(1) Col. David E. Crawford (left) and Lt. Col. John Kay.
(2) Col. Roy Douglass.
Maj. Don Penven
Public Affairs Officer
North Carolina Wing
NOTH CAROLINA – The 1,500 members of the North Carolina Wing have a new commander – Col. David E. Crawford, who received the ceremonial guidon from Col. Larry Ragland, Middle East Region commander, before a packed auditorium at wing headquarters in Burlington.
A 30-year veteran of Civil Air Patrol, Crawford succeeds Lt. Col. John Kay, who had been serving as interim commander in place of Col. Roy Douglass. Douglass left the wing commander’s post to become Middle East Region chief of staff.
Previously the commander of the Raleigh-Wake Composite Squadron, Crawford began his four-year term as commander by expressing his vision of the direction in which he will lead the wing.
“It is my hope to see the North Carolina Wing move toward a more universal approach for our operations,” he said. “We will continue reaching out to the other six wings in the Middle East Region by removing boundaries.
“State lines are just lines on a map, and we will encourage more interaction and joint operations between us and these wings.”
Later this month, Crawford noted, the wing will conduct a joint search and rescue exercise with the South Carolina Wing. He said he’ll also promote additional activities with the Virginia Wing and beyond.
“When disaster strikes with hurricanes, tornadoes and floods, each wing in the region must be prepared to move quickly and effectively to assist its neighbors,” he said.
Crawford previously served at the wing level as chief of staff, counterdrug officer, alerting office, director of operations and director of communications.
