John Michael Weaver of Leonardtown, a member of the St. Mary's Composite Squadron in the Maryland Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), was promoted to captain on September 14.
Weaver, 47, joined CAP in 1996, and serves as his squadron's aerospace education officer and maintenance officer. He recently received his technician rating in logistics, completing the second level of CAP's senior member training program.
He is also certified as a mission observer and mission scanner to serve on CAP aircrews performing search and rescue missions.
St. Mary's Composite Squadron meets Wednesday evenings from 7-9 p.m. at the Capt. Walter Francis Duke Regional Airport and is commanded by 1st Lt. Donald W. Cone Jr.
CAP, the official U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, is a nonprofit organization with more than 60,000 members nationwide. Its volunteers perform 95 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as well as homeland security, disaster relief and counter drug missions.
The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 25,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. Cadets in CAP participate in a structured program through group and individual activities that include aerospace education, physical training, leadership, and moral and ethical values. The program encompasses 16 achievement levels that include study in these four areas.
There are approximately 1,300 members of CAP in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 31 search and rescue missions as assigned by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and was credited with 19 finds. For information, visit http://mdcap.org.