wyoming wings magazine, april 2008

8/14/2019 Wyoming Wings Magazine, April 2008

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W WThe Wyoming Wings is an autho-

rized magazine published three

times a year in the interest of the

members of Wyoming Wing,

Civil Air Patrol. The printers

are a private rm in no way con-

nected with the Department of

the Air Force or Civil Air Patrol.

Opinions expressed by the pub-

lishers and writers are their own

and not to be considered ofcial

expression by Civil Air Patrol or

the Air Force. The appearance of

advertisements in this publica-

tion, including supplements and

inserts, does not constitute an

endorsement by Civil Air Patrol

or the Department of the Air

Force of products and services

advertised.

H HEADQUARTERS H

Wyom W

Cv Ar PatroBd. 233

Warre AFB

(307) 773-4519

Fax (307) 773-4783

H MAiling ADDRESS H

Wyom W

Cv Ar Patro

P. O. Box 9507

Cheyee, WY 82003-9507

W CommaderClel sta skabut

Edtor

1t Lt. Jeae ste-Huter

For formato o

adverts rates ad space,

pease ca

1-800-635-6036

Continued on page 13 . . .

Commanders CornerClel sta skrabut, CAP Cader

By the time this issue hits

the streets, I will have beenassigned as Wing Commander

for over one year. It is amazing

how fast time has gone by. I

am looking forward to what the

future has to hold. Since the last

time I wrote, a number of things

have occurred, and the future

looks to be as busy as ever.

In October, Air Force and

Civil Air Patrol evaluators ran

us through the paces by evaluat-ing us in our search and rescue

(SAR), disaster response (DR),

and homeland security (HLS)

missions. The final result was

that we were rated excellent!

I have been told that we are

the first wing in our region to

earn such a grade over the past

couple of years. I was thrilled

with the result; a result not pos-

sible without the hard work

and support of the Wyoming

Wing. Great Job! Information

Technology, SDIS, Planning

Section Chief, Ground Teams,

Ground Branch Director, and

Aircrews earned an excellent

rating. Naturally, we have

some areas to work on, but we

are on our way. The follow-

ing individuals were recog-nized for their particularly

outstanding performance and

noteworthy contributions in

going above and beyond their

assigned duties: Major George

T w i t c h e l l , M a j o r D o n a l d

Barker, Captain John Burkett,

and Cadet Chris Hodges.

In November, Lt. Col. Davis

organized two activities that

were carried out simultaneous;a Training Leaders of Cadets

course and a NCO Academy

for cadets. According to those

in attendance, these were two

exceptional courses masterfully

executed; again, a reflection

of his exceptional leadership

skills. I want to thank him and

his team for another great job.

Eric, congrats on your Air

Force promotion to Lieutenant

Colonel you deserve it.

Major Ken Johnston has

joined the wing staff in two

important functions: Inspector

General and check pilot. We

cer ta in ly have a need fo r

these two tasks to be filled. I


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Encampment will be upon us beore we know it. Sta cadetsand senior members will gather at Camp Guernsey on July 31 andtrainee cadets will arrive on the ollowing Saturday (Aug 2).

As o March 1, several sta positions are still available. For the

senior side o things I am still looking or a deputy commander, tacti-cal ocers and chaplain/moral leadership ocer. Please contact meat [email protected] i interested to see i positions are still available.

C/1st Lt. Gould, the cadet commander, is still looking or peopleor her sta. Flight sergeants, fight commanders, a rst sergeantand support sta are needed to make this encampment a success.Cadets interested in being on sta should contact her directly at

[email protected] to see i positions are still available.I am also looking or a qualied rappel master to come or oneday to instruct the cadets on the intricacies o rappelling. Ourschedule can be somewhat fexible to accommodate a qualiedindividual. Please let me know i you can provide this service orknow o someone who can.

In order to bee up our curriculum the encampment could also

use more presenters in the area o aerospace education andactive/retired Air Force members to discuss Air Force undamen-tals. Please let me know i you can help.

Get all the latest news on the encampment website at http://wyocadets1.home.bresnan.net/.

Ecmpmet

I Comig!

majr BJ Carl 307-587-4275 [email protected]


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Cet

EcmpmetTraInEEs nEEdEdThe 3rd Annual Wyoming Wing Cadet Encampment

will be held from August 2-August 10. Cadets who havenot attended an encampment before are required toattend an encampment before they can become a cadetofficer or participate in national special activities inCivil Air Patrol.

Many exciting activities are planned for the

weeklong encampment. Blackhawk helicopter andC-130 rides are scheduled along with the FATS (FireArms Training Simulator), obstacle course and more.Cadets will leave encampment with a better knowledgeof Civil Air Patrol and leadership skills to help them ontheir way up the ranks in CAP.

WY Wing cadets should have received an invitationto attend the encampment. Remember that thedeadline for application is May 31, 2008. Additionalinformation can be accessed on the website link athttp://www.capwyhq.com/.


7/22

CC/Capt. Jeremiah Longowas one of two Cody HighSchool students and of 26 stu-dents statewide, nominated

to a mil i tary academy by

Wyoming CongresswomanBarbara Cubin. My mom was

even more excited than I was,

Longo told the Cody Enterprise

Newspaper. I didnt know she

could be so happy.

You sit in front a bunch

of old people with glasses

on the end of their noses and

answer questions, Longo

said of the interview process.

A couple of weeks later Ireceived my letter.

The nominees were selected

using many guidelines includ-

ing character, leadership, aca-

demic achievement, physical

aptitude, medical tness, goals

and motivation.

I knew I wanted an action-

packed job and the military is

the way to go, Longo said.

Longo will be screened

by academy officials to deter-

mine admission to the acad-

emy. Longo hopes to become a

Marine ofcer after completing

the Naval Academy.

I had an opportunity this

Cadet Jeremiah LongoNominated or NavalAcademy

C/1st Lt. Jeremiah Longo of the Cody Cadet Squadron was

promoted to the rank of Cadet Captain in a simple ceremony at

the end of January. Major BJ Carlson, squadron commander

and Deb LaVance, Jeremiahs mother, ofcially pinned on the

Captain circles as the squadron members watched.

Cadet Longo has been in Civil Air Patrol since May of 2004.

He has progressed steadily through the ranks and has been the

squadrons cadet commander for the past year. He has attended

National Blue Beret and Cadet Officer School, where he was

able to learn valuable ES and leadership skills. At the local levelCadet Longo has achieved Level 1 in Ground Team and has com-

pleted the requirements for Flight Marshaler and UDF. He has

helped organize and lead local and wing activities.

Cadet Longo has applied to the Naval Academy and hopes to

attend after graduating from Cody High School in May of 2008.

Cadet Jeremiah Longo

Earns Earhart

summer to attend a weeklong camp and it was outstanding, he said. It blew my mind.

Longo will have to wait until later this spring to nd out if hes been accepted.


8/22

am looking forward to what

Major Johnston brings to the

team. He recently traveled to

Independence, Kansas to learn

about the glass cockpit; he will

be bringing everyone else up to

speed. Welcome aboard, Ken.

In January, Major Johnston

brough t our new a i rc ra f t

(NCP) to Wyoming. This

aircraft is being loaded with

SDIS equipment, and will

remain in Cheyenne. We will

then be moving 3CP to Jackson,

35E will move to Cowley, and

9SP will remain in Casper.

Presently, we are transferring

55X to Utah. There is a lot to

learn about these new aircraft,

it is important that we work

on this training. Also, weather

has been beating us up; we

have had virtually no ying all

during the winter. I am sure

everyone is looking forward to

getting out for some ying.We had a pretty busy year

in 00, here are our opera-

tional sorties.

Early in February, I had an

opportunity to speak for the

Challenger Learning Center

project in Gillette, Wyoming.

Major Toni Brown invited me,

and I spoke about the great

opportunities that cadets had to

learn about aerospace educa-

tion. The Challenger Learning

Center is a great program

that will not only benefit the

community but also Civil Air

Patrol. Here is a link to more

information: http://www.chal-

lenger.org/

As I mentioned earlier, we

have a number of activities

coming up.

Mn TypNumbr f

Mn

Numbr f

srt

Grund

srt

Corporate 1 90 0

Form 5/91 Evals 6 16 0

Monthly A Missions 6 51 0Monthly B Missions 8 22 0

Search Missions 15 16 11

HLS 1 1 0

SAREX 4 61 46

Forest Service 2 29 0

Joint exercise w/MilDept 1 5 0

AF Evaluated SAREX 1 17 10

ToTAl 45 308 67

Check pilot school 4-6 Apr 08 Idaho Falls, ID

Wing Commanders School 6-12 April

Region Cadet Competition 11-13 April Salt Lake City, UT

Wing conference 25-27 April 2008 Cheyenne, WY

Survey-Audit 18-19 Jun 08Military Department Exercise 2-3 Aug 08 Cheyenne, WY

Encampment 31 Jul 10 Aug 08 Camp Guernsey, WY

CO-WY GTE 22-24 Aug 08

Summer Boards 6-9 Aug 08 Kissimmee, FL

sCHeDUleD ACTiviTies

Other exercises and events

will be added as they become

known.

Our membership has taken

a beating over the past year; we

have gone from membership in

the 0s to the 0s. To help

address this, we have taken the

following steps:

) When national sends us a

prospective member roster, we

send a letter to the individual

letting them know where there

is a meeting location. We also

ask the near by commander to

contact the individual.

2) Lt. Col. Davis and his

team have put out a recruiting

Commanders CornerContinued from page 1 . . .

and retention package that will

help monitor how well units

are recruiting and retaining

members.

3) Using a FAA pilot data-

base, we have identied pilotsin various Wyoming cities. We

have sent a letter to pilots in the

Casper area inviting them to

attend a meeting.

4) We have purchased a list-

ing in Volunteermatch.com for

the entire state of Wyoming. We

Continued on page 17 . . .


9/22

Continued . . .

A couple of weeks ago, I

had the honor of speaking to the

Laramie Flying Club about sur-viving in the event of an aircraft

mishap. Captain Jace Myran,

a member of Wyoming Wing,

and president of the ying club

invited me to speak. Thanks,

Jace, I had a great time.

In order to give this presen-

tation, I did some research. Here

are the results of my research

and presentation.

During a national Civil AirPatrol teleconference, it was

pointed out that during the last

10 years CAP conducted over

2,500 searches for aircraft. We

found all but 8 of them. This is

a great statistic and you should

be commended, because you

contributed to it.

One of the keys to being

found in an aircraft mishap is l-

ing a ight plan. A ight plan is arequest for search and rescue.

According to my findings, the

average time for a SAR response

is about 0 minutes. The average

time for SAR units to arrive on

scene is about 4 hours. If there is

an accident in a remote area, an

injured person may survive for

day and an uninjured person

may survive for 3 days. If it was

me, I certainly would like to befound soon.

Here are some guidelines

to follow before you even take

off. First of all dress accord-

ing to the terrain you will be

traveling over. This is a good

tip whether you are flying or

driving. Basically plan to spend

Surviving a Survival Situation

the night outdoors. Wearing

flip-flops in the high country

during winter is probably not agood idea. Drink enough water

prior to the sortie. Prepare your

maps thoroughly, and be famil-

iar where you will be travel-

ing through. Know emergency

signal procedures. This applies

to not only the radio but also

ground to air signals. This next

tip is important; know the con-

tents of your personal survival

kit and how to use each of theitems in it. This may be the topic

of a great training class. Practice

your emergency egress drills. I

know we talk about them, but

have you ever tried them with

a stop watch? Although, I men-

tioned it earlier, I will mention it

again; pass accurate ight plans

to ight controlling authorities

to aid in more efficient SAR

when required. Apply risk man-agement prior to the flight and

during it. Do not give in to over

extending yourself. If you need

to stop for the night due to being

tired or weather, then do it. It is

better to arrive late rather than

not at all. Do a proper weight

and balance. Stow your gear

securely. Plan for the worst, odds

are in your favor that everything

will go ne.If a mishap is imminent

while in flight, inform every-

one onboard about the projected

rough landing. Everyone should

following the prescribed crash

and egress protocols. How many

times have you flown and you

snoozed through the stewardess

emergency brieng? It would be

tough to need it and not know it.

Once the aircraft comes toa complete stop, you need to

immediately evacuate everyone

from the aircraft. Move away

from the immediate vicinity to

the aircraft wreckage to avoid

injury if an explosion occurs.

Treat the injured immediately.

Once the area is determined to

be safe, retrieve the personal

survival pack you did bring it,

didnt you?After treating the injured,

it is now time to start planning

for your stay. Stay?!? You heard

me right, stay. You need to start

working on spending the night

and being found. Lots of folks

would like to walk out, but the

searchers are looking for your

aircraft. If you are not near the

aircraft, you are then prolonging

the search. Survival as a group isalso better than as a lone individ-

ual, so stay together. Use every-

thing at your disposal to help in

your survival that includes using

parts of the aircraft such as fuel,

upholstery, radio, airframe, etc.

Here are a couple of imme-

diate tasks to take care of in

the near future: signaling and

shelter. There is mixed opinion

regarding which to do rst, cre-ate a shelter or build your signal.

I believe it has to be determined

by your circumstance. If weather

is threatening, I would start on a

shelter. Survival is based on 3s.

You can live without air for the

maximum of 3 minutes. You can

B Cl. sta skrabut


10/22

have had a couple of responses

through that listing so far. I

am hoping that these steps willhelp; however, these are wing

initiatives, what are you doing

at the unit level?

By the time you receive this,

our conference will be upon us.

I encourage you to come to

Cheyenne and participate in

this exciting event. We have

done a lot of great work over

the past year, and it is time to

celebrate and recognize out-standing performers. It is also

a time to learn about various

CAP programs and changes to

our program. It is a great time

to get your questions answered.

Applications have already been

sent out and are also available

on our Web site. I look forward

to seeing you there.

Well that is it for now. I

look forward to what the nextthree months brings us. In the

meantime, make a difference

and get involved. Be safe in

everything you do.

survive in a exposure situation

without a shelter for 3 hours.

You can survive without water

for 3 days, and without food for3 weeks. You survival should

be planned accordingly. Your

shelter should keep you dry and

warm. In regards to a signal,

the bigger the better. I recom-

mend putting a large X out in

the open. If in snow, use shad-

ows and pine branches to create

contrast. If the ground is dark,

use white stones, or contrasting

leaves and branches. The keyis that it must be seen from the

air. Also, dont forget to check

to see if the radio or cell phone

will work. This is probably one

of the rst things to do.

You will also need to start

collecting and rationing any

food and water that you have.

You should also create a duty

roster to divide up tasks such

as collecting re wood, build-ing the shelter, gathering food

and water, and other tasks to

make life more comfortable

during your stay. Dont panic

and go about wildly in your

task. Plan your actions and then

execute them. Do a rational

and realistic threat perception.

Keep your courage up, know

that help is on way. Make full

use of the survival pack items,

which are specially designed to

help in survival.

The key to success is to

plan ahead as well as train for

a survival situation. There are

a number of courses available

on wilderness rst aid and sur-

vival. Having this knowledge

will make you more condent in

stressful survival situations.

The last thing I want to talkabout is the personal survival kit.

You should actually have two

kits; one that is small enough to

carry on your person in a pocket

or pouch, and another that is in a

small bag. The container should

be waterproof. Remember,

however, it is of no use sitting

in the hangar. Your kit should

contain multipurpose items like

duct tape, plastic bags, and cord.You should have some signal-

ing devices like a signal mirror,

cell phone, ELT, ground signal-

ing panels, ares, aircraft radio,

transceiver, etc. Dont forget

batteries. Shelter ideas include

a plastic sheet, a sleeping bag,

survival blanket, etc. For your

medical needs bring a first aid

kit. To gather food and water,

I recommend bring collectioncontainers, water purifying tech-

nology, and methods for build-

ing traps and snares. Having a

fire adds to personal comfort.

Keep waterproof matches or a

lighter in your kit. Also dont

forget about the AV gas, but

also, dont forget about the haz-

ards. Dont add to your pre-

dicament. Finally, wear proper

clothing. Your clothing should

be non-ammable and appropri-

ate to the terrain, weather, and

altitude. Also, wear good shoes.

I hope you are never in a

survival situation, but if you are,

I hope you are prepared for a

comfortable stay.

Survival SituationContinued . . .

H

CommandersCornerContinued from page 13 . . .

H


11/22

8 8

Continued . . .

In the past, when we have

scheduled SAR Exs dur-

ing the winter months, there

have been a lot of cancellations.

Getting one base of operations to

have good weather for a couple

of days and then schedule that

2 months in advance is beyond

any Wing Commanders abil-

ity. Bring on Wyomings ideaof change (not the Obama or

Hillary kind of change). Lets

try doing a distributed SAR Ex.

But wait-a-minute; shouldnt

the Base of Operations with the

IC staff be in one spot? Well

sort-a kind-a maybe. With

our delving into IMU (Incident

Management Utility) (locally,

LAN, and Web based) along with

cell phones, e-mail, WIMRS,and Skype we should be able

to work things out. So the IC,

Major Mike Carlson (me), has

A February SAR Ex. . . . . or the WY Wing

a main base out of the Cody

Airport. There are staging areas

in Jackson Hole, Casper, and

Cheyenne, and the IC staff is

spread out across the state.

A SAR Ex OPs plan was

started in the middle of December

and was delivered to the Region

45 days before the event. Its a

lengthy document, totaling 22pages, which attempts to spell

out the whole orchestration of

conducting a training session.

A Wing wide SAR Ex call

out starts Tuesday (Feb 19th)

before the scheduled SAR Ex.

Col. Floyd handles the Wing

Staff Personnel , and Capt

Burkett handles the Squadrons.

By Thursday night (Feb st)

the tally shows 43 will be attend-ing of the Wings approximately

0 members: from Wing

Artcle develped b sm Chr

Alle that wet ut t the

ew eda, mda, after

the sAR Ex

Civil Air Patrol units

conduct statewide

exercise

CODY, Wyo.Civil Air Patrol

(CAP) units across Wyoming

conducted a search and rescue

exercise this weekend. The

exercise that concluded Sunday

afternoon tested the ability of

the Wyoming Wing to performsearch and rescue operations,

one of the Civil Air Patrols

primary missions.

On both Saturday and

Sunday, Civi l Air Patro l

aircrews based in Casper,

Cheyenne and Jackson per-

formed photo missions of

selected ground targets using

the Satellite-transmitted Digital

Imaging System (SDIS), tech-

nology that quickly transmits

digital images to emergency

operations centers using an

onboard computer and satellite

telephone technology.

In addition to the aircrew

operations, Civil Air Patrol

Continued . . .

B majr mke Carl


12/22

members across the state trained

on the use of the Incident

Command System as well as

various aspects of emergencyservices including navigation,

mapping and communications.

Ground teams with senior

members and cadets also par-

ticipated in training exercises

to locate a simulated lost

aircrafts Emergency Locator

Transmitter (ELT) beacon.

Although the mission was

based out of Cody, Wyo.,

nearly 0 CAP members fromunits across Wyoming partici-

pated in this exercise.

The exercise was unique

in that management functions

normally run out of a single

base, said CAP Major Mike

Carlson of the Cody Cadet

Squadron in Cody, Wyo., who

served as the statewide Incident

Commander for this search and

rescue exercise.CAP, the ofcial auxiliary

of the U.S. Air Force, is a non-

profit organization with more

than ,000 members nation-

wide. CAP volunteers perform

95 percent of continental U.S.

inland search and rescue mis-

sions as tasked by the Air Force

Rescue Coordination Center

and also perform homeland

security, disaster relief andcounterdrug missions at the

request of federal, state, and

local agencies.

CAP has been performing

missions for America since 1941.

There are approximately 0

members of CAP in Wyoming.H

Staff, from Wheatland, from

Casper, 5 from Jackson, 9 from

Big Horn, 6 from Cody/Powell,

and 8 from Sheridan.By Friday, the SAR Ex starts

like a snowball at the top of a

hill. The IC Base, at Cody, opens

at 1400 hrs. I set up computers

and make sure they are all con-

nected to the WiFi server, print-

ers (wheres the printer paper?),

Skype, headphones, IMU data-

base, and WIMRS. None of the

Staging areas want to take a turn

at ying on Friday so we wrap

things up by 0 hrs and head

home for food and rest.

Saturday comes early for

Major BJ Carlson & me. The

0530 alarm is no fun to wake up

to during the week let alone the

weekend. Then there was the

startling realization, to make the

00 departure from Sheridan

to Cody, Lt. DJ Sadler was

to get up much earlier. Such

dedication!

By 0 the Cody Airport

Security unlocks all the doorsand we can start booting things

up. By 0 Capt. Malone

makes it in and a short time later

Lt. Col. Carpenter and Capt.

Strike bring the donuts for a

staple breakfast. Surprisingly,

Lt. Sadler shows up by 0820

minus 4 cadets; clear roads and

good weather shrunk the 3-1/2

hr drive. 0830 starts the whole

she-bangs with a conference

call to the Casper and Cheyenne

staging areas. This is a first

for running a SAR Ex through

Skype. Computers were set so

everyone at each staging area

and base could hear the others. A

general explanation of the scope

of how we were going to con-

duct the SAR Ex was explained.Continued . . .


13/22

Continued . . .

A Safety Brief was conducted

and then Capt. Malone gave

the invocation. Mission flying

assignments were sent out thenight before to Cheyenne and

Casper aircrews so they had a

one-up on preparation.

Then the snowball started

running faster and grew bigger.

Much of what was planned took

on a different twist. Because

of forecasted weather Jackson

was assumed to be snowed in.

Maj. Twitchell was to be the

Cheyenne Staging Commanderbut no pilots showed up so

he had to take on Cheyennes

Mission Pilot duties. Sheridan

was to have 7 cadets working on

GTM training and 8 members

from Big Horn Squadron did not

show up for training.

Maj. BJ Carlson & Capt.

Malone took on the tasks to han-

dle the Cody Base while I tried

to keep the over-all picture ofwhat was happening throughout

the state. Since there is a pending

draft to CAPR 60-3 there will be

new requirements for CAP mem-

bers to take courses in Incident

Command System (ICS). On

page 8, of draft CAPR 0-,

there is a matrix of what ICS

courses are to be taken for each

E/S job function. Capt. Malone

took on the task of leading the

way through these requirements

with Lt. Col. Carpenter, Capt.

Strike, and Lt. Sadler using the

extra computers that were in the

room. Major BJ Carlson took

the three Sheridan Cadets and

went after Ground Team #3 and

#2 tasks of maps, compass, DF

equipment, search lines and a

ramp search scenario.

Throughout the day 2 ight

sorties, taking photos, were runout of Cheyenne and Casper

each. Jackson Hole, forecasted

to be snowed in, developed a

hole in the valley so Lt. Jepsen

and Lt. LaPointe were able to

get up and take a few photos of

the area. While IMU was still

having bugs (maybe just the

operators) to work off the web

at each station, Col. Skrabut was

able to take the sign-in docu-ments that were scanned and

E-mailed from the Staging areas

and Base, entering member and

vehicle data.

I had pre-arranged to have

a photographer come out from

the Cody Enterprise for the pur-

pose of getting some action

shots of the training that was

occurring statewide. Major BJ

Carlson took the three cadets

out to the open eld between the

air terminal and the Natl Guard

Armory for a little Search Linepractice (a highly photogenic

activity). She had tossed out (3)

quarters, a nickel, and a dime

and a variety of victim clues.

Their search was very produc-

tive. They found (4) quarters

and the one dime and identied

all the search clues. The nickel

eluded all of their eagle eyes.

By 1800 things were wind-

ing down. Most all from theother staging areas wrapped-up

things and headed home. The

adventure was to continue for

us, Major Carlson & me, Lt.

Sadler, and Cadets Hodges and

Wald. Home for all of us was to

be the connes of the Burlington

Fire Hall, just a 40 mile jaunt

east of Cody. Dining out was

February SAR ExContinued . . .


14/22

held at Grammas Restaurant,

Burlingtons newest establish-

ment. I havent tasted pies

like this since my 100+ yearold neighbor, back in St. Paul,

MN, would bake them for BJ

& me. A change of clothes and

a movie video of Lightening

Jack Kincade rounded off the

festivities. Sleep came quick.

Yet there were voices of han-

dling the DF equipment from

the other side of the room during

the night.

00 the alarm blared in ourears. A steady progress got us on

the road by 0630 with breakfast

at the Airport Restaurant by

0715. The waitress was quite

impressed with the demeanor

of the cadets. Good Going

Cadets!!!! Thats what Lt. Sadler

and I expect.

The doors were unlocked to

the CP by 0 and the SAR Ex

was off to the races once again.Weather was going to be a fac-

tor later in the day for Sunday.

With radio problems develop-

ing in the Cheyenne plane from

the day before, the plan was

to have Major Twitchell and

a Scanner trainee fly a search

route up to Casper and then a

crew from Casper y them back

to Cheyenne. Jackson Hole was

actually socked-in with snow

February SAR ExContinued . . .

and we at Cody had a sunny day

and moderate winds and temps

in the high 40s.

Major Twitchell had devel-oped a Table Top Exercise

for base and staging areas to

work on. With his absence, due

to ying, Major BJ Carlson set

out an ELT beacon and devel-

oped a scenario for a ground

search. Now the pressure is on

for cadets and SM alike. Taking

all the DF, mapping, and com-

pass skills from the day before,

they set out with high hopes.About minutes after they left

I get a call on my cell phone. I

was told they found a downed

plane. Im thinking its been

only minutes and they found

it already? I said, Wrap-up the

foil, turn off the ELT beacon,

and RTB. The Ground Team

comes back again that they

had found a downed broken-up

plane. Now, Im confused. ThenI hear a bunch of laughing in the

background. They had found

a toy plane on their search, it

was down and broken. Thanks,

Ground Team, I needed that. It

seems they thought I was being

toooo serious the past couple of

days and wanted to lighten up

my life.

Major Twitchell drops off

the Cheyenne plane in Casper

for repairs. Lt. Baughman ew

the Cheyenne contingent back,

utilizing the time for Scanner

training. The Cody groundteam returned and everyone

went out for nourishment.

Cheyenne Staging area closed

shop by 1400 and we started

wrapping things up. We bid

farewell to Lt. Sadler, cadets,

and Capt. Malone. Lt. Sadler

was asked to report back to us

when he arrives home safely.

Casper shut down when Lt.

Baughman returned and data isentered into WIMRS.

A long weekend for our

small turn-out we compiled a lot

of training for this time of year.

IMU has yet to be mastered for

multiple stations, but well work

on that. Communicating through

Skype and use of e-mails does

work. With new repeaters on

the horizon Wyoming should

be capable of coordinating adynamic force in CAPs mission.

What we need is for you mem-

bers to make the commitment

and attend training sessions.

Oh, by the way, the snow-

ball tumbled down the hill and

grew. The wall at the bottom of

the hill dispersed its energy just

like CAP members returning to

home to their families. H

Support our Cadets . . .

They are our Future!!!


15/22

Wy o m i n g W i n g

D D R A , L t . C o l .

Susan McDonald has

a busy schedule of school and

unit trips planned through this

summer bringing DDR infor-

mation to hundreds of school

aged children.

We have piggybacked the

AEX program with the DDR

program and planned visits to

schools around the southeast-

ern part of the state. Giving the

students a feel for the positive

aspects of staying drug and alco-

hol free is a necessary part of the

DDR program. Harping on the

dangers and lecturing will not

bring the point home.

We bring the fun hands on

AEX program to the elementary

and middle school students and

in the course of the class mention

the benefits of remaining drug

and alcohol free. In our class

about Rockets we take them step

by step through the lecture part

of the class, talk about Newton

and his laws and ask Do you

think you need a clear head for

this? We usually get the sameanswer. Yes, Math and sci-

ence takes a clear mind When

we connect the thought process

Newton must have had to design

these LAWS the students see

that it does have a use. Ask any

Math teacher and he or she will

tell you the biggest complaint

students have is how will this

Wyoming

Wing DDRAhelp me in my life? Most stu-dents dont see the connectionof a bunch of numbers and crazy

formulas to their day to day life.

Soon they begin to see that they

stand a much better chance of

fullling their dreams by staying

drug and alcohol free.

Todays youth are at a dis-

tinct disadvantage, drugs, alco-

hol and gangs surround them,

yes even in rural Wyoming. We

live in a state that is rst in sui-

cides in the nation. Our youth

feel depressed and worthless.

The prospective cadet needs to

be taken by the hand and shown

the way. Even before I became a

DDRA, when I lived in Denver

and was commander of an inner

city squadron, I recognized the

need to meet the cadets on their

own playing field. The cadets

in that unit had several needs

that were not being met by their

adults in their lives because of

drugs, alcohol and gang vio-

lence. They came to me with

no hope, no desire to succeed.

Once we showed them some-

one cared enough to help themthey became little lights looking

for a place to shine, they found

this in the CAP cadet program.

We didnt have a dozen Spaatz

cadets or even a half dozen

Mitchell cadets BUT young men

and women willing to try new

things. We had a community

volunteer that helped with our

CPFT program, he was a guards-

man with Colorado National

Guard. He worked with the

cadets several times monthly;

he helped them to understand

the need to have healthy bod-

ies, the need to compete against

oneself not the next cadet in

line. His rule was always do

one more push up than YOU did

last time. And I cant was not

allowed in our vocabulary.

Our cadet population was

fluid at best, custody changed

almost weekly. We were con-

stantly in a state of flux with

cadet recruitment. Although

none of our cadets completed

the whole CAP cadet program, I

am sure that we made some kind

of positive effect in their lives

and that what ever we were able

to impart will help later in life.

I know that the regulations

state that CAP membership is

a privilege not a right. Are we

fulfilling our congressionally

mandated missions by not taking

the time to brighten the lives of

the youth around us? I dont

mean that CAP should become anorganization of delinquent youth,

but we should help them to see

the shining future we can help

them attain. Even if our AEX

program doesnt build squadrons

in every town we visit, it is my

wish that we plant the seed with

in them to better their lives.


16/22

Civil Air Patrol consists of thousands of men, women, and teenagers

across the country that are unpaid volunteers and are an extended

part of the Air Force. Civil Air Patrol was rst organized in the ofce

of Civilian Defense, headed by former New York Mayor

Fiorello Laguardia. It started on December 1, 1941, just days beforethe Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Major General John Francis

Curry became Civil Air Patrols rst national commander. On July 1,

1948, President Truman signed Public Law 476 to make Civil Air Pa-

trol an organization. On May 26, 1948, Congress passed Public Law

557 to make Civil Air Patrol a permanent part of the Air Force. There

are 52 wings, with one in each state including the District of Columbia

and Puerto Rico and its organized in 8 geographic regions.

Civil Air Patrol has three primary missions: Emergency Services,

Aerospace Education and the Cadet Program. In Emergency

Services, Civil Air Patrol helps several agencies like: Search and

Rescue, Disaster Relief, Humanitarian Service, Air Force Support,

Homeland Security, even other agencies including: Red Cross,

Salvation Army, and other civilian agencies. Civil Air Patrol will helpthe United States Coast Guard and the United States Coast Guard

Auxiliary. In Emergency Missions, we would train for the occurrence

of an actual mission.

After training, we would go search if a person or aircraft is missing.

If the person we nd is injured or dead, then the cadets would back

away from the spot so that they wouldnt see anything bloody, and

once the cadets have backed away from the spot, the Senior Mem-

bers would then take control of the spot, and they would give the

injured person medical attention if they are medically trained.

In Aerospace Education, Civil Air Patrol will build rockets, y air-

planes, and launch balloons with a beacon attached to a Styrofoam

box that is attached to the balloon. While making rockets, you would

make sure the pieces are all there and you would make sure that all

the pieces are in the correct places. There is safety involved. First

you do not hold on to the rocket while it is launching, also, do not

stick your face in front of the nosecone while it is launching. You

should always take the key out of the ignition before launching and

while loading the rocket on the stand. While ying airplanes which

are considered Orientation Flights or O-Flights, for short, a real pilot

would go up with a cadet in an airplane and show the cadet which

buttons to touch and what not to touch, and the pilot would teach

the cadet the four words of an airplane: lift, drag, pull and thrust. The

newest experience in Aerospace Education is balloon launching. It

gets really hard to nd the balloon after launching. We would ll the

balloon 4 feet in diameter with helium and we would add a box withstring attached to the balloon and once the balloon has launched, it

would go 1000 feet a minute in the air. Then once the balloon is at a

certain point in the atmosphere, the balloon would pop. Then the box

would come down and land safely on the ground. We would then go

look for it. If we cant nd it, then we would wait for a hiker, hunter, or

farmer to nd it and send it back to us. The reason that it is hard to

nd is because there would be telephone lines, buildings, and small

wire fences that would lead us in the wrong direction.

In the Cadet Program, Civil Air Patrol cadets have the chance to test,

drill, learn customs and courtesies, go across the state to train for

Search and Rescue Exercises, participate in Orientation Flights, and

meet new people. At a Search and Rescue Exercise or SAREX for

short, a Senior Member would hide 3 different targets in 3 different

places. Then 3 different Ground Teams would go and nd the targets

with airplanes. Once they nd the targets, they would then bring itback to base. The Cadet Program was designed by John V. Jack

Serenson who held the position of Civil Air Patrols Director of Educa-

tion in the 1960s. The Cadet Program is composed of four phases

which are: Learning, Leadership, Command, and Executive. In the

Cadet Program, the cadets must learn the motto, which is, Semper

Vigilians, Always Vigiliant., the Cadet Honor Code, which is, I will

not lie, steal, or cheat, nor tolerate anyone among us who does.

Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably, so help me

God., and even the Cadet Oath, which is, 1 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

ofcers, wear my uniform properly, and advance my education and

training rapidly to prepare myself to be of service to my community,state, and nation. In the Cadet Program, there are 15 grades with the

lowest being Cadet Airman Basic all the way to Cadet Colonel.

There is Recruiting involved in Civil Air Patrol. Civil Air Patrol mem-

bers will visit schools and put posters up, host eld trips, Science

Competitions and fairs by setting up booths and handing out iers,

and even participate in other related activities. In addition to schools,

Civil Air Patrol reaches out to other organizations like: Boy Scouts of

America, Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. and 4-H.

Senior Member Program, the Senior Members are adults over the

age of 21. They are in charge of teaching the cadets of doing the

job the right way. The Senior Member Program consists of ve lev-

els of training, with 12 grades throughout the whole thing with the

lowest grade being Senior Member and the highest grade being

Major General. There is a specialty track for Senior Members like:

Logistics, Communications, Public Affairs, Legal, Administration,

Emergency Services, Finance, and many more. When a Senior

Member becomes 80 years old, he (she) can either stay in or quit,

or retirement in Civil Air Patrol.

I have been in Civil Air Patrol three years already and I enjoy it very

much. Civil Air Patrol has allowed me to go across the state to train

in Search and Rescue Exercises, Participate in Wing Conferences,

attend Ground Team Schools, and I have met new people. I have

achieved the grade of Cadet Staff Sergeant and I have just recently

completed my third year in Civil Air Patrol, I have also achieved my

General Emergency Services and my Model Rocketry. My favoritethings in Civil Air Patrol are: Search and Rescue Exercises, Wing

Conferences, and Orientation Flights.

Chrtphr l. Gr, C/ssgt.

C Ar Patr

* C/SSgt. Gross took this report on to Albany County Presentation

Contest (Laramie, WY) and came in third place. The judges said he

was eligible to participate at State Presentation Contest in Douglas,

WY. There 27 Seniors (14-18 years) that got Blue Ribbons and he

became 8th out of 27 Seniors in the state.

Civil Air Patrol


17/22

The 2007 Non-Commissioned Ofcer Academy

(NCOA) was a great experience for a lot of cadets.Cadets learned the next step into changing from

a follower to a leader. It was a one and a half day

activity on the weekend. We had a great turnout

with a total of 11 trainees and 2 staff with three of

the trainees from Colorado.

As they arrived cadets had many memories

as they showed up at Camp Guernsey, the same

facility that was used for the Wyoming Basic

Encampment. There was a brief welcome by the

instructors after we settled into our barracks. Early

the next morning many cadets who had their PTgear joined C/1st Lt. Longo in some cold and

hard PT. Once cadets were warmed up from the

cold exercise they headed into the classroom. The

cadet staff members, C/1st Lt. Gould and C/1st Lt.

Longo, gave many presentations on becoming an

NCO, such as leadership, drill, customs and cour-

tesies, professionalism and Urban Legends.

Following that, cadets performed multiple drill

labs. A drill lab is a lab that will allow cadets to

command the flight and perform drill correctly.

Cadets did a total of 3 drill labs, practicing untilthey got it perfect. For many cadets this was the

rst time ever being in command of a ight so it

did take some time to get it down.

After a long day of presentations and drill you

would think cadets would be tired but as we all

know cadets always manage to have extra energy.

2007 NCO AcademySo, during the remaining time until lights out,

cadets watched a variety of movies and playedan intense game of Risk. Afterwards the majority

of cadets, excluding C/1st Lt. Longo, headed off

to bed with a humbling feeling of overwhelming

defeat from the game they had just been so crush-

ingly defeated in.

The next day came on with the same vigor

and exhilaration as before. Cadets attended a few

other classes including Situational Leadership

and a class on Professionalism in the Civil Air

Patrol taught by newly turned Senior Member First

Lieutenant Kelsey Aitchison.Then the final drill evaluation! Cadets were

expected to command the ight and issue the many

orders they had just been taught. Even though

cadets had practiced this in the multiple drill labs

they were still nervous. But overall cadets did a

good job. When the drill evaluations were complete,

we reviewed our individual scores of this weekend.

Most cadets did a great job but still being young

NCOs there was lots of room for improvement. We

ended the NCO Academy with an award ceremony

for the outstanding job of the new NCOs. Whenthe ceremony ended, cadets went home bringing the

knowledge they learned back to their squadrons. It

was a great learning experience for everyone and

a lot of fun. We hope to have another great NCO

Academy again next year!

B C/srA Dewe


18/22

The Wyoming Wing hosted

the Training Leaders of Cadets

course in conjunction with a

C a d e t N o n c o m m i s s i o n e d

Officer Academy (NCOA) at

Camp Guernsey Army National

Guard Base the weekendof and November 00.

Eleven Cadets and nine Senior

Cadet NCO Academy and

Training Leaders o CadetsB Lt. Cl. Erc Dav ad 1t Lt. Kele Atch

Members graduated from their

respective courses. The Cadets

and Senior Members came from

all over Wyoming and several

from the Colorado Wing.

The Cadet NCOA was an

intense two-day program thathoned Cadet leadership skills as

well as their knowledge of drill.

Classes included drill terms,

an in-depth look into the drill

and ceremonies manual, situ-

ational leadership, professional-

ism and a leadership reaction

course. One of the continued

favorite courses is the Civil AirPatrol Urban Legends course

designed to dispel some myths

and legends running rampant

throughout the program.

In order to graduate from

the Cadet NCOA, each stu-

dent had to command a flight

of their peers. The Cadet and

Senior Member staff evalu-

ated the Cadet trainees on their

command presence, their abil-

ity to vocalize commands cor-

rectly, the proper use of drill

commands, and correct timing

and cadence.

The Cadet instructors for the

2007 Cadet NCOA were: C/1st

Lt. Jeremiah Longo and C/1st

Major Mke Carso takes a short ap betwee Semars. Continued . . .


19/22

Lt. Heather Gould. The Senior

Member Mentor/Instructor was

1st Lt. Kelsey Aitchison, the

Assistant Director of Cadet

Programs for the Wyoming

Wing. Cadet graduates were

C/2nd Lt. Blake Cooper, C/2nd

Lt. Andrew Harrison, C/CMSgt.

Skylar Caldwell, C/CMSgt.

Bradley Coonis, C/SMSgt. Cody

Hill, C/MSgt. Eli Goff, C/SSgt.Daniel Coursen, C/SSgt. Josh

Vallee, C/SSgt. John Houser,

C/SrA Kyle Dewey, and C/SrA

Brock Hileman.

The Training Leaders of

Cadets (TLC) course is a pro-

gram designed for adults who

implement the Cadet Program

at the squadron level. The 2-

day course provides Senior

Members with a strategic per-

spective of the Cadet Program,

leadership skills for helping

youth achieve their goals, and

training in how to manage a

successful program.

The course is designed as a

highly interactive seminar, with

the students doing much of the

teaching as they learn from eachother. Much of the discussion in

each seminar revolves around

best practices, with members

sharing what works and what

doesnt in their units. Without

exception, the students stated

this format was far superior to

endless lectures.

Lieutenant Colonel Eric

Davis , Di rec to r o f Cade t

Programs for the Wyoming

Wing, was the instructor/facili-

tator for the course. Graduating

the course were Major B.J.

Carlson, Maj. Mike Carlson,

Capt. Jennifer Niswender, 1st

Lt. Miguel Acevedo, 1st Lt. Josh

Thomas, 1st Lt. John Todd, 1st

Lt. Liz Caldwell, 1st Lt. Steve

Schneider, and Senior MemberJames Duran.

The Wyoming Wing hopes

to conduct more Cadet and

Senior Member combined train-

ing in the future. We also hope

to be able to do more joint train-

ing with The Colorado Wing

and other Wings in the Region.

Combined training provides a

great opportunity to get Cadets

and Seniors together at one

location to reduce transporta-

tion requirements. Joint training

affords each Wing the chance to

learn and grow by getting a dif-

ferent perspective on issues fac-

ing the units and discover inno-

vative solutions to problems.

TlC studets hard at work.

Cadet NCOAand TLCContinued . . .

H


20/22

many CAP members are expected to learn how tooperate the systems by trial and error which can

often lead to frustration and angst. After all, not

everyone is, or wants to be, computer literate so

the easier it can be to access the needed material

the better.

Col. Stan Skrabut, Commander of the Wyoming

Wing, decided to hold a one day computer event to

instruct Wing members on the various acronyms

CAP has around: E-Services, WMIRS and IMU.

About CAP members from Cody, Cheyenne,

Sheridan, Powell, Laramie and Casper, includ-ing one cadet from Cody, showed up on a sunny

September day in Casper and gathered around

several computers at the Casper squadrons ofce

at the airport.

In this day and age of advancing technology it

is important for Civil Air Patrol (CAP) members

to maintain and update their knowledge and skills.

The trend today is towards a more paperless

operation, both for daily CAP unit management

and Emergency Services. Gone are the days when

National CAP sent unit commanders squadron

membership lists and updated regulations, formsand publications. Now, both commanders and unit

members are on their own to access E-Services for

all the latest and greatest news about

CAP. During missions and Emergency

services training exercises, incident

command staff are required to use

WMIRS and IMU to record sorties and

access resource information to help run

exercises smoothly.

In order to access all of this information

C.A.P.a.k.a. Computer

Access ProfciencyB majr BJ Carl


21/22

The morning hours were spent

getting familiar with all of the features

of E-Services. This important CAP

resource is readily available to all

members once a password is estab-lished. It can be accessed through the

main CAP website www.cap.gov by

going to the members link and click-

ing on E-Services. New users will be

asked to sign in and give a password.

Just remember to use a password that

you can easily remember so access

can be readily gained at a later date!

Be prepared to give your social secu-

rity number when signing in.

Once access is gained a CAPmember has access to a plethora of valuable infor-

mation, such as forms and publications, Aerospace

information, and online tests to name only a few.

Each member can also enter personal emergency

services training information from their SQTR

(Specialty Qualifications Training Record) and

check to see how current they are in certain training

areas. Unit commanders still need to approve these

records but it gives a CAP member some control

over his/her training in Emergency Services.

E-Services is also extremely handy for unit com-

manders to manage unit activities by being able toassign member duties, specialty tracks and conduct

other necessary tasks.

WMIRS is used by various CAP members

to manage mission information. Sorties, both air

and ground, are entered for Emergency Services

activities. In addition, Flight Release Officers

and pilots can log in prociency and orientation

ights. This gives Incident Commanders and other

key staff a way to keep track of mission and other

flight related information. IMU also helps mis-

sion staff manage Emergency Services activitiesby allowing command staff to

access resource information for

the wing. Once members and

vehicles are signed in, staff can

access current qualications and

aircraft/vehicle information.

So, as CAP moves ahead

on the technology information

highway, it will be imperative

that CAP members stay along

for the ride. Get used to using

the computer to access important

information and keep abreast of

updates and changes. If you are

not computer literate, seek out a

cadet to help you they know

the latest and greatest in tech-

nology and can usually figure

things out. H


22/22

Sta Retention IdeasJh

Leaderhp Cach

Although the following article is geared to companies it applies also the Civil Air Patrol.Staff retention problems? Look in the mirror

One of the best ways to assess the quality of an organization is to look at those who are leaving it.

Many managers think its the other way around. They say the best way to tell is by looking at the people who are

joining their team. If good people are coming aboard, thats proof that we are building strength, right?

Wrong.

Attracting great talent has a lot to do with many things. These include the advertising done to get the attention

of prospective employees, the place where the interview occurs, who is doing the interview (are they a good

salesperson for the employer?) and the compensation package being offered. If an organization has a good brand

reputation its even more likely to attract good people in the door.

But what really counts is the rate of employee churn. If a company can attract but not retain solid performers,Ive found that its likely the company will be spending far too much on the wrong things. No company with high

employee turnover is focused on doing the right things i.e.: satisfying their market.

Two new studies out of Canada have some interesting stats regarding why people leave their employers.

First and foremost: Blame the Boss.

The audits were conducted by Monster Canada. They covered over 5000 respondents. Because of the broad scope

of Monster users, I think its likely to represent a fairly broad spectrum of levels and industries. And because of

the similarities between countries, Id expect it to be fairly consistent with ndings done in the US.

Heres the shorthand version of the results - 80% of the respondents blamed their boss for their decision to quit.

Only 16% quit for reasons unrelated to the boss.

In greater detail, the reports said:

35% said they need expectations to be stated more clearly than is generally the case with

their boss. (I believe that most people want to perform well be as effective as possible,

but most supervisors don't take the time to get to know their team members' individual

styles.)

32% claimed the boss didn't treat people fairly. (My thought on this: others were treated

unfairly well.)

28% reported that the boss ruled by intimidation. (My comment is don't try this with

Millennials or even GenX'ers and expect it to work more than a few times. Works for

Boomers in most cases.)

27% said their boss should learn to admit when a mistake is made and not blame others.

22% noted that supervisors should become more accessible. (Common complaint across

industries in my experience. Emails don't replace face time.)

16% said the boss needs to listen to employees more.

I realize that no boss today has the time to do everything right every time. That said, its clear that the tables

are turning because there are more jobs than job seekers in many communities currently. If you want - or expect

- to retain the best talent in your shop; I suggest you take a good look in the mirror. Explanations and asking for

understanding wont keep good people.

wyoming wings magazine, april 2008

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