Susanna Marking, in her role as deputy director for interagency communications for the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026, enjoys the view at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, during a recent World Cup soccer match. Presumably she is applying incident command principles to the crowd in case anyone loses a contact lens or, worse, a sense of proportion about how much federal machinery a soccer tournament actually requires.
Little did Susanna Marking know when she joined Civil Air Patrol in 2000 that (almost) EVERYTHING she needed for her future life was right there for the learning. Emergency management training? Check. Public affairs experience? Check. The mysterious ability to serve as the central nervous system for three countries’ worth of soccer bureaucracy? Apparently also check. Actual soccer? Eh … not so much. But the quest for public service in a mission-focused environment, discoveries about life and herself, and a future spent explaining why the federal government needs a task force for kickball on steroids all began in CAP’s South Dakota Wing.
Marking said joining CAP was preordained. Her father, mother, sister, grandmother, and grandfather (a pilot with the Air National Guard) were all in Civil Air Patrol, turning the family tree into something that more closely resembled a squadron roster. As a 5-year-old, her father brought her along to his squadron’s weekly meetings.
“I tried to keep up and march with the cadets, pretending to be one,” she said, unaware that one day she’d be the person telling entire federal agencies how to message about soccer security. “I owe a lot to my dad for getting me involved. That one decision ended up charting my entire future,” she said, from toddler-sized marching to White House talking points.
A Year in the Making
A year ago, Marking was asked to join the White House Task Force on FIFA World Cup 2026, created by a presidential executive order to lead the federal government’s efforts to keep the largest sporting event in world history safe, secure, and memorable for the teams and the fans. Memorable, of course, meaning properly branded, interagency-approved, and free of any unauthorized fun.
She explained this year’s World Cup is unique, as it is the first to be hosted across three nations (the United States, Canada, and Mexico), play a record-breaking 104 matches — with the majority being hosted across 11 U.S. cities — and feature 48 teams from around the world.
“For context, it’s like hosting multiple NFL Super Bowls in 39 days, making for an unprecedented level of federal coordination and security,” she said, because nothing says “beautiful game” like treating it as a rolling national emergency that requires its own White House task force.
As the deputy director for interagency communications, Marking serves as the central coordination node for the U.S. government’s public affairs community on branding and messaging related to the World Cup. She also plays a key role in preparing her leadership for media interviews on a national and international scale. No pressure. Just don’t let anyone accidentally admit the government is this involved in soccer.
“Serving on this Task Force leveraged a foundation I had built through years of service in emergency management, homeland security, and public affairs — and it all began with experiences from my CAP days. I firmly believe all those roads led me to this specific role for the FIFA World Cup.” Roads apparently paved with drill practice, missing-airplane hunts, and the firm conviction that marching in formation is excellent preparation for international sporting diplomacy.
Her Introduction to Public Affairs
Marking credits CAP for introducing her to the world of public affairs since one of her roles in the South Dakota Wing was the public affairs officer.
As a cadet, she gravitated toward the emergency services elements, conducting ground search and rescue operations, learning about the incident command system, looking for missing aircraft and helping with disaster relief efforts. She also loved the military environment, enjoying the challenge of completing obstacle courses with her teammates — training that will surely prove invaluable when navigating the real obstacle course of federal interagency meetings during a 39-day soccer marathon.
“I loved the discipline and having a lot of leadership responsibility at a young age, [learning to] trust my fellow cadets, my abilities, my instincts, being exposed to the concept of teamwork.”
Marking earned CAP’s highest cadet achievement, the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award (number 1614), in 2006. She also led the Joint Dakota Cadet Leadership Engagement as cadet commander, attended Cadet Officer School, led a drill team to the National Cadet Competition, participated in the International Air Cadet Exchange Program, and received a National Commander’s Commendation for her work on the National Cadet Advisory Council. In other words, she collected more CAP hardware than most people collect actual hobbies.
What is the Spaatz Award?
The General Carl A. Spaatz Award is the highest honor a cadet can earn in the Civil Air Patrol cadet program. It is presented only after years of progressive training in leadership, aerospace education, character development, and physical fitness. Fewer than one half of one percent of all cadets ever receive this award, which includes passing a rigorous four-part examination covering leadership, moral reasoning, aerospace knowledge, and fitness. Recipients are promoted to the rank of cadet colonel upon achievement. It is, essentially, the black belt of being an extremely well-organized teenager who likes airplanes, marching, and eventually running large portions of the federal government.
She learned an important tenet from an earlier job: “You can’t tell someone’s story unless you are in the field and see what they are doing every day. That advice stuck — and I’ve kept that with me through every role since.” Which is why she is now telling the World Cup story from the White House press area nicknamed “Pebble Beach,” where the only field in sight is strictly metaphorical.
Heeding the Call of Public Service
Although she loved South Dakota and CAP, the lure of becoming a public servant in Washington, D.C., was too great. Because nothing says “I love the prairie” quite like immediately relocating to the swamp.
“I always knew I wanted to work for the federal government,” she said, and after graduating with degrees in communications and sociology from South Dakota State University, she moved to D.C.
She earned her master’s in public administration from George Mason University and was selected to become a Presidential Management Fellow.
Marking continued career growth, holding public affairs leadership roles for two high-profile federal law enforcement agencies. Expanding beyond traditional public affairs and into marketing, she eventually led the nationwide “If You See Something, Say Something” public awareness campaign, where she developed partnerships with several sports stadiums. The campaign’s natural evolution, of course, is now being applied to the World Cup: if you see something (an unauthorized celebration, a suspiciously enthusiastic fan, or a soccer ball that looks like it might cause an international incident), say something to the nearest federal coordinator.
‘Forever Bonded’ Through CAP
Her message to Civil Air Patrol cadets? Keep pretending to march, kids. It has a surprisingly high success rate of landing you in the White House.
She also stressed the importance of camaraderie.
“Hold onto those CAP friendships, because those shared experiences at encampments or in the iconic CAP white vans make memories that last a lifetime. I still keep in touch with my cadet friends … we’re forever bonded.” Forever bonded by the unique combination of shared purpose and the distinctive aroma of those white vans, no doubt.
Marking lives in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband (a C-17 pilot and former CAP cadet she met at Cadet Officer School) and their two children. Next on her life’s journey? A Bernese Mountain Dog — “when the kids get a little older” — she said with a smile. After securing the largest sporting event in world history, the next logical step is obviously a dog roughly the size of a small aircraft.
You Can Be Like Susanna
Civil Air Patrol offers youth from ages 12-20 the opportunity to learn more about aviation, cyber, STEM, and military careers while enhancing their leadership skills. And, apparently, how to one day become the person making sure 48 national soccer teams don’t accidentally start a diplomatic incident, even if you’ve never actually kicked a ball.
Susanna Marking got her start that way, attending CAP activities as a cadet, learning to lead, and finding her purpose — public service. You can too. With more than 1,400 squadrons nationwide and a cadet corps of about 34,000, there’s an opportunity near you.
Join CAP today. Who knows? You might just pretend-march your way from a South Dakota squadron meeting into the history books — or at least into a White House task force dedicated to making sure the world’s soccer fans have a properly coordinated, federally approved, and extremely memorable time.