Bridgeport Cop Named First African-American Commander of Stratford Eagles Civil Air Patrol Squadron

STRATFORD, CT — Major Kenneth Fortes became the first African-American commander of the Civil Air Patrol’s Stratford Eagles Composite Squadron when he relieved Master Sgt. John Raymond on Sept. 29.

Maj. Fortes, the squadron's former Deputy Commander of Cadets, has officially taken command and replaces Raymond, who served as commander for the past four years.

Maj. Fortes has been a member of the Civil Air Patrol since 2008 and has served in the positions of Safety Officer, Emergency Services Officer, Aerospace Education Officer, and Deputy Commander of Cadets.

Maj. Fortes’ experience in the Civil Air Patrol includes Emergency Qualifications such as: Transport Mission Pilot, Ground Branch Director, Ground Team Leader, and Advanced Technology Specialist. He is a National Level Instructor for Mission Scanner, Aerial Photographer, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) courses.

Maj. Fortes is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps where he served 12 years including multiple overseas assignments such as Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He served in the Bridgeport Fire Department for a little over nine years before transitioning to the Bridgeport Police Department where he has served for the past nine years. Fortes is currently assigned to the Detective Bureau.

He is a CAP Silver Medal of Valor Candidate for actions performed with fellow Officers Bobby Jones and Juan Esquilin for the 2015 Rescue of three elderly persons from a house fire on Bradley St., Bridgeport in which PO Esquilin was awarded the BPD Medal of Valor.

The squadron was recently recognized from National Headquarters for being a Quality Cadet Unit Award Winner for the sixth year in a row.

The squadron, along with Emergency Services for the community, runs a Cadet Program for boys and girls between the ages of 12-18 which includes multiple orientation flights as well as a community oriented aerospace education program.

Pictured: Major Fortes and Lt. Col. Brownell, Western Connecticut Group Commander (Photo Credit: 2nd Lt. Katelyn Moore)

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Performing missions for America for the past 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.