Kentucky Wing Civil Air Patrol Explained

The Kentucky Wing of Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the highest echelon of Civil Air Patrol in the state of Kentucky and is a part of CAP's Great Lakes Region. The Kentucky Wing headquarters is located in Frankfort.[1] The Kentucky Wing consists of over 600 cadet and adult members at 17 locations across the state of Kentucky.[2]

Mission

The Kentucky Wing performs the three primary missions of Civil Air Patrol: providing emergency services; providing a cadet program for youth; and offering aerospace education for both CAP members and the general public.[3]

Emergency services

Providing emergency services includes performing search and rescue and disaster relief missions; as well as assisting in humanitarian aid assignments. The CAP also provides Air Force support through conducting light transport, communications support, and low-altitude route surveys. Civil Air Patrol can also offer support to counter-drug missions.[4]

In January 2009, members of the Kentucky Wing, along with CAP members from the Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio Wings, flew sorties surveying damage and boosting communications for the Kentucky National Guard following a severe ice storm, while CAP ground crews assisted National Guardsmen in going door to door to perform wellness checks on residents.[5]

In April 2015, members of the Kentucky Wing were called to assist the Red Cross to help with victims of flooding that occurred in Louisville, Kentucky. In that same month, they supported the Red Cross for 3 days until their assistance was no longer needed.[6]

From August to September 2021, Kentucky wing cadets and senior members assisted in a national effort to review disaster relief imagery from the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, reviewing hundreds of images and tagging countless structures with their apparent damage level to help determine what areas most critically needed relief efforts focused towards them.

It may also be noted that members of the Kentucky Wing have been requested by the Governor on several occasions to take surveillance photographs of numerous areas stricken with disasters. These photographs have assisted not only members of the Ground Teams of the Kentucky Wing, but also several other disaster relief teams in knowing where to go first.

Cadet programs

Civil Air Patrol offers cadet programs for youth aged 12 to 21. Cadets receive training in aerospace education, leadership training, physical fitness and moral leadership.[7]

Aerospace education

Civil Air Patrol offers aerospace education for CAP members and the general public; this includes offering training to the members of the CAP, and facilitating teaching workshops for youth through schools and public aviation events.[8]

Organization

Squadrons of the Kentucky Wing[9]
Designation Squadron NameLocationNotes
GLR-KY-001Kentucky Wing HeadquartersFrankfort
GLR-KY-011Paducah Composite SquadronPaducah
GLR-KY-039Louisville Composite SquadronCrestwood
GLR-KY-050Boone County Composite SquadronWaltonGLR-KY-050 Official Website
GLR-KY-057Bowling Green Senior SquadronBowling Green
GLR-KY-058Frankfort Composite SquadronFrankfort
GLR-KY-073Northern Kentucky Composite SquadronNewport
GLR-KY-122Stuart Powell Cadet SquadronDanville
GLR-KY-131Heartland Composite SquadronElizabethtown
GLR-KY-214Bowman Field Senior SquadronLouisville
GLR-KY-216Fort Campbell Composite SquadronClarksville
GLR-KY-221Blue Grass Senior SquadronLexington
GLR-KY-222Van Meter Cadet SquadronLexington
GLR-KY-223Owensboro Composite SquadronOwensboro
GLR-KY-225Elkhorn Cadet SquadronGeorgetown
GLR-KY-300Southern Kentucky Cadet SquadronBowling Green
GLR-KY-357Lake Cumberland Cadet SquadronSomerset
GLR-KY-999Kentucky Legislative SquadronFrankfort

Kentucky Civil Air Patrol Wing Commanders

Commander's Name Rank Period of Command Service
Colonel 1941–1942
Carl W. Ulrich Major 1942
Charles H. Gartrell Major 1942–1943
Howard B. Brown Captain 1943
William S. Rinehart Colonel 1943–1946
Charles E. Hall Colonel 1946–1949
John B. Wathen III Colonel 1949–1953
Francis A. Blevins Colonel 1953–1957
Houston H. Doyle Colonel 1957–1958
Carlos O. Puckett Colonel 1958–1959
James A. Denham Colonel1959–1961
Francis A. Blevins Colonel 1961–1965
George B. Carter Colonel 1965–1969
Richard R. Dooley Colonel1969–1971
Charles E. Lynn Jr. Colonel 1971–1972
John F. Price Colonel 1972–1976
William R. Ritter Colonel 1976–1977
Herman H. Bishop Colonel 1977–1980
Nathaniel L. Tucker Colonel 1980–1982
George M. Hudson Colonel 1982–1986
William K. Hughes Colonel 1986–1991
Denzil Allen Colonel1991–1994
Douglas N. Huff Colonel 1994–1997
Jimmie W. Cantrell Colonel1997–1998
Michael A. Cooper Colonel 1998–1999
John F. Price Colonel 1999–2000
Loretta L. Holbrook Colonel2000–2004
Henry L. Heaberlin Colonel 2004–2009
Robert J. Koob Colonel 2009–2013
James F. Huggins Colonel 2013–2016
David A. Kantor Colonel 2016–2017
Darrel D. Williamson Colonel 2017–2021
Brian W. Schmuck Colonel 2021–Present

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kentucky Wing Civil Air Patrol Home Page . Kentucky Wing Civil Air Patrol Official Website . 1 January 2023.
  2. Web site: 2021 Wing Reports . Civil Air Patrol Newsroom . 1 January 2023.
  3. Web site: Civil Air Patrol . Civil Air Patrol Official Website . 4 November 2015.
  4. Web site: Emergency Services . Civil Air Patrol Official Website . 1 January 2023.
  5. Web site: Ice Storm Puts Kentucky in Deep Freeze . 2009 . Capmembers.com . 4 November 2015.
  6. Web site: Red Cross helps Louisville flood victims clean up while preparing for more rain . WDRB.com . WDRB Staff . 2015-04-08 . 2021-11-16 .
  7. Web site: Cadet Programs . Civil Air Patrol Official Website . 1 January 2023.
  8. Web site: Aerospace Education . Civil Air Patrol Official Website . 1 January 2023.
  9. Web site: KY Wing Squadrons . Kentucky Wing Civil Air Patrol Official Website . 1 January 2023.