Major General George B. Harrison speaks to local Civil Air Patrol Squadron

May 6, 2015

GREENVILLE, SC – “Opportunity is there for you. Hard work and perseverance will lead to success. By the way, no matter your career path, remember that public service is a duty of citizenship,” stated Greenville Native Retired Major General George B. Harrison who returned to the city of his birth to speak to the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) Greenville Composite Squadron Monday night. General Harrison and two of his brothers were cadets in the same program back when they attended Greenville High School, graduating in 1956,1958 and 1961 respectively. All three brothers entered the Air Force upon graduation. General Harrison conveyed that they all started their successful careers at the CAP in Greenville. His oldest brother, William, became a corporate pilot upon retiring from the Air Force. His other brother, Marvin, was able to later use his VA benefits to graduate from college and became a Special Agent for the U.S. Treasury Department.

General Harrison entered the Air Force in 1962 as a Second Lieutenant and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is a command pilot, having flown more than 4,900 hours in a variety of tactical aircraft including an F-16. More than 500 of those hours were flown in combat over Asia. In addition, he has flown 4000 hours in civilian aircraft, including 2500 hours as a flight instructor. General Harrison moved up through the ranks and on March 1, 1989 was promoted to Major General. In 1993 he became the Commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center which, as its name implies, tests and evaluates new warfighting capabilities in operationally realistic environments in an effort to influence national resource decisions. Among his many awards and medals, General Harrison was awarded two Distinguished Service Medals, a Distinguished Flying Cross and 12 Air Medals. He retired on July 1,1997 and currently resides in the Atlanta area.

For more information about Retired Major General Geroge B. Harrison, please visit http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/Display/tabid/225/Article/106832/major-general-george-b-harrison.aspx

CAP, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 58,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 85 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 70 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief, and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs.

The CAP Greenville Composite Squadron was founded in June of 1957. Their mission is to provide aerospace education to cadets aged 12 and up, while providing aviation based life saving services for their community and to cultivate outstanding young people into the leaders of our next generation. They meet every Monday night from 7 – 9 pm in their facility located on the South Ramp of the Greenville Downtown Airport (GMU) in South Carolina, near Runway Park. For more information please email [email protected]

GMU is the busiest general aviation airport in South Carolina and is a self-sufficient entity with financial strength that doesn’t rely on local taxpayers for funding. GMU is home to Greenville Jet Center, the largest Fixed Base Operator (FBO) in S.C., as well as more than 25 other aviation-related businesses creating 453 jobs that annually contribute more than $35.2 million to the Upstate economy. For more information about GMU please visit http://www.greenvilledowntownairport.com or contact Joe Frasher at 864-242-4777 orjoe@greenvilledowntownairport.com.