Former Fighter Pilot to Assume Command of Oklahoma Wing
Lt. Col. Aaron Oliver preparing for flight in a Civil Air Patrol Cessna.
by Capt. Brandon Lunsford, CAP, Oklahoma Wing
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (June 25, 2021) – Lt Col. Aaron E. Oliver was recently selected as the next commander of Civil Air Patrol’s Oklahoma Wing. He succeeds Col. David L. Roberts, Jr who assumed command in July 2017. The change of command ceremony will take place at the Oklahoma Wing Conference on July 17 in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Oliver is currently the Oklahoma Wing’s assistant chief of staff for administration. He is responsible for the management of all wing administration and personnel matters. He assists with CAP’s continuing education and professional development program, Volunteer University. Oliver previously directed professional development events and served as an instructor at cadet flight academy, Cadet Officer School and National Staff College.
He is an incident commander, having commanded numerous real world and exercise events and was recognized as the National Col. David Kantor Operations Staff Officer of the Year for 2020. Recently, he was notified of his selection as the National Lt. Col. T. Keith Riddle Aircrew Member of the Year for 2021, an award to be presented at the upcoming virtual national conference in August.
Oliver began his CAP career in 1991 as a cadet with the Louisiana Wing where he earned the General Billy Mitchell award. During the summer of 1995, he attended the National Flight Encampment at Oshkosh, Wisconsin where he soloed a Cessna 172. In 1997, he transitioned to senior member earning numerous qualifications including mission instructor and check pilot.
Colonel Oliver transferred to Virginia Wing in 2008 where he was assigned various positions culminating as squadron commander where, under his leadership, the squadron was awarded a Unit Citation Award. In 2011, he transferred to Oklahoma Wing and is working towards becoming a senior level incident commander.
In his professional life, Oliver is a pilot for a major U.S. airline as well as a serving U.S. Air Force Reserve officer. He is a graduate of Air University’s Squadron Officer School, as well as Air Command and Staff College. Oliver also graduated from the U.S. Air Force’s Safety School and the Advanced Instrument School. He has served as an instructor pilot on the T-38C and previously served as an F-15C and F-22 fighter pilot.
Follow the adventures of Oklahoma Wing at Facebook.com/OKWGCAP
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About Civil Air Patrol
Now celebrating its 80th year, Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 single-engine Cessna aircraft and more than 2,000 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the AFRCC with saving 130 lives during the past fiscal year. CAP’s 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Members also serve as mentors to 24,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs.
Visit www.CAP.News or www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information.
