About Group 1

History

Group One (AL-100) was stood up on 2 Jan 2018 when Col Michael Oakman, a former Alabama Wing Commander, assumed command of the newly formed Group from Col Brett Lewis with the purpose of providing support, supervision and oversight of the Civil Air Patrol units located within the fifteen counties that comprise North Alabama. At that time Group One's area of operation was different that it is today because at that time Alabama Wing only had two Groups. So, Groups One and Two nearly evenly split the state until Group Three (Central) was stood up which established Group One's current area of operation. 

Area of Operation

• Total Area = 9,906 sq mi

• Est. Population = 1.3 million

• Counties and Squadrons

  • Lauderdale

  • Limestone

    • Pryor Field Composite Squadron (SER-AL-059)

  • Madison

    • Huntsville Senior Squadron (SER-AL-055)

    • Redstone Composite Squadron (SER-AL-119)

  • Jackson

  • Dekalb

  • Marshall

    • Mountain Lakes Composite Squadron (SER-AL-135)

  • Morgan

    • Gen Joe Wheeler Composite Squadron (SER-AL-134)

  • Lawrence

  • Colbert

    • Muscle Shoals Senior Squadron (SER-AL-041)

  • Franklin

  • Marion

  • Winston

  • Cullman

  • Etowah

  • Cherokee

Future Expansion

On 22 Jan 2024 after over twenty years SER-AL-059 at Pryor Field was reactivated with its reactivation ceremony and first meeting taking place on 25 Jan 2024. Currently Group 1 is looking for opportunities to expand and build units in counties without existing Civil Air Patrol units Marion, Winston, and Dekalb counties are three potential priorities due to the geography and distances from other Civil Air Patrol units and resources.

Commanders

The current commander is Lt Col Ben Booth who assumed command on 9 Aug 2024 succeeding Lt Col Arnold Staton. Prior to assuming command Colonel Booth had served as Group 1 Deputy Commander, as well as commanding the Mountain Lakes Composite Squadron (AL-135) and the 2024 Alabama Wing Encampment.