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Civil Air Patrol selects local member to head Illinois wing

  • Published
  • Scott Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Civil Air Patrol Lt. Col. Ricky L. Oeth of Mascoutah, Ill., has been selected as the next commander for the Civil Air Patrol's Illinois Wing. He will take the reins from CAP Col. Gordon A. Larson Jan. 21, 2012, during a change of command ceremony at the Illinois Wing Headquarters located at the DuPage airport near Chicago.

The Illinois wing is comprised of six groups and 32 squadrons with over 1,300 members throughout the state. Oeth has been the wing's vice commander since February 2008. Prior assignments were wing chief of staff from 2004 to 2008, and Group 12 commander from 2000 to 2004. He has also commanded Illinois' Johnson Flight Academy, teaching cadets to fly, since 2002, and was the deputy commandant of the National Emergency Services Academy, or NESA, Incident Command Staff School this year.

Oeth is active in the Civil Air Patrol's Emergency Services mission. Qualifications include Incident Commander Level 1, Planning Section Chief, Ground Branch Director, and a Master Ground Team Badge. He also holds CAP master level ratings in finance and professional development. Oeth is a graduate of the National Staff College, NESA Incident Command Advanced Course, State of Illinois Ground Search and Rescue Course, and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, or AFRCC, Search Management Course. Decorations consist of the National Commander Commendation Award with clasp, Life Saving award, Great Lakes Region and Illinois Wing Senior Member of the Year, and the Meritorious Service Award. As a cadet, Oeth received the Billy Mitchell Award.

Outside of the Civil Air Patrol, Oeth is a member of the Air Force Association's Scott Memorial Chapter, and for the past 19 years, he has been the technical coordinator for Sparta Community School District 140.

About Civil Air Patrol

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 113 lives in fiscal year 2010. Its volunteers 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 the more than 26,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 69 years. It is the largest sponsor annually of Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. For more information on Civil Air Patrol, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com.