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Throwback Thursday with Lt Col Doug Dudley

September 3, 2020

Welcome to our seventh installment of our Throwback Thursday feature. If this is your first time vising our Throwback Thursday feature, be sure to check out the others by clicking the Throwback Thursday link in the “Categories” section to the right.

Today we feature Lt Col Doug Dudley in pictures from just a few years ago. While Lt Col Dudley may be a new member of our squadron, he is certainly not new to Civil Air Patrol.

Doug started his time wearing Air Force blue in 1981 when he joined Junior ROTC at Bellevue East High School in Bellevue, Nebraska.  While in JROTC he served as the Junior Varsity and Varsity Weapons Drill Team Commander, the Color Guard Commander, and the unit Deputy Commander.  Not long after beginning his time in JROTC, a couple of his classmates convinced him to attend a Civil Air Patrol meeting and his ongoing 38+ year CAP career started soon thereafter.  He initially joined CAP as a cadet in the Offutt Cadet Squadron at Offutt AFB, Nebraska in May of 1982.  Soon after joining, he became qualified in emergency services as a ground team member and as a radio operator.  In the summer of ’82 he attended the North Central Region Special Services Corps (aka Blue Beret) summer encampment at Fort McCoy and Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Doug held various positions in the cadet program including Cadet Commander of the Offutt Cadet Squadron and of the Blacksheep Composite Squadron in Mesquite, Texas.  He achieved the Earhart Award and was promoted to the rank of C/Lt Col.  Doug was prepared to test for his Spaatz but was unable to do so when he moved away to college, and to this day, his inability to complete his Spaatz Award remains one of his biggest regrets.

Here is Cadet Dudley as Varsity Weapons Drill Team Commander

Blue Beret Sergeant Dudley and two fellow cadets give a CAP presentation to JROTC class

Doug became a senior member when he turned 21 while attending college at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.  During his time as a senior member he has held various positions at the squadron, group, and wing level, including Commander of the Skeet Eason Composite Squadron (now Waco Composite Squadron) in Waco, Texas; and the Offutt Composite Squadron, at Offutt AFB, Nebraska—the same squadron where he originally joined as a cadet and served as Cadet Commander.  He also served as the Director of Emergency Services for North Carolina Wing.  Doug’s purpose for continuing in CAP is to do emergency services work.  He has been a qualified Ground Team Leader and a rated Observer since 1991 and has also held certifications as Ground Operations Director, Air Branch Director, Operations Section Chief, Communications Unit Leader, Radio Operator, and Flightline Marshaller and Supervisor.  One of his goals now that he has settled in Texas is to renew those expired certifications and pursue qualification as an Incident Commander.  Doug is also a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician and holds a Search and Rescue Technician II (SARTECH II) Certification from the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR). 

Doug was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Air Force upon graduation from Baylor in 1990.  He served 28 ½ years as a career Communications and Cyberspace Operations Officer retiring in 2019 at the rank of Colonel.  He started his career as a software engineer supporting the testing of electronic countermeasures systems for the B-52, B-1, and B-2 bombers.  He did a tour in nuclear command and control and two tours in special operations.  He commanded at the squadron, group, and center levels and served in eight Air Force Major Commands (MAJCOM), four joint organizations and the Air Staff during his career.  He was the first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) at Ft Bragg, North Carolina, and the Director of Communications and Chief Information Officer for Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.  He culminated his career as the Commander of the Air Force Network Integration Center at Scott AFB, Illinois. 

Colonel Dudley on the range at Hurlburt Field, FL with 50 cal rifle

Lt Col Dudley in a Blackhawk over Kuwait in 2011

Lt Col Dudley in front of destroyed Iraqi tank in Baghdad in 2011

Major General Earl Matthews gives Dudley the oath of office upon his promotion to Colonel in 2012

Colonel Dudley and his daughter Alicia upon her promotion to C/MSgt

Colonel Dudley and his daughter Alicia next to AC-130 Gunship at Hurlburt Field, FL

Doug contributes much of his success in his Air Force career to his time in Civil Air Patrol.  “Since my rank and leadership positions in CAP preceded those in my active duty career, CAP gave me the opportunity to test my leadership skills and learn how to deal with organizational challenges in a sort of 'sandbox environment' to hone my skills prior to facing those issues in my active duty career."  Now that he has retired from active duty, Doug looks forward to the opportunity to possibly command again in CAP at the squadron level and potentially beyond at some time in the future. 

Doug and his wife Lisa live in Spring Branch, Texas and have five children.  Their oldest daughter, Alicia, was a CAP cadet and achieved her Mitchell in the minimum amount of time possible before attending college and ROTC at Angelo State University.  She is now a first lieutenant in the US Air Force assigned as a Cyberspace Operations Officer in the 27th Intelligence Squadron at Langley AFB, Virginia.

Thank you Lt Col Dudley for your service to our country and Civil Air Patrol!

 

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