[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 127 (Friday, August 3, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S10896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO COLONEL RUSSELL M. OPLAND

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, today I commend a distinguished 
public servant, the commander of Delaware Civil Air Patrol, COL Russell 
M. Opland.
  Civil Air Patrol, CAP, is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air 
Force, and is comprised entirely of civilian volunteers. It was formed 
on the shores of Delaware and New Jersey in 1941 to patrol coastal 
waters for enemy submarines. The wing commander is the senior corporate 
officer within a CAP Wing and is responsible to the Civil Air Patrol 
Corporation and to the regional commander for ensuring that corporate 
objectives, policies, and operational directives are executed within 
the Wing.
  CAP has three missions: cadet programs, emergency services, and 
aerospace education. The cadet program provides youth, ages 12-21, the 
opportunity to serve their communities and develop into responsible 
citizens, inspiring them to become the next generation of pilots, 
engineers, mechanics, and aviation enthusiasts. As part of the 
emergency services mission, CAP performs 95 percent of inland aerial 
search and rescue missions in the continental U.S. CAP volunteers also 
perform homeland security, disaster relief, and counterdrug missions at 
the request of Federal, State, and local agencies.
  Colonel Opland has led the Delaware Wing of the CAP since August 2003 
and will step down on September 8, 2007. He has volunteered an average 
of 38 hours a week to the people of Delaware and the CAP cadets while 
still keeping his full time job as chief privacy and information 
security officer for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
  During his tenure as commander, Colonel Opland earned significant 
awards and honors including the following: four Exceptional Service 
Awards, three Meritorious Service Awards, the Gill Robb Wilson Award, 
No. 2074, Delaware Wing Senior Member of the Year, the Air Force 
Association, AFA, Award for Outstanding CAP Achievements, 
``Outstanding'' rating as Commander, 2005 Wing Compliance Inspection, 
and ``Outstanding'' rating as Incident Commander, 2003 Evaluated SAR/DR 
exercise.
  In addition to his personal awards, Colonel Opland led the Delaware 
Wing to national recognition. Despite the Wing's small size, Colonel 
Opland's attention to operational detail and discipline allowed the 
Delaware Wing to log the most flying hours of any CAP wing in the 
nation, resulting in the wing receiving three new aircraft. For each of 
the past four years, Delaware cadets participating in national drill 
team and/or color guard competitions placed third or higher.
  I commend Colonel Opland for his dedication to aerospace education, 
to helping build young enthusiasts who believe in volunteering, and to 
the vital aerial missions that help keep Delaware and the Nation more 
secure. It is the tireless work of citizens like him that make this 
Nation great.

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