Pineda Prohibited From Having Contact With Any Member of CAP

The US Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors has suspended the CAP national commander for a period of up to 180 days.

According to Maj. Gen. Richard L. Bowling, BoG chairman, the 11-member board convened a special meeting Aug. 5 to receive the CAP Inspector General’s Report of Investigation concerning allegations against Maj. Gen. Antonio J. Pineda (pictured below).

The investigation was conducted by CAP Inspector General Col. James Linker after allegations were made that a CAP Florida Wing member took U.S. Air Force Air Command and Staff College tests for Pineda in 2002 and 2003. CAP senior members are allowed to enroll in Air Force professional development courses to strengthen their knowledge about the U.S. Air Force. Before becoming national commander, Pineda held the positions of Florida Wing commander and Southeast Region commander for the organization. He is a retired agent of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

"Until the Board of Governors has completed its final action, the general’s CAP membership has been suspended for a period of up to 180 days," said Bowling. "During this period, Maj. Gen. Pineda is prohibited from having contact with any member of Civil Air Patrol."

Brig. Gen. Amy S. Courter, CAP national vice commander, will assume the duties of the national commander during this period, as prescribed in Section 10 of the CAP Constitution and Bylaws. This is standard procedure in situations like this according to CAP’s Constitution and Bylaws.

Established in 2000, the BoG includes representatives of CAP, the U.S. Air Force and civilians involved in education, aviation and emergency management. Both the national commander and national vice commander serve on the BoG. The board meets twice per year.

Courter joined CAP’s Michigan Wing in 1979 and most recently served as chair of the CAP Professional Development Committee. She served as commander of the Michigan Wing from 1999 to 2002 and as senior adviser to the CAP National Cadet Advisory Council. Courter has worked for 25 years – most recently as vice president of Information Technology -- with Valassis, a global billion-dollar marketing services company based in Livonia, Mich. While at Valassis, she expanded the IT department into a business, rather than just a support group, by developing business-to-business applications that generated revenue.

CAP National Headquarters will release the BoG’s final decision regarding Pineda when that information is available.

FMI: www.cap.gov