Friches ‘first family’ of local Civil Air Patrol squadron

ALBANY — Humility is a trait ingrained in both Greg and Rebecca Frich, and, invariably, that trait has been passed down to their five children: Savannah, 22; Gregory, 21; Cole, 19; Lillian, 18, and Emma, 16.

Knowing that makes it more understandable when Greg, Rebecca and Lillian hem and haw around the prospect of being labeled the “first family of Albany Civil Air Patrol.”

Greg Frich, a retired Marine colonel who is the commander of that CAP unit, talks about other families whose sons and daughters have had an impact on the state’s oldest Civil Air Patrol squadron. But even Frich has no qualifying answer when confronted with the fact that, with Lillian recently being promoted to cadet 2nd lieutenant and receiving the CAP’s prestigious Billy Mitchell Award, the family now has three Mitchell Award winners.

And Emma is only “a month or two away” from qualifying to be the fourth Frich to claim the award.

“(The promotion and the Mitchell Award) open a lot of opportunities,” Lillian Frich says a couple of days after she received both honors. “Most of all, it provides me with different leadership opportunities. And it allows me to take part in more complex learning opportunities. That’s great because I’m ready to challenge myself.”

All of the Friches agree now that the Civil Air Patrol has had a positive impact on the family. (Savannah Frich, who works as a supply contractor at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, was not involved in the CAP as a cadet, but she is now part of the local unit’s leadership team.) That was not the initial case with mom Rebecca, though.

“Frankly, I did not want the girls to be involved at first,” the Frich family matriarch says. “I didn’t want to encourage them to be involved with the military because I’m a traditionalist. I don’t think women should serve in the military. And I was concerned about my daughters being involved in any combat-type situation.”

Greg Frich, who works for defense contractor Raytheon and served on the Lee County Commission for four years before stepping down, said Rebecca took some convincing.

“I know this will be hard to believe, but my wife and I agree on about 99.9 percent of everything,” he said. “This is, as far as I can remember, the only thing we’ve disagreed on in the last 10 years. I guess I kind of get to say ‘I told you so’ in this case.

“There were not a lot of female cadets involved in the CAP program when Lillian started (in 2014), but I liked the fact that it provided leadership opportunities for young women that a lot of times aren’t afforded them. This program encourages boys and girls and young men and women to explore leadership style with a lot of supervision and guidance.”

Lillian Frich said what she’s learned with the Civil Air Patrol program fits well into her future plans.

“I’m really leaning toward a career with the FBI,” she said. “But I expect to go to college to get a degree in psychology. I’d like to do therapy work with children if I look for a career outside the FBI. It’s something God’s set my heart on and not something that a lot of people do.”

As a retired Marine, Greg Frich has instilled a sense of the military discipline that forged his adult life in his children, all of whom have been home-schooled. But he says Rebecca has been the primary influence in his children’s lives and education.

“Obviously, I’m very proud of all of our kids, amazed that these incredible young men and women came partly from me,” Frich said. “But Rebecca is the one who has provided most of their education, and she is the one who has had such a positive influence on them. Yes, that these young people came partly from me is astonishing, but from Rebecca? Not at all.”

Rebecca Frich, who also owns and runs the Peaches Used Books store inside G&M Antiques on North Slappey Boulevard, said her and her husband’s education for their children has focused more on character than anything else.

“Both Greg and I come from civil service backgrounds,” Rebecca Frich said. “Greg served in the military, and I have a background in law enforcement. Public service is part of who we are. That’s one of the reasons I’m so proud of our children. They’re carrying on an important part of this family.”

Both Gregory and Cole Frich earned the Mitchell Award while a part of the Albany CAP program. And both are now in the Marine Corps, Gregory stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Cole at Camp Pendleton, Calif. Lillian said having them in the CAP program made her participation easier.

“They helped me out at home, taught me drills and how to prepare my uniform,” she said. “I was ready when I became a cadet.”

As she sets her sights on matters removed from the Civil Air Patrol program, it’s obviously the core values of that program — and her close-knit family — will continue to guide Lillian Frich.

“This whole experience has been invaluable,” she said. “It’s given me a huge asset as I look toward my future goals. Discipline, leadership and teamwork … those values are things I’ll take with me the rest of my life.”