‘Perfect Storm’ Pilot C. David Ruvola to Receive
Distinguished Alumni Award at C.W. Post Commencement

Brookville, N.Y. – C. David Ruvola, a retired Air National Guard lieutenant colonel who commanded battlefield rescue missions in Iraq and flew a harrowing rescue attempt during the “Perfect Storm” of 1991, will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award at the 47th Commencement exercises of the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University on Sunday, May 14, 2006.

Ruvola graduated from C.W. Post in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in recreational administration. He joined the New York Air National Guard in 1977 and trained as a pararescue specialist with the 106th Air Rescue Wing at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach.

He became a commercial helicopter pilot in New York City in 1985 and a flight instructor for the 106th in 1988. In 2002, he became squadron commander of the 102nd Rescue Squadron, a unit of the 106th Rescue Wing. From August through December of 2003, he was the commander of the U.S. Air Force’s 101st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, based at Baghdad International Airport, supervising 80 personnel in combat search and rescue operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Ruvola retired from the Air National Guard with the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2004. Today, he is a corporate helicopter pilot for Computer Associates. He serves on the Board of Advisers of the Homeland Security Management Institute at the Southampton Graduate Campus of Long Island University. He is enrolled in a Master of Arts program in military studies at American Military University.

DeSilva and his wife, Mary, live in Old Greenwich, Ct. They have three children, Guy DeSilva, Patrick Nee and Christine Nee, and four grandchildren.

More than 2,300 students will graduate on Mother's Day, Sunday, May 14, 2006 at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University’s 48th commencement exercises. The Campus has awarded more than 92,000 degrees in its 51-year history, through a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs. The Class of 2006 includes 949 baccalaureate degree candidates, 1,376 master's degree candidates, 16 graduates receiving the Psy.D. in clinical psychology and three receiving the Ph.D. in information studies. This year, C.W. Post’s commencement ceremonies also include graduates from Southampton College and the Southampton Graduate Campus of Long Island University.