Southeast Community College

Roger Carpenter, a math and physics instructor on Southeast Community College's Milford Campus, recently was presented the LTC Harold V. Brissey Communicator of the Year Award by the Civil Air Patrol of Nebraska.

Carpenter, a captain in the CAP, was awarded primarily for promoting proper radio protocol among cadets ages 12-18.

"I was surprised to receive this award," said Carpenter, a member of the Seward County Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol of Nebraska.

Carpenter, who has been a member of the CAP of Nebraska for four years, was among a small group that started the Seward squadron. For the past eight months, Carpenter has been commander of the 26-member squadron.

The Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary to the U.S. Air Force and is most noted for searching for downed airplanes, training, and for providing help during emergencies. Carpenter said members of the Nebraska Wing of the CAP also participate in recovery efforts such as the Hallam tornado in May 2004.

Carpenter has been an educator for 40 years. He spent 32 years at Bloomfield High School, then three years at a suburban Fort Worth, Texas, school before joining the SCC faculty five years ago.

Carpenter is a pilot who has logged approximately 800 hours of flight time, mostly in his own four-passenger Piper Cherokee 180.

"We, as pilots, do other things," he said. "We will practice searching for downed aircraft and as well as aerial photography. Other entities in state government will hire Civil Air Patrol to go out and do things such as flood damage assessment."

Carpenter said he also engages in training seniors, individuals 19 years old or older.

"In Seward, we have several parent-child members who have joined because the adults want to do these things with their children," Carpenter said.

For more information, contact:
Stu Osterthun
Administrative Director of Public Information and Marketing
(402) 323-3401
sosterthun@southeast.edu