Kentucky Wing Civil Air Patrol

Last updated
Kentucky Wing Civil Air Patrol
KY WG Patch D0BB5C0ACE13D.png
Kentucky Wing of Civil Air Patrol
Associated branches
United States Air Force
Command staff
Commander US-O6 insignia.svg Col Jaimie Henson
Deputy Commander US-O5 insignia.svg Lt Col Stephen Warrick
Chief of Staff US-O5 insignia.svg Lt Col Wilson Polidura
Current statistics
Cadets333
Seniors418
Total Membership751
Website kywg.cap.gov
Statistics as of 2025

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]

Contents

Mission

Lt. Col. Ash Groves briefs members of Civil Air Patrol Paducah Composite Squadron and Boy Scout Troop 4. Lt. Col. Ash Groves, commander of the Kentucky Air National Guard's 123rd Maintenance Squadron, briefs members of the Civil Air Patrol.jpg
Lt. Col. Ash Groves briefs members of Civil Air Patrol Paducah Composite Squadron and Boy Scout Troop 4.

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. [ citation needed ]

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.[ citation needed ]

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

Senior Master Sgt. Les Hart, a moral leadership officer and drill instructor from the 202nd Civil Air Patrol Squadron, Bedford County, Kentucky, orders attendees to attention. Senior Master Sgt. Les Hart, 202nd Civil Air Patrol Squadron, Bedford County, Kentucky.jpg
Senior Master Sgt. Les Hart, a moral leadership officer and drill instructor from the 202nd Civil Air Patrol Squadron, Bedford County, Kentucky, orders attendees to attention.
Squadrons of the Kentucky Wing [9]
DesignationSquadron NameLocationNotes
GLR-KY-001Kentucky Wing Headquarters Frankfort
GLR-KY-011Paducah Composite Squadron Paducah
GLR-KY-039Louisville Composite Squadron Crestwood
GLR-KY-050Boone County Composite Squadron Walton GLR-KY-050 Official Website
GLR-KY-057Bowling Green Senior Squadron Bowling Green
GLR-KY-058Frankfort Composite Squadron Frankfort
GLR-KY-073Northern Kentucky Composite Squadron Newport
GLR-KY-122Stuart Powell Cadet Squadron Danville
GLR-KY-131Heartland Composite Squadron Elizabethtown
GLR-KY-214Bowman Field Senior Squadron Louisville
GLR-KY-216Fort Campbell Composite Squadron Clarksville
GLR-KY-221Blue Grass Senior Squadron Lexington
GLR-KY-222Van Meter Cadet Squadron Lexington
GLR-KY-223Owensboro Composite Squadron Owensboro
GLR-KY-225Elkhorn Cadet Squadron Georgetown
GLR-KY-300Southern Kentucky Cadet Squadron Bowling Green
GLR-KY-357Lake Cumberland Cadet Squadron Somerset
GLR-KY-999Kentucky Legislative Squadron Frankfort
Former Squadrons of the Kentucky Wing
DesignationSquadron NameLocationNotes
GLR-KY-123Kentucky ANG Composite Squadron Louisville Inactive c. 2023

Kentucky Civil Air Patrol Wing Commanders

Commander's NameRankPeriod of Command Service
Albert Henry Near Colonel1941–1942
Carl W. UlrichMajor1942
Charles H. GartrellMajor1942–1943
Howard B. BrownCaptain1943
William S. RinehartColonel1943–1946
Charles E. HallColonel1946–1949
John B. Wathen IIIColonel1949–1953
Francis A. BlevinsColonel1953–1957
Houston H. DoyleColonel1957–1958
Carlos O. PuckettColonel1958–1959
James A. DenhamColonel1959–1961
Francis A. BlevinsColonel1961–1965
George B. CarterColonel1965–1969
Richard R. DooleyColonel1969–1971
Charles E. Lynn Jr.Colonel1971–1972
John F. PriceColonel1972–1976
William R. RitterColonel1976–1977
Herman H. BishopColonel1977–1980
Nathaniel L. TuckerColonel1980–1982
George M. HudsonColonel1982–1986
William K. HughesColonel1986–1991
Denzil AllenColonel1991–1994
Douglas N. HuffColonel1994–1997
Jimmie W. CantrellColonel1997–1998
Michael A. CooperColonel1998–1999
John F. PriceColonel1999–2000
Loretta L. HolbrookColonel2000–2004
Henry L. HeaberlinColonel2004–2009
Robert J. KoobColonel2009–2013
James F. HugginsColonel2013–2016
David A. KantorColonel2016–2017
Darrel D. WilliamsonColonel2017–2021
Brian W. SchmuckColonel2021–2024
Jaimie HensonColonel2024 - present

[ citation needed ]

See also

References

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