Major General Mark E. Smith is the 24th National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol. Maj Gen Smith succeeded Maj Gen Joseph Vazquez as National Commander on September 2, 2017. He led over 63,000 members across the U.S. in fulfilling CAP's congressionally chartered missions of Emergency Services, Cadet Programs and Aerospace Education, including Homeland Security as the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. He was previously the Southwest Region Commander and New Mexico Wing Commander.