Media release provided by the Civil Air Patrol.
GREENVILLE SC – First Lieutenant Andrew M. Georgia has taken command of Greenville Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), in a change-of-command ceremony held at Greenville Downtown Airport. He succeeds Captain Karen L. Taylor, who had led the unit since 2018.
First. Lt. Andrew M. Georgia, commander of Greenville Composite Squadron, Civil Air PatrolCapt. David Bennett, Civil Air Patrol
Lt. Georgia had assumed command informally in March, but the official ceremony had to be delayed because of meeting restrictions necessitated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Having participated in the CAP cadet program from 1993 to 1997, Lt. Georgia joined the Greenville squadron in 2019, when he introduced his son to the program. He sees this promotion as an opportunity to give back to CAP’s youth program, to which he says he can attribute much of the character and success that he enjoys today.
The greatest challenge he sees before him is rebuilding the squadron membership—of both cadet and senior members—to the numbers the unit enjoyed before the pandemic forced CAP to restrict in-person meetings nationwide. To accomplish that, he says, the unit will need to nurture the members who remain active, as well as to seek new members to bring the numbers back up to pre-covid levels.
Lt Georgia says he also would like to return the Greenville squadron to its previous position as a leader in CAP’s South Carolina Wing for emergency services training and readiness.
About Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is the longtime auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and, as such, is a valued member of the USAF Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 single-engine aircraft and 1,550 small unmanned aircraft systems (SUASes). It performs about 90% of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 82 lives annually. CAP’s 66,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Operating as a nonprofit organization, CAP also plays a leading role in STEM and aerospace education, and its members serve as mentors to 28,000 young people participating in CAP’s cadet programs. Visit www.CAP.News or www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information.
