Chief of Staff
COLONEL DEAN “Deano” GOULD, CAP
Col Dean E. Gould assumed duties as the Mid-Atlantic Region Chief of Staff on August 18, 2024. His previous duty was as the Deputy Chief of Staff – Operations from April ’21. As the Chief of Staff, he coordinates the work of the Region staff with the member wings, national staff and with each other.
Col Gould has been a member of Civil Air Patrol since joining Nebraska Wing in 1996, where he joined while on active duty at Offutt Air Force Base. As member of the Offutt Composite Squadron, he focused on CAP’s youth program (cadet program) and air operations. He was later stationed at Langley Air Force Base, where he joined Virginia Wing’s Tidewater Composite Squadron. There he served in a variety of roles including emergency services officer, deputy commander and squadron commander. He moved to the Hampton Roads Composite Squadron where he served as commander. He was later promoted to commander, Virginia Group 2 in 2006, overseeing a cluster of squadrons in the eastern part of the state.
After deploying to Iraq, Col Gould returned to CAP and restarted the Tidewater Composite Squadron. Based on the success of the unit, he was again promoted to group commander in 2014. During the next two years, he focused on rebuilding the emergency services capability in the Tidewater region. In August 2016, he assumed the position of wing vice commander and was selected Virginia Wing Commander in December 2016. Col Gould Served as VAWG Wing commander from February 2017 to April 2021.
Col Gould holds an aeronautical rating as a Master Navigator with 4,300 hours in the E-3, EC-135 and KC-135 aircraft. A veteran of several campaigns including Operations Desert Calm, Provide Comfort, Northern and Southern Watch, Allied Force, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He has also completed several professional military development courses. He is a CAP mission pilot with over 970 hours of flying time, an air operations branch director and an incident commander level 1.
Col Gould is also a long-time Boy Scout leader and Eagle Scout. He has held numerous positions in four different councils and is the Vice President of District Operations and a board member of the Colonial Virginia Council. He is a lifetime member of the National Eagle Scout Association and the Air Force Association.
A retired Air Force Officer, Col Gould is the Branch Chief of Flight Management at Air Combat Command headquarters, United States Air Force. Col Gould lives in Suffolk, Virginia and is married with one daughter.
