Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 25, 1993 TAG: 9311260204
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: By BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The group's original mission was to search for submarines off the United States coast. Members provided a valuable service, sometimes taking part in offshore attacks by wiring bombs to the wings of their private aircraft.
Today, the Civil Air Patrol is a nationwide volunteer organization and an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Its members conduct 90 percent of all search and rescue operations on the ground and in the air for downed airplanes and missing people. There were 70 such searches nationwide last year.
This year, Roanoke earned another distinction within the organization. In August, Roanoke native Brig. Gen. Richard Anderson was elected national commander, the highest position in the Civil Air Patrol. Coincidentally, the state commander, Col. William Jackson and the state's vice commander, Lt. Col. Charles Glass, are also from Roanoke. This is the first time in the history of the organization that Roanokers have held so many high-ranking
positions and the first time the Virginia wing has drawn its leaders from ``this side of the mountains,'' Glass said.
The three men got together last weekend at the Virginia Wing's annual convention in Roanoke. Anderson was the guest speaker at the Saturday night banquet. He was not available for an interview, but Jackson, Glass and Karen Copenhaver, director of public affairs for the Virginia Wing, discussed their organization and their new leader.
Much of the focus of the Civil Air Patrol is on its Cadet Program, Copenhaver said, under which youngsters age 13 to 18 can learn about aviation, military drill, wilderness survival, rescue, first aid and radio communication.
Besides being the youngest national commander at age 38, Anderson is the first to have come up through the cadet program. He joined in 1968, when he was 13; in 1972, he was given the Carl A. Spaatz Award, the highest honor a cadet can earn. A year later, he earned his private pilot's certificate. He was commander of the cadet squadron, and has served as wing commander, region commander and national vice commander.
Glass, who was once commander of the Roanoke Squadron, watched Anderson grow up in the program and helped guide him along the way.
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``He was a very good cadet,'' Glass said.
``He was a high achiever. It's nice to see one of our young troops make good.''
In 1979, Anderson graduated from Virginia Tech before going on to graduate school in Missouri. He has continued to work with the Civil Air Patrol, winning dozens of awards and decorations along the way.
Today, Anderson is a colonel on active duty with the Air Force. He is based in Hampton, where he lives with his wife and three children.
As commander of the Virginia Wing, Jackson is responsible for 35 units, consisting of 1,100 members, 400 of whom are cadets. He joined the Civil Air Patrol in 1983, when his son, who is now on active duty with the Navy, became interested in the organization. He works for a petroleum marketing firm.
Glass, who works for General Electric in Salem, joined in 1962. He came to Roanoke looking for a flying organization to join, and found the Civil Air Patrol.
Jackson said his duties require about 25 hours of his time each week; Glass said his duties take 16 to 20 hours. Most of the work is done on nights and weekends, they said, because most missions tend to start in the evenings. During an operation, squadrons may fly 16 two-hour sorties a day.
The flying, Jackson said, is ``low, slow and dirty,'' and a special certification is required to fly in the mountains of Western Virginia.
The biggest change the two men have seen in the organization has been in the technology and in the training they are able to offer.
``There is an increased level of professionalism,'' Glass said. ``We're much better at it than we used to be.''
``It's become a science, now,'' Jackson agreed.
With Anderson's election to national commander, Glass said, ``the torch has been passed.''
Anderson, he said, belongs to a new breed. ``We expect a lot of great things from him.''
Memo: ***CORRECTION***