Tonight, Bowling Green’s Civil Air Patrol Squadron KY 057 honors retiring squadron commander Lt. Col. Gary Wickliff, after he served for more than a decade.

The Airforce Civil Patrol is a nonprofit corporation that acts as the civilian supplement of the U.S. Air Force and handles 95 percent of America’s inland search and rescue, with 100 lives saved yearly, according to its national Web site.

The patrol also handles aerial reconnaissance for homeland security, disaster-relief and damage assessment efforts, transportation for time-sensitive medical materials, and counterdrug missions.

Kentucky’s CAP provides air transportation to law enforcement officials searching for illegal drugs and performs other missions.

&#8220We have been on several searches,” CAP member Harry Clagett said.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the board room of the Bowling Green-Warren County Regional Airport.

Wickliff earned his flight operations master’s level certification in 1997 and is a rated and certified pilot for civil air patrol, Clagett said.

At the ceremony, Michael Bryant will be introduced as Clagett’s replacement, Clagett said.

The head of the Kentucky wing will then make presentations.

There will be refreshments. The public is invited.

The CAP also works with young people through its cadet program to teach them about the military, camping, leadership skills, and awareness of airline safety and techniques.

Nationwide, the civil patrol has more than 58,000 members, including 27,000 cadets ages 12 to 21.

Its national headquarters at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., has 160 support staff who administer the organization’s aerospace education workshops, cadet programs and operations.

– For more information visit members.aol.com/isbj/BOWL INGGREEN/index.htm or www.cap.gov.