MAXWELL AFB, Ala. — Brig. Gen. Paul Bergman, CAP, of Wabash, Ind., has been  elected to the Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors by the CAP National Executive Committee.

CAP is the civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force with more than 64,000 volunteer members nationwide.

Bergman, who currently serves as special assistant to the CAP national commander for homeland security, says his appointment to the board reflects CAP’s increasing focus on homeland security missions.

“Since Sept. 11, 2001, CAP has been tasked more frequently with missions designed to protect our communities,” Bergman said. “This is an important new direction for CAP because it provides our volunteer members a way to have real impact on our nation’s security.”

Bergman is a consultant for two homeland security organizations in Washington, D.C.  In this capacity, he is engaged in planning and executing Weapons of Mass Destruction exercises for individual states and cities around the country in concert with the Domestic Preparedness Office of the Department of Homeland Security.  After the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon, he served as a member of the team that authored the Terrorism Annex for the District of Columbia Response Plan. 

Bergman also operates his own consulting company, which, in addition to conducting chemical and biological tabletop exercises, is engaged by counties across Indiana to conduct hazard analyses and author subsequent county-level comprehensive emergency management plans.

As a member of the CAP Board of Governors, Bergman will serve in a key leadership position. The board was established by the Defense Authorization Act of 2001 after CAP’s leadership structure was reorganized. It is made up of four CAP representatives, four members appointed by the Air Force, and three members from other agencies and organizations. The board is CAP’s primary decision-making body.

Bergman joined CAP in 1982 as a member of the Indiana Wing, serving as a unit public affairs officer, squadron commander, group commander, wing chief of staff, wing vice commander, and wing commander.  He then served as Great Lakes Region commander, CAP National Chief of Staff and National Vice Commander. Bergman served as CAP National Commander from August 1996 to March 1998.

Bergman’s CAP awards and decorations include five Distinguished Service Medals, four Exceptional Service Awards, four Meritorious Service Awards, three Commander’s Commendation Awards, two Lifesaving Awards, three Unit Citation Award ribbons, and the Aero?space Education Award. He has earned the Gill Robb Wilson Award, as well as numerous other service and activity ribbons.  He was recognized as the 1984 Indiana Wing Senior Member of the Year.  In 1990, he was recognized by CAP National Headquarters as the Wing Commander of the Year.  He has also been awarded Life Membership in Civil Air Patrol by the CAP National Board.

Bergman was born in Defiance, Ohio, and entered the U.S. Air Force in 1958.  He was assigned to the U.S. Air Force Presidential Honor Guard in Washington, D.C., where he performed ceremonial functions for the President, visiting foreign dignitaries, and performing military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. He later served in Air Force Intelligence Command overseas assignments in Tripoli, North Africa, Turkey, and Germany. His active military service concluded with a tour at Grissom Air Force Base, Ind.  He was later a member of the Military Department of Indiana, serving as the air wing liaison officer in the Indiana Guard Reserve and retiring as a colonel in 1998.

With 40 years of community service in the disaster relief arena, Bergman has served as executive director of his county Emergency Management Agency, county disaster chair?man of the American Red Cross, reserve captain of the local sheriff’s department, and county chairman of the board of the American Red Cross. He has earned state certification as a hazardous materials technician, emergency medical technician, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation instructor.  He has also served in the elective office of city councilman, as well as numerous offices in other civic and professional organizations. Bergman also served with the Washington, D.C., and Wabash, Ind., police departments.

Bergman is a pilot and member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Air Force Association, and a lifetime member of the American Legion. He is also a charter member of the Air Force Honor Guard Association.

Bergman attended the University of Maryland and American University of Washington, D.C., earning his bachelors degree from Indiana University.

Bergman is married to the former Diana C. Kirby, who is a retired CAP member. The Bergmans have two children, Kenneth and Karen, and four grandchildren.

Civil Air Patrol is a nonprofit organization with more than 64,000 members nationwide. It performs 95% of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members take a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the almost 27,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 60 years.