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Region Review: The Far West Region
The Far West Region consists of two states California and Hawaii. There are 19 chapters in California and one in Hawaii with 11,071 members
in the region. There are two California chapters with over 1,000 members, the Claude Farinha Gold Rush Chapter and the Gen Doolittle LA Area
Chapter. The Gen Bernard A. Schriever Chapter is also a dominant force in the region. Our Hawaii Chapter is made up of 743 members. Key Air
Force installations supported by our AFA chapters include Edwards, Vandenberg, Beale, Los Angeles and the March ARB.
Due to its large number of chapters, California also has a State organization, CAFA. This organization is made up of a President, Secretary,
Treasurer and three Area Vice Presidents, one of whom serves as the State’s Senior Vice President. Each year the state organization gathers
in a State Convention. This year’s event was on May 29 and 30 at March ARB in Southern California and was sponsored by the Bob Hope Chapter.
The Convention included a Golf Tournament at the Gen Old Golf Club and tours of the 144th Fighter Wing with F-16 aircraft on 24 hour alert
status. Tours were also available of the Predator UAV, C-17 Simulator, Air and Marine Operations Center and the March Air Field Museum.
CAFA Awards were given out at both State and Military Award Banquets. The Claude Farinha Gold Rush Chapter was selected as the CAFA Chapter
of the year for the sixth year in a row, an amazing accomplishment. In the photographs Martin L. Ledwitz, CAFA President, and Brig Gen Eric W.
Crabtree, Commander, 4th Air Force present Brig Gen Bob P. Otto, Commander, 9th Reconnaissance Wing, Beale AFB his award as CAFA Person of the
Year and Team Beale receives their CAFA award.
 
One of the key events in the region, held in November each year, is the AF Ball and Symposium at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly, Hills,
CA. The Ball is shared between the National organization and the Gen Bernard A. Schriever Chapter located in the Los Angeles area serving the
Space and Missile Systems Center, SMC. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force and the Secretary of the Air Force are often attendees at this
formal event. The accompanying Symposium has been designed to bring a little of the Air and Space Conference to the West Coast. This year
the event was further enhanced by Air Force Week activities carried on throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area.
The region chapters focus on ROTC and JROTC scholarships, STEM, Morale and Welfare, the Visions program,
Member Events, and the CAP. Chapter revitalization has been key in the region. In recent months three chapters have been brought back from
the brink of deactivation thanks to the efforts of the CAFA and local leadership teams. I am proud to say that all chapters have submitted
their annual activity and financial plans as well as their rosters for the year.
The region also includes the Education Foundation for Aerospace, Inc (EFA), a 501(c)3 nonprofit CAFA affiliate whose primary focus is to
facilitate military family support programs, aerospace education, scholarships and teacher of the year programs. EFA has provided over $125,000
in scholarships throughout the CAFA organization over the past six years. It annually awards $1,000 to the CAFA State Teacher of the Year and
further recognizes Teachers of the Year from each of the State’s three Areas.
The Far West Region is a large and exciting part of our National AFA organization. It will continue to focus on the needs of the local chapters
while playing a key role as a significant contributor to the AFA at the National level.
Submitted by Wayne Kaufman
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