WASHINGTON D.C. – On Friday, May 21, 2010, Commander of the Fort McHenry Composite Squadron, Captain Donald Ells, was awarded his Bachelor’s Degree in Intelligence Studies with a concentration in Intelligence Analysis from the American Military University. The ceremony for the AMU class of 2010 was held at The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. and was attended by over 500 of the 3,400 graduates from across the nation and around the world. Among the guests in attendance was Captain Ells’ mother, Sheila Ells, who travelled from their hometown of New Lisbon, Wisconsin to attend the event.

In addition to being the commander of the Civil Air Patrol’s Fort McHenry Composite Squadron, Captain Ells is also an active duty Staff Sergeant with the United States Air Force. He serves as a Space Systems Analyst with the 7th Intelligence Squadron at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.

American Military University provides the opportunity for service members, and other public servants, to complete their degree on-line while still working full-time in jobs which often require continuous travel. He is now among the 5.5% of Air Force enlisted personnel who hold a bachelors degree (Air Force Personnel Center, 2010). His achievement, while working in a demanding career and while leading one of the most active CAP units in the Maryland Wing, serves as an example of professionalism and dedication towards self-improvement. 

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 72 lives in fiscal year 2009. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 23,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years.

More than 1,500 members of CAP serve in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 42 search and rescue missions and were credited with 31 finds. For more information, visit www.mdcap.org.

The Fort McHenry Composite Squadron meets weekly on Tuesday evenings at the Catonsville Armory, 130 Mellor Avenue in Catonsville, Md. Prospective members are always welcome. For more information or directions, visit the squadron website at www.ftmchenrycap.org.