Honoring Malcolm Kyser

I will always remember Malcolm as the hub about which CAP communication rotated. He was the steady anchor point that kept it from spinning out of control in many directions. He was always courteous, patient, professional. I will always consider him as my friend, and he is and will be missed. As communicators, we sometimes fail to communicate the important stuff. To Malcolm's family please let me say, "Thanks". Thank you for sharing him with us.

I first met Malcolm in 1999 when I became the Florida Wing DC. I held the job for about six years and Malcolm helped me and encouraged me during that time. While I was DC and net control for our HF nets a lot Malcolm would check in from his radio equipped motor cycle on his way to work. One of the last times I saw him was at the National Board Conference, in Denver Colo. and when Malcolm spotted me in the room he spoke and came back and embraced me. He was a great guy. He will be sorely missed. My condolences to the family. Gods blessings on them all.

Malcolm and I usually communicated by text. Often, as I was going out on a search or a rescue, I would text him and ask him to pray for me and my SAR team. He would reply with a thumbs up. The last exchange that I had with him was on Thursday, 24 June 2021. It went as follows: Me: Have been praying for you, will continue. Malcolm: Thanks. God is good Me: All the time. Malcolm: And all the time... God is good. Thanks.

What a punch in the gut. I first met Mr. Kyser in February of 2013 when Lt. Col. Roy Long introduced Malcolm Kyser to me on a telephone call when Mr. Kyser explained the Intercom messages to me as a new HF operator in the Pennsylvania Wing. I have copied and saved every Intercom message since that day and Mr. Kyser sent me the three Intercom messages that I had missed at the beginning of the program. I spoke with and e-mailed Mr. Kyser many times over the years since and had the pleasure of meeting him and sharing a few meals at the CAP National Conference in Baltimore after I became a Triblade/Fast Runner station. Mr. Kyser always answered my questions about CAP communications and guided me as I learned. I will miss him very much.My thoughts and prayers for Mr. Kyser and his family will be foremost in my thoughts for many years to come. Skip Walls PAWG Asst. DOK and Message Center

When I first started working with fixed assets I had to introduce myself to Malcolm and get a tour of the warehouse (because there are a whole lot of assets there!!) and he took the time to go over everything with me and show me where everything was and what everything did and how we used everything!! Which it really does help to understand things better when you can see them! And he has sparred with me on more than one occasion as to whether or not a particular tower was an asset or a repair!!! But what really impressed me was when he showed me his radio room and he explained what everything did (most of which went over my head and definitely influenced my decision to be a spotter instead of a radio operator!!) but he let me watch one day when he did a check in and I realized how intricate our system is and how much he loved what he did- truly!! He will be greatly missed!!

Meeting Malcolm at the NEWG Conference in the early 1990's was my first introduction into what would be a long and great working relationship with he being the definition of a mentor for development of a wing communications program. " DONT TRY TO DO THIS ALONE" "CREATE A TEAM" Well Said Sir, Well Said.