The Civil Air Patrol National Board elected Maj. Gen. Chuck Carr Jr., to a three-year term as national commander last week. Carr, the former vice commander, received his second star (the highest CAP rank) and officially took command Aug. 20. The board also elected Brig. Gen. Joseph Vazquez, former Middle East Region Commander, to a one-year term as the national vice commander. “It is an honor and a privilege to be elected as CAP’s national commander,” said Carr in a release. “CAP has a rich history of 70 years of service to America, and I look forward to partnering with our 61,000 citizen volunteers to fill the emergency services, disaster relief, youth development, and aerospace education needs of communities across the nation.”
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.