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Virginia Civil Air Patrol Retired Member Passes at 84 years old

March 31, 2022

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Lt. Col. Ira V. Hoffman Jr. Virginia Wing Civil Air Patrol passed away on Feb 18th at 84 years old. Hoffman was a founding member of the Minuteman Composite Squadron in Virginia Wing.

Lt. Col. Hoffman grew up on a dairy farm in Culpeper County. He was a founding member of the Culpeper County Young Farmers and was active in the organization for many years.

He joined Civil Air Patrol in 1970 at the age of 33. He served Minuteman Composite Squadron in several positions, including Deputy Commander for Seniors, as well as the Logistics and Supply Officer.  Through his efforts the squadron acquired and outfitted the first dedicated Civil Air Patrol squadron building in Virginia Wing.  

Hoffman attended Region Staff College in June 2003, and earned the  Paul E. Garber Award for achieving Level 5 of the Senior Member training track.

He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in March 2011. Lt. Col. Hoffman held the Master rating in Logistics, Senior rating in Communications, and Senior rating in Emergency Services.  With all his certifications and accomplishments, he most loved flying, teaching others, and serving his community.

Lt. Col. Hoffman’s decorations include the Air Force Organizational Excellence Award, Commander’s Commendation Award, Unit Citation Award, Paul E. Garber Award, Yeager Award, Red Service Ribbon, Search “Find” Ribbon, and the Air Search and Rescue Ribbon.

Lt. Col. Hoffman retired from CAP in 2015 with 45 years of service.

 

About Virginia Wing

The Virginia Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, with 22 squadrons spread throughout the Commonwealth has approximately 1,800 members, 12 light aircraft, and 29 multi-purpose vehicles. These assets are available to federal, state, and local governments, emergency responders, and law enforcement agencies to perform search and rescue, homeland security, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance, and counter-drug missions. For more information on the Virginia Wing, visit the wing's website at https://vawg.cap.gov and Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VAWGCAP.

About Civil Air Patrol

Established in 1941, Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 555 single-engine aircraft and 2,250 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the AFRCC with saving 108 lives last year. CAP's 56,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief, and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state, and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education resources. Members also serve as mentors to over 23,000 young people participating in CAP's Cadet Programs.

Visit www.CAP.News or www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information

For More Information:

SFO Cyrus Rodriguez - Virginia Wing Public Affairs Officer

cyrus.rodriguez@vawg.cap.gov

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