MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The national commander of Civil Air Patrol, the volunteer civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, recently paid a visit to Middle Tennessee State University to celebrate the decade-long partnership between the two institutions.

Maj. Gen. Regena Aye, CAP’s highest-ranking officer, leads CAP’s nearly 70,000 members across the United States in fulfilling the nonprofit organization’s three primary programs of emergency services, cadet programs and aerospace education.

“It was an absolute joy to spend time with our partners at MTSU and learn more about their incredible work supporting their students, veterans, and Civil Air Patrol, at their beautiful campus,” Aye said of her Oct. 3 visit.

Aye, along with Col. Jeffery Garrett, commander of CAP’s Southeast Region, which includes Tennessee, were guests of retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, MTSU’s senior adviser for veterans and leadership initiatives. They toured the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center, where Huber briefed the officers about MTSU’s commitment to helping veterans, both on and off campus.

“I was inspired by Lt. Gen. Huber’s passion for and the university’s commitment to serving veterans, whether they are MTSU students or not,” she said.

Here’s a video recap of her visit:

Huber honored Aye with the installation of a commemorative brick at MTSU’s Veterans Memorial, located in front of the Tom Jackson Building. He presented Aye with a rendering of the brick at a gathering of Army and Air Force ROTC cadets and Aerospace students, as well as staff and faculty with ties to CAP. Also invited were youth who serve as cadets in CAP’s squadrons in Murfreesboro and Smyrna.

In its role as the Air Force auxiliary, Huber said, CAP also is a member of the Total Force, filling a critical role in defense support of civil authorities that includes preserving life, relieving suffering, and providing training support. CAP aerial crews are currently flying emergency service missions over areas impacted by hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“Here is a senior military leader that has an organization of over 70,000 members,” he told the crowd. “MTSU will now make you part of the history of our Veterans Memorial.”

MTSU and CAP have been partners in aerospace education for cadets since 2014, hosting since 2017 CAP’s National Cadet Engineering Technology Academy, which attracts youth from across the nation to the campus.

Aye, an online professor and a doctoral degree program coordinator at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, gathered with administrators and faculty from Basic and Applied Sciences, as well as the College of Education, to thank them for their commitment to the annual academy. CAP also connects with the college each year at the EAA AirVenture aviation event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

“Among the many ways they support CAP, their dedicated faculty and staff host our cadets each summer and provide them with exciting hands-on activities that help shape their futures,” she said.

Basic and Applied Sciences Dean Greg Van Patten said he was  “delighted to get to welcome General Aye to our campus.”

Added Van Patten, “Civil Air Patrol upholds an important mission, providing life-saving training and service for in times of distress. I am grateful that MTSU and the College of Basic and Applied Sciences can contribute to this mission through Aerospace and STEM education, and particularly through our annual hosting of CAP’s E-Tech Academy.”

This was the second MTSU campus visit by a CAP national commander, hosting Maj. Gen. Mark Smith in 2019. The two entities first partnered from 1948 to 1953, when CAP’s Middle Tennessee State College Squadron was organized by students taking flight training at the then on-campus airport.

— Andrew Oppmann (Andrew.Oppmann@mtsu.edu)