Rohles earns Civil Air Patrol's 'Pilot of Year' award

FALLBROOK — Lt. Col. Jerry Rohles proudly accepted the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Group 7 Pilot of the Year award recently from Fallbrook Squadron 87 Commander Maj. Jim Redmon.

Rohles is a pilot who has continually shown extraordinary dedication to all of the flying activities of Squadron 87 and the California Wing, especially over the past year.

Among his many accomplishments, he flew 50 mission hours for Group 7 commitments and volunteered to replace crews at the last minute from other groups whose circumstances caused them to cancel their participation.

In addition, he is in training to become a mission manager.

He flew numerous sorties in the search for aviator Steve Fossett in both the C182 and GA8 airplanes and flew 12 other sorties resulting in approximately 28 hours in the search grid and/or in transit.

He flew another 14 hours of Air Force Rescue Coordination Center missions and five hours participating in the Edwards AFB Shuttle Off Airport Landing Exercise.

His dedication to the CAP mission has been demonstrated by his volunteering for missions in which he did not launch and patiently waiting long hours to be tasked in others.

Rohles’ tireless support of CAP training is demonstrated by his flying almost 50 hours dedicated to instructing CAP pilots both in the squadron and in group search and rescue exercises.

He has also been an ardent supporter of the Cadet Orientation Ride program. He coordinated efforts with the Air Force ROTC Unit at San Diego State over a two-year period to obtain approval for participation in the Flight Orientation Program.

In addition, he has coordinated the efforts with the CAP Oceanside Squadron 47 and Hemet Squadron 59 for their orientation flights.

He volunteered every time he was needed and flew both ROTC and California Wing cadets on numerous sorties.

All of the pilots in Squadron 87 look to Rohles to set the example for dedication and professionalism in the unit and he never disappoints.