Speaker

1st Lt Richard West

• Senior Education Specialist, California Wing

1st Lt Richard West, CAP joined CAP in March 2017 and was appointed Commander of San Jose Senior Squadron 80 in Nov 2019.  After two years serving as a group Emergency Services Officer, Lt West was recently appointed Director of Operations for San Francisco Group 2.  Leveraging his software, tools, and infrastructure methodology engineering experience, Lt West provides technical support for California Wing’s Director of Emergency Services, Director of Education & Training, and Chaplain.

Lt West holds Technician ratings in Communications, Historian, and Operations; Senior ratings in Emergency Services, Finance, and Aerospace Education; and a Master rating in Professional Development.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lt West supported three foodbank missions across the state, Northern California’s wildfire response, and Oregon’s wildfire response. Lt West pivoted Northern California’s SLS and CLC offerings into California Wing’s first Virtual SLS and CLC offerings and served as their co-Director. Lt West helped convert the 2020 California Wing Conference from an in-person event into a virtual event and continues to help plan the 2021 conference.

For his services, Lt West received eight Commander’s Commendation Awards including one National Commander’s Commendation Award, 2019 California Wing Operations Officer of the Year, and 2020 California Wing Unit Commander of the Year; six Achievement Awards; and five Disaster Relief Ribbons with V-Device.