Kothari Takes Over as CAP Foundation Board Chair
Col. Rajesh Kothari, who joined Civil Air Patrol as a cadet 40 years ago and most recently served as Michigan Wing commander, is the newest board of trustees chair for the CAP Foundation.
Kothari is the founder and managing director of Cascade Partners, where he helps lead divestitures, recapitalizations, acquisitions and other strategic transactions for clients in the health care, industrials, business services and technology sectors. He has also comanaged multiple private equity funds and dozens of investments from early stage to buy-out in health care, automotive, technology and other industrial companies.
The foundation is overseen by an 11-member board consisting of national leaders and influencers who help the foundation provide general support for CAP and its programs and missions and direct financial support to the organization’s operations and scholarships to its members.
“I am excited about the future of the Civil Air Patrol Foundation and the ability to engage CAP alumni, friends and organizations that share our desire to shape the lives of young people,” Kothari said.
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Arkansas Wing Briefs Guatemalan Army on CAP |
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Arkansas Wing members, including Lt. Col. Richard Smith (pictured), briefed officers in the Guatemalan Army on Civil Air Patrol’s natural disaster response capabilities during an orientation session at the Arkansas National Guard’s Robinson Maneuver Training Center in North Little Rock.
Guatemala is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and volcanoes, along with damage from hurricanes crossing the Caribbean. The Guatemalan delegation was particularly interested in improving their nation’s ability to respond to such events.
“The Guatemalan representatives were very impressed with the capability which Civil Air Patrol brings to the table, especially given the fact that we are an all-volunteer force,” said Col. Robert Allison, Arkansas Wing commander.
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Massachusetts Team Wins Balloon Challenge |
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The 2021 Civil Air Patrol Aerospace Education High Altitude Balloon Challenge — CAP's first national STEM challenge for cadets — came to a close Oct. 6 with the champions from the Massachusetts Wing announced by Capt. Bob Roberts, project director and AE YouTube Channel moderator, with Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, CAP's national commander and CEO.
Members of the winning team, pictured with retired U.S. Air Force Col. Joe Kittinger (seated), are (from left) Capt. Leslie Kneipfer, Cadet Tech. Sgt. Gage Lafleur, Cadet Col. Maeve Carrigg, Cadet Lt. Col. Leah Vigenan, Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Henry O’Brien and Lt. Col. LouAnn Muffei-Iwuc. The team took home the CAP Kittinger Cup and the $5,000 prize provided by Kittinger, a famed high-altitude balloon scientist who served as the challenge ambassador.
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The mask icon is used in the photo above as a visual cue to explain any perceived deviation from COVID-19 safety protocol(s). The icon is used on images captured prior to the pandemic or for images captured in an area where masks are currently not required for vaccinated individuals. |
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Cadet Advisory Council Leaders Announced |
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Cadet Col. Reagan Hess of the Missouri Wing and Cadet Lt. Col. Reef Ide of the Florida Wing have been named as the new chair and vice chair respectively of the National Cadet Advisory Council.
Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, Civil Air Patrol national commander/CEO, appointed the two to the council’s two top leadership positions. Both already served on the council — Hess as vice chair and Ide as Southeast Region primary representative.
Hess said she’s "very excited to begin the new term and make important changes in the cadet program."
“The opportunity to serve the cadet program as the NCAC vice chair is very close to my heart because of our ability to improve the experiences of the tens of thousands of cadets currently in CAP and form an even better program for future cadets to grow in,” Ide said.
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The Beat Goes On: Join Operation Pulse Lift |
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Want to be part of Civil Air Patrol's largest and fastest growing nationwide disaster relief mission — saving lives every day?
With a new mission number in hand, Operation Pulse Lift has just potentially saved over 21,400 lives during the COVID-19 crisis. But the nation is still critically short of both donors and donor centers.
If you are interested in having your wing participate with a donor center, it's easy.
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Lt. Col. Matthew Congrove of the National Public Affairs Team reveals more about the recently introduced Civil Air Patrol Brand Portal. The portal, managed by Congrove, is an online resource designed to provide clear brand direction (do's and don’ts), easy access to brand assets (fonts, graphics, templates), answers to brand questions and more. |
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Member Crowdsourcing Fuels Innovation Pipeline |
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Were you aware that members are assisting in the identification of high-quality HUBCAP submissions?
Through ratings and comments, members are providing feedback for submissions that help single out the most impactful ideas and tools. Love it? Give it five stars and comment on how you’re using it. Find an error in the tool or have a recommendation for improvement? Give it fewer stars and comment on what you found.
Join us in the innovation conversation on HUBCAP.
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CAP Observes Cybersecurity Awareness Month |
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Civil Air Patrol is a Cybersecurity Awareness Month champion. This week’s theme is #FightThePhish. Phishing is the No. 1 gateway to cyber attacks, including ransomware. Be wary of emails, text messages or chat boxes that come from strangers or people you know but were not expecting. Think before you click on any suspicious emails, links or attachments and make sure to report any suspicious emails if you can.
Common red flags of a phishing attempt include misspellings or grammar mistakes, awkward or unusual formatting, or language that creates a sense of urgency or pressure to click a link or download an attachment. No CAP IT echelon, whether national, region or wing, will ever ask you to provide your password via email. #BeCyberSmart
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Timeline Flight Series Leads Up to CAP Anniversary |
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With the approach of Civil Air Patrol's 80th anniversary Dec. 1, Maj. Ronald C. Finger of the Minnesota Wing's Crow Wing Composite Squadron worked with National Historian Col. Frank Blazich on a special project — to create “Timeline Flight” paintings showcasing some of the wide variety of CAP aircraft flown over the years.
The 21 aircraft selected span the Coastal Patrol days of World War II, the postwar years and finally the aircraft CAP aircrews fly today. Here are the 10th and 11th installments, as seen on CAP.news. Others will be posted every five days.
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Beginning Oct. 15, CAP to Accept CadetInvest Applications |
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After a two-week delay for updates to the application system, CadetInvest will soon be open for the new fiscal year.
The application cycle is now scheduled from noon Central Time Oct. 15 to noon Central Time Dec. 31.
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Interested in Learning More About Region Command? |
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Have you ever considered being a Region Commander one day? Ever wonder what a Region Commander's role and responsibilities are? Wish you had an opportunity to learn more? If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then you should consider attending this virtual seminar.
The seminar will be presented on two Saturdays in November — Nov. 6 and 13. Each day will consist of a variety of topics important to the success of being a Region Commander, including Region and CAP National Headquarters department interactions. Several topics will be eligible for Volunteer University Level IV and Level V module credit.
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“This Week in CAP History” in 1955, the Alaska Wing took to the skies to aid in the search for a missing aircraft. The wing faces unique challenges in its emergency services missions because of limited daytime hours each winter, snow and frigid climate, but members are always up for the task.
As eight Alaska Wing aircraft from two squadrons began the search in 1955, they were joined by three U.S. Air Force aircraft in what the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner described as an “all-out search,” which lasted 16 days before being called off.
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CAP Marketing & Strategic Communications
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