Civil Air Patrol officers receive promotion, award

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, August 12, 2015

SEQUIM — Two Civil Air Patrol officers from Sequim and Port Angeles have received promotions, and one was given an award.

Lt. Col. Donald Long, commander of Washington Wing’s West Central Group, presided over July 7 ceremonies for volunteers in the Dungeness Composite Squadron in Sequim.

Long promoted senior member Jacob Patterson of Sequim to second lieutenant and Port Angeles resident Mark Swanson, who is the squadron commander, to the grade of major.

Second Lt. Drew Swanson received Civil Air Patrol’s Brig. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Yeager Award.

Patterson joined the squadron at the beginning of the year and recently completed Civil Air Patrol introductory training.

An emergency medical technician in Port Angeles, he is expected to take over leadership of the squadron’s cadet program.

Swanson was named the unit commander in May, replacing 1st Lt. Matt Stewart, a Port Townsend resident.

Swanson joined the Civil Air Patrol in 2004 and served for four years as the public affairs officer for the state wing in New Jersey.

He served for more than three years as a captain in New Jersey and then Washington state.

He completed an eight-week Civil Air Patrol leadership course in addition to other training.

The Charles “Chuck” Yeager Award honors Civil Air Patrol members who pass a lengthy aerospace knowledge exam. It is named in honor of Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to pass the sound barrier.

Teens age 12 to 18 are encouraged to visit the squadron, which meets from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. each Tuesday in the cafeteria at Sequim Middle School, 301 W. Hendrickson Road.

The squadron also seeks prospective adult officers, known as seniors, who are interested in the Civil Air Patrol’s three missions of aerospace education, the cadet program and emergency services.

The Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft.

It performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search-and-rescue missions. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.

For information about the Civil Air Patrol, visit http://dungeness.wawg.cap.gov or www.facebook.com/dungenesscap.