(Fremont County, WY) – On July 9th, 2021, the Wind River Composite Squadron upgraded to a larger Civil Air Patrol (CAP) van, which was approved to accommodate the rapid growth of the Fremont County squadron.
Captain Karl Falken drove the six passenger 201 Dodge Caravan from Lander to Ten Sleep, where he exchanged the vehicle for a 12 passenger 2009 Ford e350 Super Duty Passenger Van.
Major Gwen Webster, Squadron Commander, and Captain Juthann Self, Health/Finance Officer of the Cloud Peak Composite Squadron in Sheridan, also helped facilitate the upgrade, which was approved by Wyoming Wing Director of Logistics, Major Jan L. Johnson.
In less than a year since chartering, the Fremont County squadron has become the third largest squadron in Wyoming. The Wind River Squadron now has twelve cadets on the roll and continues to grow.
The new van will not only allow more passengers to be transported for squadron activities, but it has a towing capacity of up to 7,300 lbs, more than seven times that of the Caravan.
With four cadets planning on attending the Wing’s summer encampment next month, this is a timely improvement in the squadron’s capabilities.
The squadron looks forward to using this vehicle regularly in supporting the Civil Air Patrol’s stated mission of, “Supporting America’s communities with emergency response, diverse aviation and ground services, youth development, and promotion of air, space and cyber power.”
For more information on the Civil Air Patrol, click here.