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Throwback Thursday with Lt Col Ed Garland

July 2, 2020

Welcome to our fifth 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 Ed Garland in pictures from just a few years ago. Ed began his CAP career in the New Orleans Moisant Squadron in 1956 and served for 3 years before becoming an AFROTC Cadet in college.  He took his first flight in an airplane in the squadron’s L-5 shown below.

Following graduation as an Electronics Engineer from Tulane University, Ed attended USAF pilot training at Laredo AFB.  Graduating first in his class, he selected an F-4C and was deployed Vietnam.  The picture below shows him on the right in front of an F-4 just before a mission over North Vietnam.  In October 1966, he was shot down on his 70th mission and rescued from the mountains 80 miles northwest of Hanoi, North Vietnam in one of the biggest rescues of the war.

Following recovery from his wounds, he was assigned to Randolph AFB as a Flight Instructor in T-37s.

Following active duty, he joined the 433d Airlift Wing at Kelly AFB flying the C-124, C-130 and C-5 aircraft, where he served in several staff positions including Chief of Command & Control, Wing IG, Wing Vice Commander and Wing Commander, retiring as a Colonel with almost 30 years military time.

In his civilian career he worked in several engineering and senior management positions at Kelly AFB for 30 years.  In one of his last assignments, he served as the Chief Engineer and Technical Director of the C-17 program during its acquisition by the Air Force.

Ed owes his Air Force career to the values he learned in CAP as a young man.  CAP was an invaluable stepping stone to that career.  As a CFII and CFIG with over 3,500 hours of flying time, he has had the privilege of flying and instructing in over 23 different military and civilian aircraft and gliders.  He was recently awarded the FAA Master Pilot Award for 55 years of accident free civilian and military flying.

His love for teaching aviation in the military and civilian world, and engineering at the college level for over 20 years has prompted him to want to work and fly with the cadets and to encourage them to consider the Air Force as a career.  Seven years ago in 2013, he had that opportunity to give back at the urging of Lt Col Rich Ferguson, and he rejoined CAP.  He has served at the squadron and Group levels and is currently the Advisor to the Group V Commander and a Check Pilot/Flight Examiner in the C-182 and C-172.

He is married to Marilyn Garland and has 3 children.

Thank you Ed for your service to our country and your dedication and support of Civil Air Patrol!

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