delta squadron - sep 2010

8/2/2019 Delta Squadron - Sep 2010

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THE DELTA COMPOSITE SQUADRON QUARTERLY THIRD QUARTER 2010

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The Flight LineIts Hurricane Season -- Are You Ready?The 2010 Hurricane Season is underway, and we

all need to take steps to protect our families and

property from potential storms. The 2010

Hurricane Season began June 1 and ends Nov.

30. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration has predicted an "active toextremely active" hurricane season, with an

estimated 14-23 named storms, 8-14 hurricanes

and 3-7 major hurricanes. By comparison, an

average hurricane season will produce 11 named

storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes.

In Texas, the strategy for dealing with disasters is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

No state is more prepared than Texas to handle the full spectrum of threats, including man-

made and natural disasters. Our local officials and emergency responders are second to none,

and are committed to working together to protect Texas communities.

In advance of storms this hurricane season, you should take simple steps to protect your

families and homes should a storm threaten the Texas coast, including:

Creating a plan for your family

Having an emergency kit

Prepare your home and vehicle before evacuation

Knowing your evacuation routes

If a storm impacts the Houston area, CAP units from outside of the affected area will respond to

any mission taskings. Delta members will be called upon for missions should storms hit

adjacent areas.

The important thing is to be ready for ALL possible situations BEFORE the storm hits.


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During the month of June we grilled up

some hamburgers and hot dogs to host

an Air Force representative and the

cadets prior to our regular seniormeeting. This raised some funds even

after covering the cost of the food and

was enjoyed by all. We have decided

to make this type of gathering a regular

event. We have tentatively scheduled

the next event for the month of August,

details will be announced at an

upcoming meeting and on the

Facebook page.

We are still promoting our Astros fundraising effort. The first game

was in June, the next game is July 10th. To date, we have sold

13 tickets, which is a far cry from our goal of 1,000. Details for

the remaining games are below along with the website address to

purchase tickets.

If there are any questions about the Astros fundraiser or if you have

suggest ions fo r o ther fundra i se rs p lease con tac t N ik Keramidas

([email protected]).

Click on the link to purchase tickets: www.astros.com/civilairpatrol

Sat, July 10 CARDINALS 6:05 pm

Sat, Aug 14 PIRATES 6:05 pm

Fri, Sep 10 DODGERS 7:05 pm

FUNDRAISING UPDATE
http://www.astros.com/civilairpatrolhttp://www.astros.com/civilairpatrolhttp://www.astros.com/civilairpatrolmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Cadets Earn Promotions and Awards, Fly High

Delta Cadets have accomplished the following since May 17: (photos on following page)

Lechmann Promotion to A1C

Shortt Promotion to SrAmn

Camden Promotion to Amn

Cabrera Promotion to Amn

Olguin Promotion to Amn

Furter Promotion to SrAmn

Stonehouse Promotion to A1C

Stubbs Promotion to SrAmn

Woods Promotion to A1C

Watkins Encampment Staff Flight Sgt

Patterson Completed First Encampment

Furter Completed First Encampment

Dees Completed First Encampment

Lewis Completed First Encampment

Barker Completed First EncampmentLechmann Completed First Encampment

Kline Joined 6/21

McIntosh Joined 6/28

Fisher Joined 6/28

Cabrera Powered O-ride #1

Camden Powered O-ride #1

Dees Powered O-ride #1

Lechmann Powered O-ride #2

Lewis Powered O-ride #3

Olguin Powered O-ride #1

Post Powered O-ride #2

Stubbs Powered O-ride #1

Weller Powered O-ride #1

Post FIRST SOLO!

Stonehouse FIRST SOLO!

Douglas Currently at National Cadet Officer School


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Cadet Promotion Photos


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Delta Cadets Participate in FTX

A group of Delta cadets, along with afew senior members, participated in aField Training Exercise (FTX) June25-27 on the 400-acre Diamond-O

Ranch, located between Hempsteadand Bellville. For many of the cadets,this was their first FTX experience andan opportunity for them to actually useEmergency Services (ES) skills theyhave learned in a classroom setting.Many of the cadets got signed off onseveral tasks, as they work toward theirGround Team qualifications. Theygained experience in UDF, radiooperations, search lines, compass work,litter carry and vehicle inspections.Three mission sorties were successfullycompleted over the weekend, includinglocating an ELT and locating andretrieving a missing person.

Cadets were given a review class in ORM, and then were required to discuss, analyze and completethe ORM worksheets before each mission sortie. Safety was emphasized throughout the activity andthe cadets gained a first-hand understanding of how safety plays out in real life missions. Topics suchas hydration, hot weather injuries and fatigue became very real to them because of the hottemperatures and high heat indices each day. Hearty and healthy meals were provided and cadetswere always hungry at meal times.

All cadets worked hard, and gave their best

to learn and improve their ES skills duringthe activity. And, after a weekend of trainingand evaluation, the cadet staff selected C/

Amn Levi Camden as Honor Cadet for theactivity.

As a bonus, the cadets participated in a FlagRetirement Ceremony, where two AmericanFlags were retired and burned. The flagswere provided by a local company, whoasked the cadets to retire the colors in anappropriate manner.

Despite the heat and long hours of training,the cadets had a great time and are anxiousfor the next FTX, which will be held in theFall.


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Photos From Klein Volunteer Fire Department Visit...


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Checklists:

Its possible to get complacent and to become too comfortable with an aircraft. Flying the same

airplane repeatedly can sometimes make for a routine that has both positives and negativesassociated with it. To mitigate this risk, we use checklists. As CAP pilots we use checklists every time

we fly. Further, we should be using the command-challenge method of running the checklist. The

pilot calls for the checklist component and the crew member reads each task as the pilot respondswith a statement indicating that the task has been satisfied (or not). This discipline ensures that

nothing is missed and that the entire crew is informed about the aircraft. Be sure to follow the

checklist all the way to shutdown and securing the aircraft after shutdown.

Watch Your Head!:

While we talk about safety andcaution our crews about safety,

one must remember that to betruly safe requires an active

attention span, an active

engagement with the process. At the recent LESA a SAR/DR

Pi lo t Tra inee repeated ly

cautioned me while we were

around the airplane. Watch

your head, be careful of thewheel struts so you dont trip,

all things that we know to do,

but an active engagement withthe process is critical. While I

observed this pilot dutifullycautioning the crew, the very

next day I watched the same

pilot run straight into the trailing

edge of the flaps, cutting his head open, creating a reportable incident. Active engagement: when

you approach an aircraft, hold your arm at your head level and in front of you. This is the easiest wayto avoid hitting the aircraft. If you are standing near the aircraft, reach out and touch it. By doing this

youre ensuring that youre not going to damage any air frame structures. In my example, the pilot

only suffered a minor cut but endured a fair amount of playful ridicule by other school members.

Watch that Prop!:

Any time you engage the master switch be certain to check for and call out clear prop. An unknownshort circuit could cause the prop to be live and the starter could engage. For this reason, always

stand well away from the prop and be cautious of where you place your hands when performing the

check list tasks. While we are all taught to clear the prop when we are about to engage the starter, it

is equally important that we do this critical safety announcement when the master switch is engaged,

too.

Three Safety Tips Worth Repeating


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Just My Opinion

CAP we all know what that might stand for -- Change All Plans.Okay, it doesnt -- but its indicative of the challenges facing our squadron in todays world. As a volunteerorganization, we often lack the consistency of organizations that have little turnover, that have little changein operations, and can depend on a steady state of funds. I dont know who those folks might be, but itsnot us.Instead were faced with organizational challenges from year-to-year, month-to-month and week-to-week.We dont know wholl be at the meeting on any given Tuesday. Our operations stay in flux. Weve movedtwice in the last year, down-sizing our trappings as weve moved into smaller facilities. Our funding,while much improved in the last two years, is still not as consistent and dependable as it needs to be.

Yet throughout all of this weve remained dedicated to ourprinciples, committed to our mission, and resolute in ourdetermination. Weve bounced back and chipped in andshown up to make Delta a success. It is no accident that both

Group and Wing come to Delta looking for good people to steal.In the last three months, weve worked hard on organizationaland financial issues. Weve filled some vacancies with good,motivated folks and given some long-standing folks a breatherby bringing in new personnel. We now have both a primary anda backup in most of our squadron duty positions, ensuring somecontinuity. We have everyone on a Specialty Track. Shorty wellbe announcing a change in the way dues are collected to makeour finances a little easier to predict. Weve instituted a weeklyemail to let everyone know what to expect at the comingTuesday meeting. Weve introduced some new talent and newapproaches for programs. Soon well be unveiling a new

simulator set-up. Were even going to try to introduce somethinginvolving food each quarter.

Weve had programs on Urban Direction Finding, ground-aircrew coordination, WMIRS, SurrogatePredator and Aerial Photography all while meeting our obligations to Wing, the ever-changing FAAenvironment, Safety and Duty.The unofficial mantra of the Marine Corps is Adapt, Improvise and Overcome. This might well be adescription of the attitude of Delta members as we continue to meet our commitments to the mission andto our goals.Im proud to be a member of Delta.

Gary Darby,Deputy Commander for Seniors


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When I first thought of going to encampment, I wasexcited, then terrified and then confident. I had neverbeen away from home for longer than two days beforeand that made me anxious. Overall, I was pretty excitedabout it.

I knew I had things I needed to work on, but I thoughtbecause of my rank that I would have an edge thatother people didnt. I walked in with confidence that Icould take this on and it would be no big deal and Iwould come back relatively unscathed. I also didntrealize how much of a yes person I was.I always had a problem with PT even though I was goodat it. I just didnt like doing it. I knew we were going tobe doing a lot of PT and I was given a schedule in orderto prepare, but I thought that I could skate on by andnot have to worry. I didnt study all that much and I onlydid the bare minimum that I had to. I didnt realizebefore but I realize now what my biggest problems

were. Among them; the inability to anticipate what is needed, pride, ignorance, people skills, not takingconstructive criticism well, procrastination, messiness and being inefficient

These are just some of the things that I walked in with. During the first few days, our schedule mainly consisted ofdrill, classes, working out, figuring out our roles and just try to make it. I found out later what they were doing. Theywere breaking us down until all that was left was the bare basics of who we are. It made us learn that we cant doeverything by ourselves and that each and every person has their own unique talents. After the first few days, wewere so completely exhausted and raw, there was no way we could get anything done without each other. Our nextdays were spent learning how to work as a team, studying our SOIs, learning control and discipline. We alsolearned that you can have a ton of fun even if what were doing is hard work.

Our flight always strived to have outstanding barracks and

uniforms even if it meant that you had to take a shorter shower oryou couldnt get that two extra minutes of relaxation time. We allstrained on each others nerves and we found out the things thatannoyed us while at the same time trying not to annoy everyoneelse around you.

By the fourth day, I had begun sleeping in my road guard uniformand had began getting ready the night before. We all began tofind our own rhythm and started to understand what they weretrying to teach us. There was still a long way to go, but we allagreed that the only way we would make it is if we took it one dayat a time.

On the third or fourth day, one of our girls sprained her anklebadly and so we had to help her everywhere she went. We all

helped her and we worked as a team to take care of her. Even with her sprained ankle, she still worked as hard asshe could. She yelled just as loud as any one of us and helped push us through something that was tough. It mademe feel as though we were so close. There were two other girls who were having trouble and they still pushedthemselves to the limit.

We learned to be proud of our flight and we learned what it truly meant to be a team. After they had completelybroken us down, they gave us the material to help us build each other up in a new and better way. None of us willever be the same.

A Cadets First Encampment -- C/SMSGT Rachel Barker


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FROM THE COMMANDER...

As mentioned on the front page,

hurricane season is upon us and its

time to get our preparations in order.

As residents of the Gulf Coast storm

zone we should be prepared to spend

several days, if not weeks, without

electricity and expect limited food and

water availability for the first few days.

Aside from having enough and the

right kind of food, there is more to

consider.

Having survived the Hurricane Ike

ordeal, several things are important to

me. My house (two refrigerators, two

window a/c units, fans and a few small

lamps) ran on generated power for 15

days so I will make sure that the gen-

set is fully functional. I run it for a half

hour every four to six months making

sure to run it dry of fuel to prevent

carburetor gum. My next priority is to

have at least one full bottle of propane

to cook on the grill with. One bottle will

last a week to ten days or more if you

use it conservatively. These are but

two things to consider.

Those of us at CAP need to consider

the potential to be activated to assist in

damage assessment and search and

rescue missions. This includes not only

our local area but also areas such as

the Coastal Bend, the Rio Grande

Valley to the southwest and Beaumont/

Port Arthur to the east. We should,

therefore, be prepared and anticipate

the request to assist by staying current

in our respective mission qualifications

as well as continue to train for new

qualifications. We should also be sure

that our gear is up to date and

complete. Normally the notice todeploy is 12-24 hours so be ready to

saddle up and go quickly.

These are just a few things to consider

as you prepare for this hurricane

season.

Semper Vigilans, Maj. Risher Lewis

Contributing Writers

Maj. Tim Ragulsky

Capt. Gary Darby

2nd Lt. Nik Keramidas

SM David Gaines

Capt. Jim Douglas

C/SMSgt Rachel Barker

Photography

Maj. Tim Ragulsky

Capt. Jim DouglasC/SMSgt Rachel Barker

1st Lt. David McCollum

Editor

1st Lt. David McCollum

delta squadron - sep 2010

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