Lt. Col. A. E. (Lonnie) McLaughlin, Jr., CAP
New York Wing Public Affairs Officer of the Year - 1997
Lt. Col. McLaughlin joined CAP in August of 1994 and was appointed as Squadron PAO in 1995. He received his PAO Technician Rating in August of 1995, the Proficiency Rating in May of 1996 and PAO Senior Rating in March 1997. At the 1998 NY Wing Conference, he received the 1997 New York Wing Public Affairs officer of the Year award. He served as Supply Officer from 1995 until 1997 and as Aerospace Officer from 1995 until 1999.
He was appointed as Deputy Squadron Commander in 1997 and took over as Commander in 1998 and served until 2003.
After a 14 month hiatus, he returned as Deputy Commander and PAO in 2005. He was appointed Finance Officer in 2008. In May of 2011, he was appointed to the position of Recruiting and Retention Officer. At the end of 2011, he completed the requirements for the Master level of Finance Officer. He received the Garber Award at the LI Group Military Ball in January of 2012 at which time he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He was named Commander's Choice for Senior Member of the Year and received the Grumman Hawkeye Award in 2012. In 2014, he was again named Commander's Choice for Senior Member of the Year and presented with the Grumman Tomcat Award.
In 2016, he was appointed as Squadron Leadership & Mentoring Officer and in 2017, he was appointed as Logistics & Supply Officer. Several months later, he was appointed to the position of squadron Deputy Commander.
Lt. Col. McLaughlin served 4 years in the United States Army Security Agency as a Crypto Equipment repair instructor. He earned his Private Pilot's license in 1967 and bought a Piper TriPacer in 1970, earning a Commercial and Instrument Ground Instructor License and an Instrument rating while accumulating more than 900 hours flying the Eastern half of the US. He was certified as CAP pilot in April, 1997.
Lt. Col. McLaughlin retired from IBM after a 36 year career as Customer Engineer and Customer Engineering Specialist. He has been married to his beloved wife, Lucille for more than 60 years and has one daughter, Linda.
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