MORGANTOWN — Monday evening at the Civil Air Patrol building at the Morgantown Municipal Airport the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Squadron said good-bye to their old commander and welcomed someone new. Lt. Col. Richard Judy stepped down as squadron commander and welcomed Major D. Logan Wheatcraft as the new leader of the Morgantown area CAP.
WV Wing Commander Colonel Paul G. McCroskey ushered in the changing of command with members of the squadron in attendance. Judy, who made a few remarks before the ceremony, said the experience was a lot of growing on his part, as well as growing on the part of the squadron. He thanked them for their work under his command.
“This is kind of a sad day for me, but don’t worry you are in good hands. You’re going to have a very capable commander in Major Wheatcraft,” he said.
The ceremony then went underway, and Lt. Col Richard Judy relinquished command and passed the squadron flag to major Wheatcraft, who was then introduced as their new commander.
Wheatcraft then made a few remarks and said he was looking forward to what the future holds and implementing fresh ideas. He thanked Judy for the time he spent working under him and said he learned a lot.
The CAP commander serves a four year term, and they hold a ceremony every four years when a new commander is appointed.
“It’s deeply rooted in the traditions of the military whenever command is established or revoked by any means. It really allows the membership to know that ‘hey we understand who the new commander is,’” said Judy.
CAP is the official auxiliary of the United States Air Force formed in 1941. The Morgantown Squadron has also been around since 1941. They have three missions mandated by Congress-aerospace education, the cadet program and emergency services, such as if a plane goes down they are specially trained to search and rescue them. Wheatcraft said their squadron is around 45 members- senior members and youth cadets.
Judy said serving as commander was a very rewarding experience for him.
“It’s another 40 hour a week job on top of your regular job, but you get so much more out of it then you put into it,” said Judy.
He said the day was bittersweet for him, as he watched many of the cadets grow up. He is happy to know they’ve grown up in a great environment where they can get help with any problem they may have- whether it be within CAP or out in the world.
“It’s all about the kids really,” he said.
Judy said he will stay at the squadron and help Wheatcraft wherever the new commander sees fit. Judy is also on the CAP state staff and will continue his roll there as director of information technology.
Upon asking Wheatcraft about how he felt about his new position he said it feels good.
“I’ve been the deputy commander for seniors here at the squadron for past several years so I’ve definitely gained some valuable experience and looking forward to kind of putting my own brand on it,” he said.
Wheatcraft said going forward his goals are to keep the recruitment and retention of their members up. He also said he wants to really hit training hard for emergency services to prepare for any disasters or emergencies that may happen. Also, to carry forth with the three charted missions of the CAP.
