Antonio J. Pineda

Antonio "Tony" Pineda Jr. was a National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol until involuntarily removed. He began his Civil Air Patrol career as a member of the West Broward Composite Squadron in 1988.
Pineda completed all levels of the CAP professional development program, including the Paul Garber, Grover Loening, Charles Yeager Aerospace Education and Gill Robb Wilson awards. He attended both the Southeast Region Staff College and the National Staff College. He is also a graduate of the National Commanders Course.
In 2007 the Civil Air Patrol Board of Governors voted to & removed Pineda, owing to allegations that he had his subordinates take his exams for him (for courses on security and leadership, among others). The Board also stripped him of his two-star rank. The accusation was investigated & confirmed in an Inspector General report.
He subsequently created his own volunteer organization, the U.S. Ranger Corps, in which he gave himself the title of Lt. Gen.

Pineda began his professional career in 1972 as a police officer and later a detective with the Hollywood, FL Police Dept. In 1980, he became a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and was later appointed a Senior Agent. As a special agent with the FDLE, he was a special task force leader dealing with youth gangs. He was a supervisor of numerous special investigation teams and has served as the agent in charge of security for Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles. During the Governor’s Conference in Miami, Pineda was assigned as the agent in charge of security for the governor of Georgia.

• Associate of Science - Police Science and Criminology, Miami Dade College
• Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, Florida International University
• FAA Private Pilot’s license

1988-1989: Joined CAP
1989-1996: Group commander, South Florida
1996-1998: Florida Wing vice commander
1998-2001: Florida Wing commander
2001-2004: Southeast Region commander
2004-2005; National Vice commander

2005-2007: National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol (removed by Board of Governors for misconduct and stripped of his rank).