South Dakota Wing, Civil Air Patrol, has received a rare National Commanders Unit Citation award.
The award, recognizing four notable accomplishments during 2024, was presented at CAPs joint South Dakota Wing and North Central Region conference on May 3 in Spearfish.
South Dakota Wing exemplified our core value of excellence through their work supporting our Emergency Services mission, said M.G. Regina Aye, CAPs national commander. The wing earned kudos for its work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on a missing person search, Global Strike Command with damage assessment after a crash, and the 89th Attack Squadron for MQ-9 support.
Finally, South Dakota Wing supported the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology with an imagery mission that collected and processed over 786,000 multispectral images mapped across 8,125 acres. The wings outstanding work built strong relationships with these partners.
Col. Kevin Pegelow, South Dakota Wing commander, accepted the award from Col. Tom Theis, CAPs North Central Region commander. The award nomination was spearheaded by Maj. Richard Rezac and reflected the final year of the term of the previous South Dakota wing commander, Col Michael Marek.
2024 was a banner year for South Dakota Wing, said Marek. Our members across the wing are professional and committed to service. Whether that be on our operational missions, as this prestigious award recognizes, in our world-class youth program, or in our active aerospace education program. It is an honor to be part of the South Dakota Wing family
The award comes with a ribbon for the wings flag and a distinctive uniform ribbon, which can be worn by all members who were active in the wing during calendar year 2024.
Once awarded, members transferring to CAP in another state may continue to wear the ribbon.
With over 500 members in South Dakota and units in Brookings, Custer, Pierre, Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Spearfish and Tea, and a forming unit in Aberdeen, the wing can deploy its aircraft, ground teams and small photography drones to assist in disaster response and other support to local, state, tribal and federal agencies.
For more information about South Dakota Wing, CAP, visit the wing website.
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