The Civil Air Patrol’s Texas Wing will formally open its new state headquarters and training center on March 16 in Nacogdoches, Texas. It’s located in the former Texas Army National Guard Armory next to the A.L. Mangham Regional Airport. Wing Commander Brooks Cima described the move to Nacogdoches as a "happy accident" when the armory came up for bid.
“It’s just the right size. We’re fitting in very well," Cima said. "It’s a small enough community that our presence is going to make a positive difference. Had we settled on some place like Houston, San Antonio, or even Waco, we would have come in and been just one more business.”
The new headquarters will function as the Texas Wing's mission control for all emergency operations. It will also be used for Cadet programs and aerospace education. Cima said the remodeled building will fulfill all the needs of the Texas Wing, an organization whose member roll numbers about 3,500 people.
“We have several operations rooms, pilot planning areas and briefing rooms," Cima said. "We've also moved in an additional barracks building so we can continue operations long term, if need be. We can house people right there in the building.”
The March 16 dedication ceremony gets under way at 1 p.m. It will be followed by tours of the building. The facility will get used right away. A search and rescue drill will be performed out of the operations center this month. Cima said that exercise will be followed by a leadership training weekend involving 150 cadets.
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