Joseph R. "Joe" Vazquez is a
major general in the
Civil Air Patrol. He served as the 23rd
National Commander from 2014 to 2017. The non-profit organization, founded in 1941 and tasked as the Auxiliary of the
United States Air Force, has 60,000 volunteers and three congressionally-chartered missions:
Emergency Services,
Cadet Programs (education and training program for youth ages 12–20), and
Aerospace Education.
Vazquez joined CAP in 1975 has a cadet in the
Georgia Wing.[1] He advanced in the cadet program to the grade of
Cadet Major before becoming a senior member in 1978.
He qualified as a CAP Ground Team Leader as a cadet.
He was appointed to a three-year term as National Commander/
CEO on April 4, 2014, assuming command on August 15, 2014. He succeeded Maj Gen
Charles L. Carr Jr.[2] As National Commander, he served as the highest ranking CAP Officer. General Vazquez also served as CAP's Chief Executive Officer and Advisor to the CAP Board of Governors (BoG), lead the CAP Command Council (CCC), and the CAP Senior Advisory Group (CSAG).
On September 2, 2017, he relinquished his command to Maj Gen
Mark Smith.[3]