WV WING VICE COMMANDER – LT COL JIM DODRILL

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WV Wing Vice Commander – Lt Col Jim Dodrill

Lt Col James A. Dodrill first joined the Civil Air Patrol in 1986, and was assigned as the West Virginia Wing Legal Officer. He served in that role until 2000, when his full-time job required him to relocate out-of-state. Lt Col Dodrill was also an active Mission Pilot with the West Virginia Wing until he relocated out-of-state.

After returning to West Virginia, Lt Col Dodrill rejoined CAP in 2010, and was again assigned as the West Virginia Wing Legal Officer. Lt Col Dodrill has his Legal Officer Master Rating. Additionally, Lt Col Dodrill’s operations qualifications include GES, ICS 300, ICS 400, IS 100, IS 200, IS 700 and IS 800. After serving more than 18 years as the West Virginia Wing Legal Officer, Lt Col Dodrill was appointed as the West Virginia Wing Vice Commander in November, 2014.

Lt Col Dodrill is also a retired Air Force officer (Lt. Col.), having served both on active duty and in the West Virginia Air National Guard for 21 years, from 1977 to 1998. Lt Col Dodrill enlisted in the Air Force after completing high school early, in February, 1977. An Honor Graduate of both USAF Basic Military Training and the Aircraft Munitions Maintenance Technical Training Center at Lowry AFB, Colorado, Lt Col Dodrill, then an Airman, was assigned to the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina, where he worked on the nuclear and conventional weapons and weapons systems of F-4E aircraft. Through the “Palace Chase” program, Lt Col Dodrill transferred to the West Virginia Air National Guard in January, 1979. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from Marshall University in 1982, and during the 1983 summer break between his first and second years of law school at West Virginia University, Lt Col Dodrill attended the Academy of Military Science at McGee-Tyson ANGB, Tennessee, where he graduated first in his class (O-83-6), receiving the Major General Willard W. Millikan Honor Graduate Award and his Air Force commission as a Second Lieutenant. While in the Air Force and Air National Guard, Lt Col Dodrill served in several overseas deployments, including exercises in Korea, Japan, Europe and Egypt, as well as deployments to Central and South America, and in Southwest Asia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Lt Col Dodrill’s last duty assignment prior to his retirement in 1998 was as Commander of the 130th Aerial Port Squadron, 130th Airlift Group, West Virginia Air National Guard.

Lt Col Dodrill is a graduate of the Air Force Squadron Officers School and Air Command and Staff College. He is a recipient of the Air Force Commendation Medal; Air Force Achievement medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with bronze Valor device and three bronze oak leaf clusters; Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster; National Defense Service Medal; Southwest Asia Service Medal with bronze service star; Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with three bronze oakleaf clusters; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; USAF BMT Honor Graduate Ribbon; Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon with bronze star; Air Force Training Ribbon with bronze oakleaf cluster; West Virginia National Guard Achievement Medal; West Virginia National Guard Emergency Services Ribbon; West Virginia National Guard Service Ribbon with two bronze oakleaf clusters; and the West Virginia Distinguished Unit Award. Lt Col Dodrill is also a recipient of the Civil Air Patrol Meritorious Service Award.

Lt Col Dodrill was admitted to the practice of law in 1985 following his graduation from the West Virginia University College of Law. He graduated 18th in a class of 119 graduates. He has served as counsel for several West Virginia municipalities, as an assistant prosecuting attorney and has been admitted to practice by the West Virginia and Virginia State Bars as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern District and Northern District of West Virginia and the Southern District of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States. Lt Col Dodrill has been employed as Corporate Claims Counsel for the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies since December, 1999. He has also served as Chairman of the West Virginia Insurance Federation since 2012.

Lt Col Dodrill lives in Putnam County, West Virginia with his wife, Terri, Assistant Agency Manager of BB&T Carson Insurance Services in Charleston, West Virginia. He has two daughters, Lauren and Cara, a step-son, Kyle, and two granddaughters, Isabella and Brynna. Lauren is pursuing her Masters degree in Psychology at Marshall University and is a Day Report Officer with the Western Regional Day Report Center in Huntington, West Virginia. Cara is an EMT with Kanawha County Emergency Medical Services in Charleston, West Virginia. Kyle is a student at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia.

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