from his position as National Commander. He was removed from the CAP and stripped of his two-star general's rank after NEWS OF THE FORCE (http://newsoftheforce.org Archived 2018-08-31 at the Wayback Machine), a military news e-zine based in Tampa, Fla., first broke the story that Pineda had cheated on his Air Force Air Command and Staff College tests.
  10. Maj Gen Amy Courter was unanimously elected to the position of National Commander on 07 Aug 2008 during a live webcast. She is the first woman to be elected to the position by the National Board.
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