Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol Explained

The Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol^[1] (abbreviated INWG) is the highest echelon of Civil Air Patrol in the state of Indiana. Its headquarters is located in Terre Haute, Indiana.^[2] The Indiana Wing involves 1,354 adult and youth volunteers organized into five group headquarters, a legislative squadron, and twenty-five total subordinate squadrons located throughout the state, including four School Enrichment Programs. Civil Air Patrol's 2nd largest cadet squadron, the Anderson Preparatory Academy Cadet Squadron (GLR-IN-803), is located in Anderson, Indiana.^[3]

Missions

Indiana Wing performs Civil Air Patrol's three key missions:^[4] emergency services, which includes search and rescue (by air and ground) and disaster relief operations; aerospace education for youth and the general public; and cadet programs for teenage youth.

Indiana Wing supports Civil Air Patrol's Emergency Services missions by flying eight Civil Air Patrol aircraft, small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and operating twenty vehicles. The Wing operates 19 high-frequency (HF) stations, and 16 very high-frequency (VHF) repeaters and 177 VHF base and mobile radios.^[5] Indiana Wing is involved in search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief.

Indiana Wing offers the CAP Cadet Program^[6] in a number of communities across the state, and provides a free orientation flight program that flew 277 cadets in 2023. Of the 2023 flights, cadets were provided 348 powered orientation flights and 52 glider orientation flights.

Support for CAP's Aerospace Education mission includes outreach to schools, education for cadets, and participation in local aviation events.^{[7] [8]} As part of CAP's Aerospace Education program teachers who join Civil Air Patrol as an "Aerospace Education Member" may receive a flight in CAP aircraft^[9] as well as free national academic-standard aligned books, STEM kits, and award programs.^[10] The AEM program has a one-time only fee with no requirement for meeting attendance and uniform wear -- and is available for home schools. Additionally, Indiana Wing maintains a hot air balloon for aviation education and community outreach.

Organizational structure

Indiana Wing is organized into a wing headquarters unit, five group headquarters overseeing 25 squadrons, and a legislative squadron. In addition, the Anderson Preparatory Academy Cadet Squadron reports directly to the wing headquarters.

Four group headquarters are aligned with Indiana's Department of Homeland Security districts^[11] and have oversight for the squadrons within those districts. The fifth group headquarters oversees units within school districts.

• Indiana Group I: IDHS Districts 1, 2, and 4
• Indiana Group III: IDHS Districts 3 and 6.
• Indiana Group V: IDHS District V.
• Indiana Group XII: IDHS Districts 7, 8, 9, and 10.
• Indiana Group 800: Indiana Wing Schools Group

Squadrons of the Indiana Wing

-	Group	Designation	Squadron Name	Location	Notes
XII	IN-002	Monroe County Composite Squadron	Bloomington
I	IN-036	Valparaiso Composite Squadron	Valparaiso
I	IN-049	St Joe Valley Cadet Squadron	Nappanee
V	IN-069	Col James H. Kasler Senior Squadron	Greenwood
I	IN-084	Lafayette Composite Squadron	West Lafayette
I	IN-085	Ferrier Cadet Squadron	Camden
III	IN-086	Grant County Cadet Flight	Gas City
V	IN-123	Weir Cook Cadet Squadron	Indianapolis International Airport
XII	IN-126	Falcon Composite Squadron	New Albany
I	IN-144	La Porte Senior Squadron	La Porte
XII	IN-181	181st Composite Squadron	Terre Haute
V	IN-184	Shelbyville Composite Squadron	Shelbyville
V	IN-193	Indianapolis Senior Squadron	Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport
III	IN-201	Fort Wayne Composite Squadron	Fort Wayne
III	IN-205	205th Composite Squadron	Muncie
V	IN-206	Eagle Composite Squadron	Indianapolis Executive Airport
I	IN-211	Lake County Cadet Squadron	Lake Station
XII	IN-214	Bakalar Composite Squadron	Columbus
XII	IN-216	Patoka Valley Cadet Squadron	Huntingburg
XII	IN-220	River City Cadet Squadron	Evansville
III	IN-223	Anderson Composite Squadron	Anderson
V	IN-228	Ft Benjamin Harrison Composite Squadron	Greenfield
V	IN-802	Titan Cadet Squadron	McKenzie Career Center	School Enrichment Program
Direct Report to Wing HQ	IN-803	Anderson Preparatory Academy Cadet Squadron	Anderson Preparatory Academy	School Enrichment Program
I	IN-806	John Adams High School Cadet Squadron	South Bend	School Enrichment Program
Direct Report to Wing HQ	IN-999	Indiana Legislative Squadron	Indianapolis	General Assembly Members and their Staff

Past Wing Commanders

Commanders of the Indiana Wing^[12]

Commander's Name	Period of Service
Col Walker W. Winslow	1941–1949
Col Walter B. Smith	1949-1950
Col Merle L. Denney	1950-1952
Col Wayne W. Ricks	1952-1955
Lt Col Sumner M. Sadler	1955-1956
Col Stanley H. Arnolt	1956-1959
Col Donald H. Lessig	1959-1961
Col Cecil W. Armstrong	1961-1962
Col John W. Richards	1962-1964
Col M. Fred Wood	1964-1966
Col Kenneth Lebo	1966-1970
Col M. Fred Wood	1970-1972
Col James N. Mahle	1972-1977
Col Jack R. Hornbeck *	1977-1981
Col Edwin D. DesLauries	1981-1983
Col George W. Young	1983-1987
Col Peter C. Crasher	1987-1989
Col Paul Bergman **	1989-1991
Col Joseph S. Gilkey II	1991-1992
Col Edward F. Mueller	1992-1995
Col Larry W. Landick	1995-1998
Col Glenn A. Kavich	1998-2002
Col Charles Greenwood	2002-2006
Lt Col John Bryan ***	2006-2007
Col W. Mark Reeves	2007-2010
Col Richard L. Griffith ***	2010-2013
Col Matthew R. Creed *	2013-2016
Col Philip Argenti	2016-2020
Col Robert W. Freese	2020-2023
*Went on to serve as Great Lakes Region Commander. **Went on to serve as Great Lakes Region Commander and National Commander in the grade of Brigadier General. ***Spaatz Award recipient.||} Spaatz Award Recipients The General Carl A. Spaatz Award is the highest award in the Civil Air Patrol cadet program. The award honors General Carl A. Spaatz, who was the first Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force and the second National Commander of Civil Air PatrolAir Patrol. First awarded in 1964, only 0.5% of CAP cadets ever earn the Spaatz award. Indiana Wing ranks 18th among the 50 U.S. states in the number of Spaatz awards earned. Award recipients from Indiana include: Spaatz Awardees of the Indiana Wing^[13] Award # Spaatz Recipient Award Date 24 David G. Ehrman 20-Sep-66 81 Bruce A. Newell 8-Jan-69 181 Michael K. Hayden 8-Sep-72 235 Christine O. McKannon 7-Sep-73 252 Melvin K. Hayden 26-Dec-73 253 Stephen G. Atkins 26-Dec-73 346 Gregory A. Moore 29-Aug-75 358 Michael D. Duke 3-Nov-75 441 Ronald F. Reimer, Jr 14-Oct-77 497 Michael J. Caylor 4-Jan-79 498 George F. Williams 4-Jan-79 565 David M. Finkel 9-Feb-81 597 John M. Thackston 9-Mar-82 611 Michael T. Orr 14-Jun-82 612 David J. Amin 14-Jun-82 623 Peter J. Conte 12-Nov-82 665 John P. Moorman 30-Sep-83 679 Chris T. Conte 9-Jan-84 705 James L. Daniels 3-Aug-84 850 Patrick K. McLaughlin 8-Jun-87 852 Mathew M. Roush 11-Aug-87 972 Mark C. Rusk 12-Jan-90 1022 Thomas C. Judd 21-Aug-90 1061 Thomas A. Valentine, Jr. 13-May-91 1068 Andrew D. King 24-Jun-91 1178 Michael J. Noffze 6-Jul-93 1196 Nora L. Stephenson 8-Dec-93 1199 David B. Dennis 24-Jan-94 1228 Richard L. Griffith* 24-Oct-94 1262 John F. Bryan* 31-Jul-95 1273 Charles A. Greene 29-Sep-95 1317 Christopher C. Curtis 19-Dec-96 1318 Kathy L. Hoverman 13-Dec-96 1329 Jamie L. Foote 27-Aug-97 1338 Kelly L. Waelde 15-Aug-96 1365 Jason T. Attinger 28-Apr-98 1454 Noel R. Schutt 19-Mar-02 1470 Meaghan N. Patten 9-Aug-02 1488 David E. Bass 13-Feb-03 1507 Philip M. Foust 27-Jun-03 1646 Kate A. Whitacre 13-Jun-07 1708 Daniel A. Fowl 20-Aug-08 1724 Thomas A. Redfield 10-Jan-09 1849 John-Paul W. Franks 10-Jul-12 1865 Christopher Weinzapfel 9-Dec-12 1867 Elizabeth A. McClamrock 12-Jan-13 1874 Sierra D. Parsons 9-Mar-13 1957 Nathan C. Shinabarger 14-Jun-14 1964 Jason S. Reed 18-Jul-14 2050 Luke Grace 13-Jun-16 2253 Kamryn T. Schmidt 10-Aug-19 2354 Tom L. Huynh 27-Jun-21 2437 Brayden M. Schrock 29-Dec-22 2457 Miriam A. Carpenter 12-May-23 * Subsequently Indiana Wing commander.|} Legal protection Under Indiana law, private employers whose businesses are within the borders of Indiana are forbidden from disciplining their employees who are members of the Indiana Wing, if those employees miss work in order to respond to an emergency as a part of Civil Air PatrolAir Patrol.^[14] Private employers are only exempted from this rule if they designate an employee as an "essential employee to the employer," and the state commander of the Indiana Wing must be notified.^[15] The State of Indiana^[16] and all political subdivision of the state^[17] do not have a right to seek an exemption to giving Civil Air Patrol employees leave time by designating them an "essential employee to the employer." Rather, they are forbidden from penalizing any employee who takes leave from their work responsibilities to respond to a Civil Air Patrol mission. All Indiana secondary school students, whether public or private, are entitled to leave from school to participate in Civil Air Patrol training and missions. Schools are forbidden by law from marking these students as absent or penalizing them in any way.^[18] See also Indiana Air National Guard Indiana Guard Reserve Civil Air Patrol External links www.inwg.cap.gov official site ]

Notes and References

1. https://inwg.cap.gov/ Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol
2. Web site: Address and Directions . Indiana Wing Civil Air Patrol Official Website . 26 August 2023 .
3. https://www.goapa.org "Anderson Preparatory Academy"
4. [Civil Air Patrol]
5. https://company-214080.frontify.com/d/crhrf1Aw1Ci9/file-library/show/eyJpZCI6NzM1NjI2OSwidGltZXN0YW1wIjoiMTY3NzI4MzkyMCJ9:frontify:kcqfs5VcHOrCnnLGhPKiCvNxahtitk_VroCxh9kJfvc "Indiana Wing Report 2022"
6. [Civil Air Patrol#Cadet programs|Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program]
7. https://www.facebook.com/IndianaCAP/posts/1474966512565272 Americas Freedom Fest at Goshen Municipal Airport
8. Web site: limited . https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/266030200121585/1511816252209634 . 2022-04-27. La Porte County Squadron, Civil Air Patrol on Facebook . Facebook.
9. https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/aerospace-education/programs/top-flights "CAP TOP Flight Program"
10. https://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/programs/aerospace-education/for-educators "CAP AEM Program"
11. http://www.in.gov/dhs/2797.htm IDHS District Map
12. Indiana Wing Historical Records
13. Web site: The Spaatz Association . Master List of Spaatz Award Recipients . 2017-12-03 .
14. Web site: 10-16-19-1. Political subdivision may not discipline employee for absences related to civil air patrol duties — Civil action by employee. . . . 18 October 2017 .
15. Web site: 10-16-19-2. Private employer may not discipline employee for absences related to civil air patrol duties — Exception. . . . 18 October 2017 .
16. Web site: 4-15-10-8. Absences from work due to civil air patrol duties. . . . 18 October 2017 .
17. Web site: 4-15-10-8. Absences from work due to civil air patrol duties. . . . 18 October 2017 .
18. Web site: 20-33-2-17.2. School shall authorize absence and excuse of each secondary school student who is member of Indiana wing of Civil Air Patrol and who is participating in Civil Air Patrol program or operation. . . . 18 October 2017 .