Col. Patrick Collins assumed command of the Hawaii Wing Civil Air Patrol from Col. John Henry Felix during a ceremony in the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. Brian Schatz in February.
Col. Patrick Collins assumed command of the Hawaii Wing Civil Air Patrol from Col. John Henry Felix during a ceremony in the Washington, D.C., office of Sen. Brian Schatz in February.
On hand for the change of command ceremony were CAP National Commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Vasquez, CAP Pacific Region Commander Col. Brian Bishop and Hawaii Wing members.
Collins is a United Airlines pilot and a former Navy aviator.
Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees.
CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited with saving an average of 78 lives annually.
Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.
The organization’s members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people participating in the Civil Air Patrol cadet program.
For more information about the Civil Air Patrol and the Hawaii Wing, visit www.capvolunteernow.com.