pell city squadron - dec 2010

8/2/2019 Pell City Squadron - Dec 2010

1/12

From the Commander:

The Holiday Season:

Most of us look forward to this wonderful time of

year. The holidays bring a time of joy and

festivities that only occur this time of year. The air

is cold and crisp. We spend time with close friends

and family as we celebrate the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. These

celebrations may be local or involve long trips to visit family and friends. We

gather to celebrate our friendships and common goals with co-workers. We also

gather as members of a great civic organization. It is truly a great time of year.

During this time of increased celebrations, we need to remain cautious. The days

have gotten shorter. The weather is colder. Roadways may be contaminated with

water or ice. Visibility may be reduced by fog or darkness. Many impaired

drivers take to the road and create dangers for us all.

Let us remember the true reason for the season.

It is my wish that everyone has a Safe and Happy Holiday Season.

Jim Gosnell

Commander AL-118

Commanders CornerDecember 2010

Inside this issue:

Commanders

Corner

1

Christmas

Dinner

Invitation

2

Calendar 3

CAP Trivia 4

Veterans Day

Event

4

Safety Corner 5

Cadets Corner 8

PAO Corner 6

Standards and

Evaluations

9

Did You Know 10

Cyber Patriot

Program

11

Mission Staff

Article

7

Promotions and

Iron Man Photos

12

Pell City Composite Squadron 118Alabama Wing Civil Air Patrol

Volume 1, No. 5

Flight Log


2/12

The Pell City Composite Squadron'sChristmas Meeting

Thursday, December 9, 20106:00 p.m. at the Pell City Recreation Center

The Christmas Meeting has been moved to the Pell City RecreationCenter due to construction at the airport.

This meeting is open to: Pell City Composite Squadron Members: Currenor retired Senior Members, Spouses or Guest; Cadets Members and Immediate family. PreviousCadet Members in College or Military, Spouses or Guest; Non-Members of Pell City CompositeSquadron: Commander Invitation of CAP members or Individuals that have provided support toPell City Composite Squadron.

The dress for this meeting will be CAP Dress Uniform or other attire suitable for a Semi-Formal

occasion.The meeting agenda consist of:

Dinner

Brief business

Key Note Speaker

The meat for the meal Main Course will be provided by Squadron 118

We are requesting all members attending bring at least one Large Vegetable Side Dish, and one othe following: Drinks, Bread or Dessert

Please RSVP before December 1, 2010 and provide the following information:

Name

Number of people attending

Vegetable you are planning to bring

Drink

Bread

Dessert

We are looking forward seeing you there.

Jim Gosnell

Commander

[email protected]

205.365.7298
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


3/12

Page 3

CALENDAR OF EVENTSDecember 2010

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

NO WESS

CYCLE IN

DECEMBER

1 2Happy

Birthday

Tony Bedford

Cadet Mt.

P.T.

3 4

5 6 7Happy

Birthday

Ellen

Randolph

8 9SquadronChristmas

Party6:00 p.m.Pell City

RecreationCenter

10 11Happy

Birthday

Allison

Howard

12 13 14 15 16Testing and

Leadership

Blues and AE

CurrentEvents

17 18

19 20 21Happy

Birthday

Brian Suggs

22 23NO CADET

MEETING

24 25Merry

Christmas!

26 27 28 HappyBirthday

Jessica Lucy

29NewsletterDeadline for

Januarys

Newsletter

30CharacterDevelopment,

Aerospace

and Drill

BDUs

31New YearsEve

Notes:January

WESS is

Jan. 14-16

Maxwell


4/12

Page 4From Our Safety Officer

CAP TRIVIA

Last Months WinnerDaniel L. Smith (Cadet Member)

Last Months Question: What phrase has been used by the

military since the 1950s for visual searches or inspections.

Answer:Using the Mark I Eyeball

This months question: What legislation is pending in both houses of congress which

involves Civil Air Patrol?

The first cadet and senior member to send in their answer along with where they found the

answer (do not use Wikipedia), will win a special prize chosen by the editor. Email your

answer to:

[email protected]

Cadets Attend Annistons Veterans Day CeremonyCadets Brian Scott, Aleena Scott, and

Rachel Shurbutt, along with Senior

Members Jeannie Scott, Beth Shurbuttand Eddie Shurbutt attended

Annistons Veterans Day Celebration.

(Kaylee Scott also attended)

There were four Pearl Harbor veterans

in attendance who were also serving as

grand marshalls in the veterans

parade.

Because of the numerous inquires

about the Civil Air Patrol program,

plans are being made for our squadron

to be represented next year on a larger

scale.

Thank you, cadets and senior

members, for representing us well!


5/12

Page 5From Our Safety Officer

Safety: Sometimes its hard to convince AL pilots that icing can be a problem. So, in our Nov 2009 Newsletter, I briefed youon an incident involving a Cirrus SR22. The pilot and two passengers took off from BHM and were so severely iced up by the

time he was over Childersburg that he ended up using his aircraft parachute and was found soon after lodged in some trees. He and

his passengers were not seriously injured but it was a serious accident without a doubt.

NASA tells us that Al has icing conditions about 20% of the time during the period of November through March. We are exposed

to this hazard a lot less than our northern neighbors but NASA also says that our icing situations are more likely to be sev ere

when they happen.

Shortly after writing the November 2009 article, in early December of 2009, my crew and I, consisting of Rich Burke and Jon

Garlick experienced a first-hand encounter with in-flight icing. We were to leave Pell City to attend a Saturday SAREX at

Bessemer. We were supposed to arrive at EKY at 0800 with briefings to be held at 0900. There was a warm front moving through

the area, conditions at takeoff were forecast as IMC with conditions improving to VFR later in the morning. Since the ground level

temperature was right at freezing (0 degrees C), I was very concerned about icing conditions in the clouds. In fact, I called flight

service (4) times over about an hour and a half period. There wasnt much flying activity in our area that early on a Saturda y

morning, so there were no pilot reports in our area. One pilot had reported a trace of ice near Montgomery at 9,000 feet. S ince

our flight was to be at 4,000 feet and well north of the pilot reporting, I didnt think that this report was relevant. After waiting a

while to see what was happening to the front, the conditions at PLR started to clear and it appeared that the front was moving

through on schedule. We departed PLR and flew through a few scattered clouds on our way to 4,000 feet. No ice was noticed in

passing through these clouds and we continued on to Bessemer.

Shortly before the time that ATC was to start giving me vectors to the ILS rwy 5 at EKY, we entered a bank of clouds and were

IMC. Shortly after that, a few small droplets froze on the windshield and then started a gradual accumulation on the leading edges

of the aircraft. The ice we observed could be classified as a combination of rime/clear ice. The OAT was 4 degrees C. The type is

important because, as I will discuss later, there is one type of ice that is very severe. Once the icing was observed, I took the

aircraft off autopilot and hand flew the rest of the way. We flew the ILS approach, broke out of the clouds at about 1,500 AGL and

made a successful no-flaps landing. On the ground, we could see that the ice had covered the leading edges in about to 3/8

inches of rime/clear ice. There was no accumulation on the blades of the prop but there was some on the spinner. I didnt not ice

any adverse handling of the aircraft but I didnt do anything quick or suddenly either. We were the first aircraft to arrive at

Bessemer but within about 20 minutes, two or three others arrived that had flown through clouds coming into EKY, and had

encountered no ice at all. That shows how fickle the icing situations can be and why it is so hard to forecast and even harder for a

pilot to determine if it will be a hazard to his flight.

The above flight was into a slow building sort of icing and, as long as you can exit the situation in a short period of time, will

rarely be fatal. There is a type that is a horse of a different color, freezing rain or FZRA on the sequence reports. This type, too,

occurs most often in warm fronts and in a temperature range of 0 to5 degrees C. Freezing rain has to have layers of air in just the

right format. There must be a cold layer up high with moisture in the form of snow or sleet, an intermediate layer with above

freezing temps, and a colder area below were the melted precip from the higher layer forms super-cooled droplets that are just

waiting for a cold object (an airframe will do nicely) to spatter on and freeze into a clear layer. Even airliners with certified de-

icing systems have been known to succumb to this type of flash freeze situation. Maybe you have witnessed this type of icing on

the ground known as an ice storm that brought down trees, power lines, and some buildings. A pilot must do everything possi ble

to avoid flying into this type of icing and must immediately exit the area in the event he encounters it inadvertently.

There is much more to learn on this topic, and a good place to start is to view Weather Wise; Precipitation and Icing on th e

www.asf.org web site.

Stay Safe! Ron Harlan, 118 Safety Officer

REMINDER: Read the newsletter and receive a Safety Briefing Credit. Please email Ron Harlan [email protected]


6/12

CORE VALUES

OF CIVIL AIR

PATROL

Integrity

Volunteer Service

Excellence

Respect

My job as PAO has opened many new and exciting opportunities for me. In

November, I was invited to attend W.E.S.S. as PAO. My job was to photograph

and video the various activities that were performed for that months cycle.

Quickly I learned that my ideal camping location is the Holiday Inn and not

unheated Army tents! Other than the frigid temperatures, I had a blast! Maybethey will invite me back in January.

During the weekend of November 19-20, I found myself running over the hills of

Auburn University to keep up with the teams participating in the annual Iron Man

competition. In addition to meeting many new cadets and senior members, I got

to see teamwork in action and was very proud of our cadets.

Other than taking photos and editing the newsletter, the most fun part of the

PAO job is seeing cadets learn and have fun! I have come to the conclusion

that Pell City has some of the best cadets around, and Im so proud of them.

On another topic, my husband recently received an email from one of our seniormembers asking for financial help. The email went into detail that while

overseas, someone had stolen his wallet and he had no way of getting funds to

buy a ticket back to the United States unless we sent money. Personally

knowing this member, we were immediately suspicious of the email and

contacted his wife who confirmed that it was a hoax and that his account had

been hacked. Please contact a senior member if you ever receive an email that

does not sound legitimate. Never give out ANY personal information through

email or phone. The only time you should have to give your CAP ID # is when

you sign on to E-Services. It is also very important that when in public, limit

your conversations about CAP to general topics. Safety also is important whenwe are offering information either by mouth, texting, or email.

Remember that you can access my photos at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethshurbutt/

If you cant find the photos you are specifically looking for, please contact me.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at:

[email protected] or [email protected]

Beth Shurbutt

Here is a listing of the deadline dates for upcoming newsletters:

December 28 (Januarys Newsletter)

January 28 (Februarys Newsletter)

From Your P.A. O. Officer . . .

Civil Air Patrol

www.gocivilairpatrol.com

Page 6

Look for us on the Web:

www.pellcitycap.org

Alabama Wing

www.alwg.cap.gov


7/12

Iron Man

www.areyouanironman.

com

Page 7

January 1416

February 18-20

March 25-27

April 29 - May 1

WESS

Dates

ALWG Mission Staff InformationMission Staff Assistant

Last month, I worked on my qualifications to become a Mission Staff Assistant (MSA).

Here are the specifics as to the responsibilities of the MSA. First, you need to take the

GES, CAPT 117, IS100 and IS700 exams that are found online through eservices and

complete BCUT which is often offered at our local squadron. Then you need to get

Commander's approval to begin training and to accomplish required tasks. I receivedmost of my training by participating in mission base exercises much like the one that

will be held this Sat., Dec. 4. According to the Mission Base Staff Task Guide, the

following explains the MSA's job in a nutshell.

1. The MSA serves a much needed function at the mission base by providing support to

the staff members. Although considered an entry-level position where many new

members get their first experience on a mission, it is a position of importance to the

successful completion of the mission. (Several MSA's can be used and needed for each

mission.)

2. The MSA may be assigned to any of number of mission tasks, they may be an

assistant to a staff member, they may be assigned to collect sign in information, prepare

reports, post status information or keep other mission data posted or updated. These

are all important tasks even though a new MSA may not immediately see the relevance

of them. The MSA must insure that all personnel and resources get signed into the

mission and that the information is legible.

3. Financial data. The MSA may be ask to compute the amount of money expended on a

training mission or to be accounted to different task numbers on a disaster mission. On

a training mission a certain amount of funds are assigned for that mission. Aircraft

flight times, communications expenses, and fuel for aircraft and vehicles must be

tracked so the allocated amount is not exceeded. On disaster missions, there may be

more than one task number that different mission events need to be tracked against.

4. Reports. Depending on the type of mission, there are various reports required. As the

MSA you may be ask to collect some of this data and assist in developing the reports.

5. One of the important positions the new MSA may be assigned to is the escorting of

visitors to the mission base. This may be an assigned function, or may come about as a

result of handling the sign in duties where people first arrive at the mission base. Some

of these visitors will require special attention, and since the MSA might be the first

person to meet them, he/she needs to understand what to do in each case. There are

three types of visitors who the MSA might be the first to meet: the casual visitor, the

relative (s) of the person or persons in distress, and the news media. They may try to getinformation from you or other members on the mission. Be polite, but do not allow this.

ONLY the IO or Incident Commander will release information to the media.

The best thing to do is to jump in and try it. It can certainly cause you to appreciate

those who go out on missions. When you see what goes on at mission base, you can

begin contemplating just where your own abilities can be best used.

1Lt Jeannie Scott


8/12

Cadets CornerBy Capt. Cindy Bennett

The Cadet OathI pledge that I will serve

faithfully in the Civil Air

Patrol Cadet Program and

that I will attend meetings

regularly, participate

actively in unit activities,

obey my officers, wear my

uniform properly, and

advance my education and

training rapidly to prepare

myself to be of service to

my community, state, and

nation.

Cadets Corner . . .Page 8

Helpful web sites:

www.pellcitycap.org

www.capnhq.gov

www.gocivilairpatrol.com

www.cadetstuff.org

www.alabamaftx.com

www.areyouanironman.com

November is almost over. This month and the previous ten have flown by. As usual

November was full of events for the cadets. Starting the month was the second WESS training

weekend on Nov 5-7. This weekend was colder so there were more gloves and scarves used.

Remember the next WESS weekend will be in January, so be sure to check the weather again

and dress appropriately. We will be at Maxwell AFB but we will at times be transporting

between buildings on base by foot.

During the weekend of Nov13 the Cyberpatriot Competition started for the open teams. We

have two of our cadets that are members of an open team and as I was watching the ongoing

competition I thought it was very interesting even though I didnt understand much of what was

going on.

The third weekend Nov 19-20 brought the annual Iron Man competition at Auburn

University. Our Iron Man team consisted of team captain C/Capt Peter Randolph, C/CMSgt

Daniel Smith, C/MSgt Nathan Bedford, C/TSgt Allison Howard, C/SrA Jessica Lucy, and C/

Amn Nathan Howard. We took two alternates C/CMSgt Wesley Morris, and C/Amn AndyMiller along with spectators C/CMSgt Jerrod Finlay and C/TSgt Allaina Howard. Once there the

team members were checked in and sent to have vital signs reviewed. After all team members

were checked out physically, they were sent to start the super duper physical training

competition. We have some really good athletes, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and flex-arm hang

along with a relay race tested each team member to do the best of their ability. After the PT

testing was finished, the teams were allowed to hang out and watch other teams progress or start

getting for uniform inspection and drill which was scheduled for Saturday morning. Saturday

started early with uniform inspection, and drill maze, compass and DF course. Oh, yes lets not

forget that yummy breakfast. . . . how many cadets actually ate that uh. . . oatmeal. That should

have stuck with you all day. The afternoon brought the actual Iron Man race with its many

stations and the activities. Do telephone poles and rope have anything in common. Do you have

your ground to air/ air to ground signals memorized? How about those Aerospace and

Leadership tests. Do you know who the Chief of the Air Force Is? Name three times that you

stand and salute during a military funeral. Who is the SER commander for CAP? After all was

said and done the winner of 2010 Iron Man competition was Bessemer Squadron, second place

was Chilton County, and third place went to Baldwin County with a little help from Pell City.

We supplied two of Baldwin Countys team members after they lost two of theirs at the last

minute. C/CMSgt Jerrod Finlay and C/Amn Andy Miller were pulled onto Baldwin's team, so

congratulations guys, Well Done!

Also congratulations to Cadet Peter Randolph who promoted to Major in November. So the

next time you see him, dont call him Captain Randolph!

As we enter the holiday season, there are a lot of people out and about, please everybody bevery careful, keep your situational awareness up and have a safe time at all activities you are

involved in.

??????Capt. Bennetts Trivia Question?????What publication can the o-flight syllabus be found in and why is the syllabus

important?

Be the first to EMAIL your reply to: [email protected]


9/12

Standards / Evaluations Corner . . .Page 9

S.A.

Ask a pilot what the abbreviation S.A. stands for and he will quickly say Situational Awareness.

S.A. is extremely important when flying. While flying you need to be aware of not only what is

going on with the aircraft but also what is around you and the aircraft, especially in front of the

aircraft. This is a good trait to have in general. My wife says she always knows when I have been

home because all the TVs are on the weather channel. I guess it is just a habit I have developed. I

like to know what is over the horizon. That may mean what weather is waiting for me at my

destination or what the surface on the runway is like when I get to my destination.

Whenever I am preparing to land I dont just look at the length and width of the runway as that is

only part of my S.A when landing. I determine which taxi-way I am going to take and which way

I will be turning to get to the terminal or the FBO. If you can develop this habit now it will help

you in all parts of your life. Try not to just move through life. Use all your senses. Start practicing

now. Be aware of your surroundings and it will help keep you safe. This will make it harder for

someone to surprise you.

When driving a vehicle S.A. is also very important. We dont always know what other drivers

will do, so be prepared for them to do the unexpected. Last February I lost S.A. on a very cold

morning as I was driving on a back road going into Birmingham. The roads were fine with good

traction. But as crossed a bridge I lost that traction as well as the control of my truck. Thanks to a

concrete guardrail I did not plunge twenty plus feet into the creek below. But my truck was

totaled. I was lucky not be seriously injured but it never would have happen if I had not lost S.A.

Of course, we have more senses than just our sight.

We can listen and smell and just that feeling on the back of our neck maybe trying to say, Hey!Dont lose S.A.. I was leaving the hanger the other morning it was very still and quiet. As I shut

the door and headed to the aircraft I heard a nose that sounded like water running or a gas leak. I

took a flashlight and started looking around. I found a water valve spraying water everywhere. I

called the FBO and reported the leak. Later in the day I got a call from the airport manager asking

if we had something using a lot of water in the hanger. I asked if he had checked his messages

that day where I reported the leak. He had not. A lot of people are so caught up in what they are

doing they have no idea what is going on around them. They seem to have no S.A. Dont let this

be you.

In providing the above examples of my own S.A (and sometimes lack of it) I hope this providesyou an opportunity to review your own examples of S.A. (and sometimes lack of it). After all it is

often said the hindsight has the benefit of 20/20 vision. I think we can use that to our advantage,

to learn from it. So, my recommendation is that you develop (or improve) your S.A. now and it

may save you or someones life some day!

Maj. Chris Iddins

AL Wing Assistant Stand/ Eval


10/12

Did You Know Corner . . . Page 10

Did you know that if you get too cold that you can begin to suffer from an

ailment called Hypothermia? Sure, most of you already knew that. Some of

you have medical training and some of you have already gone through

survival training at the Wing Emergency Services School. So for you, hearing

what the signs of hypothermia are will be old news. But dont stop reading

yet. You may learn something still.

Hypothermia is defined by Wikipedia as a condition in which core temperature drops below that required for normal

metabolism and body functions which is defined as 35.0 C (95.0F). A healthy temperature is usually between 98 to 100

degrees. Anything cooler can cause hypothermia and anything warmer can cause hyperthermia (heat exhaustion or heat

stroke.) The signs and symptoms of hypothermia vary and may be divided by the three stages of severity.

Mild- Symptoms of mild hypothermia may be vague and include shivering, high blood pressure, fast heartbeat or

breathing, or blood restriction. These are all physiological responses to preserve heat. Mental confusion, as well as

Hypoglycemia may be present. Alcohol use and alcoholism typically increases the risk.

Moderate- Low body temperature results in shivering becoming more violent. Muscle mis-coordination becomes apparent.

Movements are slow and labored, accompanied by a stumbling pace and mild confusion, although the victim may appear

alert. Surface blood vessels contract further as the body focuses its remaining resources on keeping the vital organs warm.The victim becomes pale. Lips, ears, fingers and toes may become blue.

Severe- Difficulty in speaking, sluggish thinking, and amnesia start to appear; inability to use hands and stumbling is also

usually present. Cellular metabolic processes shut down. Below 30 C (86 F), the exposed skin becomes blue and puffy,

muscle coordination becomes very poor, walking becomes almost impossible, and the victim exhibits incoherent/irrational

behavior. Pulse decreases dramatically but my increase in some cases.

Now for the personal experience part. A couple of days before Thanksgiving I was sitting at the computer for a couple of

hours in a cold draft. I began to shiver a little. After a few minutes, it was obvious that it was becoming worse and my jaws

even began to clinch. Since I have arthritis my body doesnt flex like most people, so when I began shivering strongly, I also

started experiencing a lot of pain. I remembered our survival training and put a jacket on and got into bed to try to bring

my core temperature up. What I didnt do was get near a heat source to add warmth. (That turned out to be a mistake.)

Since I continued to get worse, and my breathing was getting labored, I told my wife that I thought a trip to the emergency

room was a good idea. I dont think I am old yet but, at age 55, I thought it better not to take a chance that this might

progress into something worse.

Getting into the warm van turned out to be the right thing to do. After only a couple of minutes, I stopped shivering

altogether. After a few more minutes of feeling fine, I decided that a trip to the ER and all of those tests and spending the

night being poked at was not what I wanted to do. So we returned home and all was well.

You might ask yourself if I learned any lessons from this episode. You bet I did. First of all, sitting too long can cut off

the blood flow. Sitting in a cold draft is a bad idea. Putting on more clothes doesnt do much to quickly raise your core

temperature. Getting into a warm place is the best way to get warm. I also realized that my age and lack of recent

exercise may have contributed to it. Then I got to thinking that our pilots may fly around for hours without being able to

stand and let the blood flow. They may also fly in cold cockpits. It seems to me that if these conditions exist and a pilot

was not in top health, he could experience the same symptoms that I did.

There is a lot more to learn about hypothermia. You can find out all you need to know by searching the internet or by

going to the Wikipedia site. Learn how to recognize, treat or prevent hypothermia. Believe me, it isnt a pleasant

experience. So now you know.

Eddie Shurbutt, 1Lt


11/12

CYBER PATRIOT PROGRAMRound 1Page 11

C y b e r P a t r i o t R o u n d 1

Cyber Patriot is a National High School Cyber Defense

Competition, open to all High School students. The competition

began in February 2009 with just 8 teams but expanded to over 150

teams in last years competition. Cadet Brian Scott and Cadet Danny

Smith both participated in the competition last year. This year thereare 661 teams competing in two different divisions. Our Cyber Patriot

team members are Cadet Allaina Howard, Cadet Brian Scott,

Christian Hauser, Phillip Hauser and Taylor Lucy. Since all of our

team members are not CAP members, we are in the Open Division of

the Competition. Maybe next year we can have more CAP members

interested to have an All Service Division team.

On the Friday evening before the competition, I got a call that the internet was down. I had a plan B

though. Then on Sat morning, my monitor quit working so I pulled out my nearly 10 yr old dinosaur monitor. I

also found out that the internet was once again working. So we were back in business, ready to start. The

competition lasts 6 hrs. Two hours into the competition, they crashed the virtual machine. Then, they

recovered from the crash and were working on the last vulnerability when the clock ran out. (94% was ourfinal score!) All in all, we had a blast! It worked the way it was suppose to work even w/ all the "distractions".

Can't wait til Round 2 on December 11, 2010.

1Lt Jeannie Scott


12/12

Cadet Promotions and PhotosPage 12

IRON MAN 2010

Our Team: Nathan Bedford, Allaina Howard, Nathan Howard, Jessica Lucy,

Peter Randolph, and Daniel L. Smith. Alternates were Jerrod Finlay, Andy

Miller, and Wesley Morris.

Congratulations, Peter Randolph

Peter Randolph was promoted to Captain to Major during the month of November.

Photos will appear in future newsletters.

(Left to Right) Randolph, Smith, Bedford, A. Howard, Lucy, and N Howard

Andy Miller and Jerrod Finlay (two on the right end) helped Baldwin

County put together a team after they had some last minute cancelations.

pell city squadron - dec 2010

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