Virginia Wing
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New Wing Commander Selection

March 5, 2021

On behalf of the Mid-Atlantic Region Commander, Col Bruce Heinlein:

Please join me in congratulating Colonel (Select) Elizabeth "Liz" Sydow on her selection as the next Virginia Wing Commander.


Col (Sel) Sydow is a retired Air Force Colonel and holds a Bachelors of Science Degree from Pennsylvania State University and Masters of Science Degree from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Colonel (Select) Liz Sydow currently serves as the Virginia Wing Vice Commander and the National Diversity Officer. She joined CAP as a cadet in 1978 earning the General Carl A. Spaatz Award in 1987. Prior to assuming her current positions, Lt Col Sydow served at the wing level as chief of staff and director of plans and programs. She has served as a cadet programs officer, squadron deputy commander, professional development officer and squadron commander. She is a CAP liaison officer at the National Response Coordination Center. She has served on thirteen as an encampment staff member, including as an encampment commander and deputy commander. She holds five master ratings. Her emergency services qualifications include incident commander, operations section chief, planning section chief, air operations branch director, ground branch director, finance/admin section chief, liaison officer, logistics section chief, mission observer, and mission scanner. Her active-duty service included squadron and major command civil engineer staffs, managing the facility construction program for the B-2 Bomber, managing a $257M military housing construction program, and teaching as an instructor of readiness and engineering management at the Air Force Institute of Technology. As a Reservist, she served at squadron, group, and major command and on a Civil Engineer Staff Augmentation Team. Her active-duty mobilizations include Commander, 90th Civil Engineer Squadron; Deputy Commander, 90th Mission Support Group; Deputy Commander, 50th Mission Support Group; and the Air Force Space Command Civil Engineer Directorate. Her final assignment was in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She retired from the Air Force on 1 January 2016 after 27 years of service. She is the mother of three and has been married to Lt Col Bill Sydow for 27 years.

The Virginia Wing Change of Command will be held on April 10, 2021.

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