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 of the United States. From 1941 until August 1975, the National Commander of CAP was an appointed active duty Air Force 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.[2] Since 2012, the National Commander also serves as the chief executive officer of the CAP Corporation.[lower-alpha 1]

National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol
Flag of the National Commander
Incumbent
Major General Edward D. Phelka
since August 26, 2021
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
Constituting instrumentCAP Constitution and Bylaws[1]
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 Edward Phelka.[3]

List of officeholders

Chairman of the National Board (1948–1975)

Upon adoption of the CAP Constitution and Bylaws on May 26, 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 April 26, 1960.

  • 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[lower-alpha 2]
  • 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 (1975–present)

On September 1, 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 March 8, 1995, during a reorganization of CAP National Headquarters, the title of executive director was changed to Senior Air Force Advisor.

No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)		 Term of office
Took office Left office Time in office
1 Brig Gen
William M. Patterson		 September 1975 September 1976 1 year
2 Brig Gen
Thomas C. Casaday
(1918–2010)		 September 1976 September 1979 3 years
3 Brig Gen
Johnnie Boyd		 September 1979 August 1982 2 years, 11 months
4 Brig Gen
Howard L. Brookfield
(1929–2019)		 August 1982 August 1984 2 years
5 Brig Gen
William B. Cass		 August 1984 March 1986 1 year, 7 months
6 Maj Gen
Eugene E. Harwell
(1930–2020)		 March 1986 August 1990 4 years, 5 months
7 Brig Gen
Warren J. Barry
(1922–2015)		 August 1990 August 1993 3 years
8 Brig Gen
Richard L. Anderson
(born 1955)		 August 1993 August 1996 3 years
9 Brig Gen
Paul M. Bergman
(1940–2012)		 August 1996 March 1998 1 year, 7 months
10 Brig Gen
James C. Bobick		 March 1998 August 2001 3 years, 5 months
11 Brig Gen
Richard L. Bowling		 August 2001 December 2002 1 year, 4 months
12 Maj Gen
Richard L. Bowling		 August 2001 August 2004 3 years
13 Maj Gen
Dwight H. Wheless
(1940–2017)		 August 2004 July 2005 11 months
14 Maj Gen
Antonio J. Pineda[lower-alpha 3]		 July 2005 October 2007 2 years, 3 months
15 Maj Gen
Amy Courter
(born 1961)		 October 2, 2007[lower-alpha 4] August 7, 2008 10 months
August 7, 2008[lower-alpha 5] August 17, 2011 3 years
16 Maj Gen
Charles L. Carr Jr.		 August 17, 2011 August 15, 2014 2 years, 11 months
17 Maj Gen
Joseph Vazquez		 August 15, 2014 September 2, 2017 3 years
18 Maj Gen
Mark E. Smith		 September 2, 2017 August 26, 2021 3 years, 11 months
19 Maj Gen
Edward D. Phelka		 August 26, 2021 Incumbent 7 months

USAAF/CAP-USAF Commanders

Civil Air Patrol-United States Air Force (CAP-USAF) is responsible for ensuring Civil Air Patrol — the Air Force auxiliary — is organized, trained, and equipped to fulfill Air Force-assigned missions. CAP-USAF provides day-to-day support, advice, and liaison to CAP’s more than 60,000 members and provides oversight for CAP programs, with emphasis on safety and program requirements. CAP-USAF personnel are also the primary function interface between other federal agencies and CAP.

As of 2020, CAP-USAF is staffed with approximately 200 active-duty, Reservist, and civilian airmen at CAP National Headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base and locations in New Jersey (Detachment 1, McGuire Air Force Base), Maryland (Detachment 2, Andrews Air Force Base), Ohio (Detachment 3, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base), Georgia (Detachment 4, Dobbins Air Reserve Base), Minnesota (Detachment 5), Texas (Detachment 6), Colorado (Detachment 7, Peterson Space Force Base), California (Detachment 8, Beale Air Force Base), and Florida, as well as in Puerto Rico and at several overseas Air Force installations.

  • Maj Gen John F. Curry, USAAF, Dec 1941 – Mar 1942
  • Col Earle L. Johnson, USAAF, Mar 1942 – Feb 1947[6]
  • Brig Gen Frederic H. Smith Jr., USAF, February 21, 1947 – September 30, 1947[7]
  • Maj Gen Lucas V. Beau, USAF, October 1, 1947 – December 31, 1955
  • Maj Gen Walter R. Agee, USAF, January 1, 1956 – March 31, 1959
  • Brig Gen Stephen D. McElroy, USAF, April 1, 1959 – December 15, 1961
  • Col Paul C. Ashworth, USAF, December 15, 1961 – July 31, 1964
  • Col Joe L. Mason, USAF, August 1, 1964 – April 30, 1967
  • Brig Gen William W. Wilcox, USAF, May 1, 1967 – October 31, 1968
  • Maj Gen Walter B. Putnam, USAF, November 1, 1968 – October 31, 1969
  • Brig Gen Richard N. Ellis, USAF, November 1, 1969 – October 31, 1972
  • Brig Gen Leslie J. Westberg, USAF, November 1, 1972 – August 28, 1975
  • Brig Gen Car S. Miller, USAF, August 29, 1975 – Nov 1977
  • Brig Gen Paul E. Gardner, USAF, Nov 1977 – July 31, 1980
  • Brig Gen H. W. Miller, USAF, August 1, 1980 – Aug 1981
  • Brig Gen David L. Patton, USAF, Aug 1981 – May 1984
  • Col John T. Massingale Jr., USAF, May 1984 – October 31, 1989
  • Col Clyde O. Westbrook Jr., USAF, November 1, 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 – June 31, 2011
  • Col George H. Ross III, USAF, July 1, 2011 – October 4, 2011
  • Col Paul D. Gloyd II, USAF, October 4, 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[8]

Notes
  1. Change made upon adoption of the Constitution and Bylaws of the CAP Corporation made official on October 1, 2012.
  2. USAF approved the grade of Brigadier General, CAP, via order PANHQ 9, March 15, 1968
  3. On August 6, 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.[4]
  4. On October 2, 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, 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.[5]
  5. Maj Gen Amy Courter was unanimously elected to the position of National Commander on August 7, 2008, during a live webcast. She is the first woman to be elected to the position by the National Board.

References
  1. "Constitution and Bylaws 2016" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. August 27, 2021.
  2. "Spaatz Award Fact Sheet" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. March 2018.
  3. "Major General Edward D. Phelka" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. August 26, 2021.
  4. "U.S. Civil Air Patrol's Board of Governors suspends CAP national commander". CAP News Online. August 6, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2007.
  5. Archived August 31, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Ohio Wing web page created by National Historian Bio of Gen Johnson
  7. "GENERAL FREDERIC H. SMITH JR. > U.S. Air Force > Biography Display". www.af.mil. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  8. "Colonel Mark A. Wootan" (PDF). gocivilairpatrol.com. August 27, 2021.
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