Civil Air Patrol Member Achieves Grover C. Loening Award

Pittsburgh, PA – Civil Air Patrol’s Pennsylvania Wing Group One awarded the Grover C. Loening Achievement Award to Capt. Cynthia Gironda. The award, presented by Wing Commander Col. Gary Fleming, recognizes those members who have committed themselves to leadership and personal development within the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) program.

Gironda is a member of Allegheny Composite Squadron 602, located in West Mifflin, PA and has successfully completed Level III of the Civil Air Patrol Senior Member Professional Development Program. She has steadily worked her way through the first three of five levels by training consistently and serving in numerous staff positions at both the squadron and group levels. Capt. Cynthia Gironda has set a commendable example for other senior members who have dedicated themselves to CAP and its many missions.

Group One, commanded by Major Ed Silassy of Canonsburg, encompasses six area squadrons located in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington, and Somerset Counties. For information regarding any of these squadrons, please email group1pao@gmail.com.

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Performing missions for America for the past 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.