Group Commander

Lieutenant Colonel David McGonegal

Lt Col David McGonegal grew up in Lovettsville, Virginia with his mother, father and two brothers.  David first joined Civil Air Patrol in 1983.  During this time in Civil Air Patrol, David excelled in the cadet program earning multiple promotions, attending encampments, search and rescue exercises and learned to fly the Cessna 172.  David graduated Loudoun County High School and later earned his pilot certificate.

Following high school, David enlisted in the US Army as an Air Traffic Controller.  He spent several years as a Controller before attending the Warrant Officer Basic Course and Rotary Wing Initial Entry Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama.  He is qualified in the UH-1, OH-58, CH-47 and TH-67 helicopters and served as an Army Standardization Instructor Pilot in the CH-47, TH-67, and OH-58 Aircraft.  David has completed multiple assignments at Fort Rucker, Alabama, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii, Camp Humphreys, South Korea, and deployments to Egypt and Iraq.  David retired from the Army in 2012, culminating nearly 24 years of active duty service in Army Aviation as a CH-47 Standardization Instructor Pilot.

David is an active flight instructor in airplanes and helicopters and currently works as a maintenance test pilot on the Army CH-47 Chinook. 

Lt Col McGonegal currently serves Civil Air Patrol as the Group 2 Commander and serves as an assistant director of Flight Standards and Evaluation for Alabama Wing.  Previously, David has served Civil Air Patrol as the Dothan Squadron Commander, Deputy Commander, Operations Officer, Aerospace Education Officer, and Director of Flight Standards and Evaluation. 

David is married to Shannon Rae Windham and has four children.  David and his family reside in Dothan, Alabama.