Lt Col John Knowles is presently the Commander of Group IV of the Maryland Wing. As group commander, he is responsible for 8 units comprising over 500 members
in the western part of Maryland.
Lt Col John Knowles is presently the Commander of Group IV of the Maryland Wing. As group commander, he is responsible for 8 units comprising over 500 members
in the western part of Maryland.
Lt Col Knowles joined the Civil Air Patrol in 1971 because his sister wanted a recruiting ribbon. She recruited him and his twin brother Jim (and got her ribbon) for a complete set of Cadet Knowles. And with six, you get eggroll.
He completed all the achievements in the cadet program but managed to fail the easiest part of the Spaatz Exam, the Aerospace portion. He graduated from the Maryland Wing Ranger Program before it was disbanded by a pitchfork wielding mob of non-ranger-types. He also completed the three Maryland Wing GSAR programs that followed it and is currently a rated Ground Branch Director. He is also a graduate of the in residence USAF Inland SAR School in Yorktown, VA.
He served in many cadet positions in his home unit, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron and capped his cadet career off as the cadet commander from 1978-1980. After a really slow start in attending encampments, his first one at the age of 16, he was selected as the top cadet of the encampment (of course he was also the only C/MSgt who was not on staff). He went on to attend five, the last one as the Commandant of Cadets.
In 1977 he enrolled at the University of Maryland and became a member of AFROTC Detachment 880. Hoping to graduate and serve as a 2nd Lt in the USAF he discovered that President Carter was not a big fan of almost-blind Air Force officers (Walleye Vision, anyone? -Ed) and since the President was already shrinking the military he was told thanks, but no thanks. Not to worry about his eyes, thanks to laser surgery he now has 20/15 vision but is now too old to play with the real military. In the mid to late 1980s, graduate school beckoned, and John answered the call. He spent the next several semesters confounding professors, who were used to dealing with accountants and finance students. He was a DCW (Dumb Construction Worker) with real world experience in the rough and tumble pits (really ditches and excavations) who entertained his professors with tales of employees threatening to kill him. He completed the MBA program at the University of Maryland and is still employed in the construction industry, must to the dismay of his classmates and co-workers.. He has served in almost every senior staff position in a Squadron from AEO to acting CC - twice (a story too long for this bio). His favorite job was that of Deputy Commander for Cadets. He got hood winked into serving as the Deputy Director of the Middle East Staff College in 2003 (sort of an encampment for seniors) and is doing a repeat performance again in 2004. He holds master ratings in Cadet Programs, Operations, Aerospace Education and a Senior rating in Emergency Services. John married his cadet sweetheart, the former C/Maj Teri Hanna (one of the first female cadet commanders in Maryland) and they have three children, only one of whom is a cadet. He is also a lifetime member of the National Eagle Scout Association and is active in scouting and with his local church. (he has them fooled too, they even let him serve on the finance council, something his Smith School of Business professors would be proud of).