Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, CAP’s national commander and CEO, gave blood on January 16 at a donor site near his Michigan home as part of Operation Pulse Lift campaign to collect blood for the American Red Cross. [Courtesy: Civil Air Patrol]
Key Takeaways:
Civil Air Patrol's "Operation Pulse Lift" reached a significant milestone by collecting its 10,000th blood unit, with Barb Clevenger donating the milestone.
Launched before the pandemic, the mission vastly expanded its efforts since March 2020, organizing 146 emergency blood donation centers across multiple states.
These efforts address critical blood shortages, supplying hospitals during natural disasters like wildfires and hurricanes, and supporting military programs including casualties from the Kabul Airport bombing.
Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.
