Chicago attorney appointed to serve as Civil Air Patrol’s Great Lakes Region Commander

Col. Robert M. Karton, CAP, has been assigned to serve as the new Great Lakes Region commander.  Presently, Col. Karton is the GLR interim commander having been appointed to fill the position after Brig. Gen. Charles L. Carr was elected vice commander in September. Civil Air Patrol is the volunteer official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force. During his 21 year tenure in CAP, Col. Karton has held the positions of: legal officer for Illinois Wing and Great Lakes Region; Illinois Wing Inspector General; National Legal Officer (National Executive Committee); Illinois Wing Commander; GLR Vice Commander; National Board and NEC Parliamentarian, and interim GLR Commander.  In addition, he played a pivotal role on the CAP Constitution and By-laws committee and in the drafting of the Membership Action Review regulations. Col. Karton is an instrument rated pilot and has flown numerous search and rescue and disaster relief missions as a mission pilot. In civilian life, Col. Karton is a prominent Chicago attorney having begun his career as an Assistant States Attorney for Cook County in the Criminal Trial Division.  Currently, he is in private practice, in Chicago, at Robert M. Karton, Ltd.  He did his undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill., and earned his J.D. at the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago. Col. Karton is the 1st Vice President of the Union League Club of Chicago where he is also a Trustee for the Union League Boys and Girls Clubs, and, having served two years as General Counsel for the Civic and Arts Foundation, is currently a life trustee of the Foundation.. Col. Karton is a life-long resident of Chicago where he currently resides with his wife, Lee.  He has a daughter, two sons, two step-daughters and eight grandchildren. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit volunteer organization with 55,600 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue resulting in the saving of 91 lives in 2008.  CAP volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief, counter-drug, and other humanitarian missions.  The organization plays a leading role in aerospace education, and serves as mentors to 22,000 cadets, ages 12-21.  CAP has been performing Missions for America for more than 67 years. For more information on CAP, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com.