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Dinner With Major Bill KnottsProfile of a 50 Year Member

Ive always found something tolike about every place Ivebeenand its mostly the peo-ple. Bill and I are sitting downfor dinner together at the Sir-loin Stockade, along with hiswife Caroll. He just finished a

long list of mostly South andCentral American countries hewas stationed at during a 24-year tenure in the US Army.The statement was made after acomment about how most ofhis friends would complainabout the unfamiliar surround-

ings. That is not Bill!

William was born February 20,1946 in Carthage, Arkansas toEdward Van and Mary SueKnotts. In the early 50s, after

his mother and father divorced,he moved with his mother andtwo siblings (Kenneth and Cath-erine) to the Mississippi GulfCoast. His father was anenlisted ground school instruc-tor for the Army Air Force andlater a commercial pilot. Need-less to say, he and his family didnot see much of his father afterthe divorce. In fact, Bill tells thestory of his father attending hisbrothers wedding (20+ yearsafter the divorce) and hismother saw him but didnt rec-

ognize himand doesnt know,to this day, that her ex-husband

attended his sons wedding.

Listening to Bill talk about hisfamily history is a reminder ofthe way things used to be. Hisgrandparents were lumber com-pany kids who lived most oftheir lives in the deep woods ofArkansas. Imagine having towalk more than a mile throughthe woods to the nearest road-

side school bus stop every dayfor school and your townmoving every 2-3 months whenall the houses were loaded onflat cars and transported ontemporarily-lain rail tracks tothe next work site. Some of the

stories he tells about his grand-

mother are priceless.

Bill grew up with an interest inflying and search and rescue.When he was 14, living in Pasca-goula, Mississippi, he inquiredabout Civil Air Patrol (CAP).National HQ at the time(Ellington AFB) informed himthat the nearest squadron wasat Keesler AFB, which was toofar away for his single/workingmother to drive him to every

week. That didnt hinder Billfrom pursuing a pilots license.When he was 16, he sold hisshotgun and went to the Jack-son County Airport and beganflight instruction in a Piper J-3Cub. When money ran out, hewashed planes and did justabout anything else at the air-port in exchange for flying time.Eventually he was hired as a lineboy and then mechanics helper.It turns out, that airport was a

CAP WWII Coastal Patrol Base.

It wasnt long after he startedflying lessons that Bill was ap-proached by one of the flyingclub members about starting aCivil Air Patrol squadron at the

Jackson County Airport. Hewas one of the charter mem-bers of the Jackson CountyComposite Squadron (laternamed the Singing River Com-

posite Squadron).As a cadet in the Civil Air Pa-trol, Bill joined as an acting 2d

Lt, though he never earned theMitchell Award. He says he hasnever been concerned aboutrank, but joined because of hisinterest in flying and search andrescue. Only a few monthsafter he joined, he participated

in his first real search and res-cue mission. The details of themission are not appropriate tomention, but it was an experi-ence that exposed Bill to nearlyevery aspect of search and res-cue in CAP, to say the least. Heexperienced what it was likeworking with other organiza-tions before there was realcoordination and how CAP wasthe only group focused onsearching for survivors insteadof bodies. The year after he

joined, he earned his CAP Pi-lots Wings and attended a CAPmulti-state encampment at Max-well AFB in Alabama. He real-ized later that basic drill andceremony at the squadron com-bined with encampment areexcellent training for entry into

the military.

As a senior member in the CivilAir Patrol, early on, it was abalance between his Army ca-reer and CAP activities. Bill hasendured and remained active

throughout the years despitemilitary and family responsibili-ties.With the Army SpecialForces, he was stationed in atleast 13 countries throughouthis 24 years of serviceall thewhile, remaining active in CivilAir Patrol whenever and wher-

ever it was possible.

Continued on page 2

CIVIL AIR

PATROL

September 19, 2012Volume 1, Issue 6

Col. Travis HooverComposite Squadron

NewsletterUpcoming Events: 29 September: Alpha

Air Centers InauguralAnnual Fly-InJoplin

Municipal Airport

13 October: Fitness

Challenge Celebration

19-21 October: Wing

Conference

15 December:Wreaths Across

America Ceremony

Inside this issue:

Dinner With Ma-jor Bill Knotts...(Continued from

page 1)

2

September Awards 2

Fitness Goals 2012 3

Aerospace WordSearch

3

Webb CityFarmers Market

Benefit Breakfast

4

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And to reiterate his feelingabout rank, once he joined anew squadron as a 2dLt. The

squadron commander refusedto recognize any rank that he,himself, did not promote. Billdidnt argue, he just took off hispips and got to work. I couldcare less, the pay is the same,

that is how he puts it.

All four of his children joinedCAP as cadets, two continuedon as senior members, thoughnone are currently active. Billswife, Caroll, joined CAP earlyon in their marriage, so most of

his favorite moments in CAPhave to do with being active asa family. When asked why hestays involved today, he says,Same reason I joined in thefirst place. Search and rescue,training, Ive got the experiencethat I can use to train the sen-

ior members and cadets with.

If I could just figure out howto operate the blasted com-puter That stands out inBills discussion of how CAPhas changed over the years.

He talks about his perspectiveof how computers and theinternet seem to have added

just another layer of bureauc-racy to mission operation andreporting. He had hoped itwould be more like StarTrekyou would just feedinformation in (plane type,pilots experience, flight plan,last known position, fuel onboard, etc.) and the computerwould tell you the most likelyareas to search. He says it

hasnt worked out that way.

To get a full appreciation ofwho he is, and what Bills char-acter and experience have andcontinues to offer the Civil AirPatrol, you have to know abouthis flying hobby and his careerin the Army Special Forces.You already know Bill obtainedhis pilots license as a teenager.Last he checked (which wasyears ago) he had logged over1500 hours of flight time. Istopped listing the differentplanes he has flown at 20. Hehas personally owned four

airplanes (a Piper Cub, a Lus-comb 8A, a Citabria, and hecurrently owns a SlebcevStorch). He isnt able to dothis now, but his favorite typeof flying is aerial aerobatics.Not only flying, but jumping outof airplanes is another skill of

his.

In the Army Special Forces, hetaught high altitude low open-ing (HALO) techniques. TheHALO maneuver is a way tointroduce troops into critical

areas undetected by jumpingout of an airplane at very highaltitudes, gliding to a muchlower altitude, then openingthe parachute just in time toland safely and precisely whereneeded. Bill was assigned as aninstructor at the Special ForcesAdvanced Medical School andto the Defense Attach Systemin Mexico, Venezuela, andYemen. He is fluent in theSpanish language and has ex-perienced, first hand, living in

the South and Central Ameri-can cultures. Whereas conven-tional soldiers go overseas to a

U. S. Base, in effect a miniatureU.S. community complete withU.S. stores, theaters, bowlingalleys, craft shops, etc., SpecialForces go overseas and livewith the local populations intheir villages or military bases,eating the local food and speak-ing the local language. Evenwhen he and his family wereoverseas, with the Embassies,they lived in local housing(sometimes even slightly modi-fied with flush toilets and

screen windows!). Theybought their food from localmerchants, and the kids wentto the local/international

school.

Our meal is complete and ourdiscussion has transitioned towhat is planned for our nextsquadron meeting. I assuredBill that there is no way I willbe able to do his story justice.Between our 2-hour long dis-cussion over dinner and theinformation he provided me

beforehand, I have too muchinformation to summarize.And I know weve onlytouched the surface of most ofhis experiences. My goal willbe to pique the interest ofcadets, in particular, so theywill want to approach him. Hehas an amazing life story andwe can all learn a lot from whathe has experienced and accom-

plished in his life thus far.

Dinner With Major Bill Knotts... (Continued from page 1)

Page 2 Col. Travis Hoover Composite Squadron Newsletter

Ive always

found

something to

like about

everyplace Ive

been...and its

mostly the

people

- Major Bill

Knotts

Cadet Knotts BeingPresented His CAP Pi-

lots Wings

September Awards: C/Capt. Rouse, Major Knotts

This month, C/Captain CalebRouse was officially presentedhis Amelia Earhart award byState Representative Charlie

Davis.

We also celebrated the 50 year

membership anniversary ofMajor Bill Knotts. CommanderWorkman had a plaque madefor the occasion ...along with a

cake.Rep. Charlie Davis Presenting

Plaque to Major Knotts

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Article Submitted By:1st Lt Andi Edwards

In August, the squadron dis-cussed a topic near and dear toa nurses heartfitness. Of allthe topics that Health ServicesOfficers can cover, the value ofregular exercise is the onething that can most change amembers life. Almost all theother topics are meant forhelping to save anothers life.Exercise is something one doesto save ones own life. It is theclosest thing to a magic bulletthat medicine has for prevent-

ing disease, prolonging life,improving mood, boostingenergy and an endless list ofother benefits. One of thebenefits not often considered,but greatly valued in this in-stance, is the ability of exerciseto develop character and per-

severance.

After a conversation of thebenefits of exercise, the squad-ron then covered setting fitnessgoals for the fall. The goalswere to be SMART: Specific,

Measurable, Attainable, Rele-vant and Time Bound. A large

number of both senior mem-bers and cadets set out towrite goals that they felt were

important to their fitness lives.A lot of the goals for cadetswere set in areas in which theyare struggling to pass PT. Someare improving their times in themile and shuttle run or increas-ing their push-ups and sit-ups.Others are working on a newgoal for running a 5k or 10k.The senior members also setgreat goals. Examples includewalking, running, playing tennis,swimming and biking multipletimes a week. Several senior

members are also working ondoing a 5k or 10k program.The time limit for attaining thegoals is October 9. Each mem-ber also chose a buddy to pro-vide encouragement and ac-

countability.

This past Tuesday marked theone month line for the goals.Each participant reported onwhere they and their buddy areat in their training. Some havealready achieved their goal andare working to improve it.

Several members are right ontrack at a halfway point. Others

said they sure are working hardat push-ups and sit-upsunfortunately their goal is in

running! Well, they still have amonth, anyways. As extra in-centive, those who completetheir goals will be recognized ata party celebrating the end ofthe goal time on October 13.More to come on the excitingevents planned for that day.Several of the members willhave something extra to cele-brate as they will be participat-ing in the annual Maple LeafFestival 5k and 10k that morn-

ing.

Whether the goal is in running,PT exercises, or some otherform of fitness, the true aim isthe same. Setting a habit ofhealthy living for a lifetime willreap great rewards. Thechoices made each day aboutgetting up and disciplining onesbody also helps bring disciplineto the rest of ones life. TheTravis Hoover CompositeSquadron is set on becoming anexample of fitness in all areas of

life. This is just step one.

Find 34 Aerospace-related words. List them here:

___________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ___________

Fitness Goals 2012

Aerospace Word Search

Page 3Volume 1, Issue 4

Fitness: The Magic Bullet

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Joplin Regional AirportOld Terminal Building

Joplin, MO 64801

Phone: 417-529-5251E-mail: jeredhorn@gmail.com

Squadron History:

Our squadron is named after retired Air Force Col. Travis Hoover, one of the

famous Doolittle Raiders who led the first U.S. retaliatory raid on Japan after

the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittles 79-member crew flew 16 Army Air Corps bombersoff the deck of the aircraft carrier Hornet on April 18, 1942. They brought the

United States into World War II by flying to Japan and bombing industrial tar-

gets in Tokyowithout enough fuel to safely reach landing strips in China. The

raid inflicted little damage, but roused American spirits and proved that Japan

was vulnerable to U.S. bombers.

Hoover flew the second B-25 bomber behind Doolittle. When his plane ran out

of fuel, he crash-landed the aircraft into a Japanese rice paddy. Hoover and his

four crewmen survived the rough landing, and were met by Tung Sheng Liu, a

Chinese aeronautical engineer who helped them evade Japanese troops and

reach China. For his service in the historic raid, Hoover received the Distin-

guished Flying Cross.

CIVIL AIR PATROL

1st Lt Edwards and 2d LtWorkman are pictured here

(bravely) handling foil.

Here, C/SMSgt Horn is keeping

an eye on the sausage.

The pictures on the right fea-ture our serving line, custom-ers eating our food, a wagonsomebody couldnt keep hishands off of, and cadets playing

in the rain.

On Saturday, 15 September,several cadets and senior mem-bers participated in one of ourannual fundraising events, theWebb City Farmers MarketBenefit Breakfast. By preparingand serving breakfast tofarmers market attendees, weraised approximately $150 for

the squadron.

Here you see Captain Work-man preparing the orange juicewith other work being done in

the background.

C/Captain Adams, CadetBanks, and C/TSgt Harter pic-

tured here at work.

Webb City Farmers Market Benefit Breakfast

Cadet Programs, Emergency Services, Aerospace Education

cap143coltravishoover.com