MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – Beginning Sunday, 71 Civil Air Patrol members from 33 wings in all eight CAP regions will be honing their skills for executive-level success at the 2015 National Staff College.
The annual professional development opportunity enhances the leadership abilities of members who are, or will be, assuming positions of wing, regional or national importance within CAP. The challenging curriculum includes seminar discussions, case studies and exercises.
“We’re really excited about this year's class,” said Col. Virginia Nelson, National Staff College director. “We have a diverse group of CAP leaders here to learn from the experts. Ranging in age from 33 to 78, this year’s participants came from as far away as Oregon to New Hampshire and Florida to California – truly the four corners of the country.”
The students are focusing on executive leadership, management, organizational behavior and policy formulation while examining CAP’s national-level operations in great detail.
“Many of our students are already commanders or on wing staff, contributing to CAP’s leadership,” she said. “Those members are here to refine their leadership skills.”
The seven-day course benefits class participants beyond their CAP roles. The leadership, communication and executive management skills, made available through the course at a fraction of what it would cost to attend such classes at various schools and universities, are in high demand by employers in all industries.
Instructors are drawn from the U.S. Air Force’s Air University, from senior CAP leadership and other sources of leadership expertise. Speakers include:
- Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. George Harrison, 2015 NSC provost.
- Maj. Gen. Joe Vazquez, CAP national commander.
- Brig. Gen. Larry Myrick, CAP national vice commander.
- Maj. Gen. Dwight Wheless, chief, CAP Legal Corps.
- Army Col. Jayson Altieri, chairman, CAP Board of Governors.
- Retired Air Force Col. Peter Land, Peter Land & Associates.
- Col. Michael Tyynismaa, CAP-USAF commander.
- Lt. Col. Paul Cianciolo, CAP/NHQ marketing and social media coordinator.
- Don Rowland, CAP’s chief operating officer.
- John Desmarais, CAP’s director of operations.
- Retired Air Force Col. George C. Vogt, CAP’s chief of safety.
- Retired Air Force Col. John Swain, director, CAP Government Relations.
A tour of Moton Field, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, in nearby Tuskegee, is also planned.
Vazquez said professional development activities like National Staff College are instrumental in CAP’s success as a premier public service organization in America and as the Air Force auxiliary.
“National Staff College helps our adult officers polish their leadership skills and add to their experience base,” he said. “By taking advantage of such opportunities, they become better leaders in CAP and in their communities.”
The training is a requirement for earning the Gill Robb Wilson Award, CAP’s highest professional development achievement. Because of the graduate-level design of NSC, as well as its focus on national-level operations, attendance is usually restricted to members who hold the grade of major or above and chief and senior master sergeants who have completed CAP’s Region Staff College or its equivalent and have received their wing commanders’ endorsement.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 70 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. Performing missions for America for the past 73 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.
