texas wing - dec 2006

8/9/2019 Texas Wing - Dec 2006

1/35

WINTER2006

In this issue . . .

IACE 2006 . . .

A Living Memorial Chuckie . . .

CAF Cadet Heritage Academy . . .

. . . And Much More!

2006 IACE Turkey


2/35

Continued on page 8 . . .

Wings Over Texasis the autho-

rized publication of the Texas

Wing Civil Air Patrol. It is pub-

lished by a private firm in no

way connected with the United

States Air Force or Civil Air Pa-

trol Corporation. The opinions

expressed in the articles and ad-vertisements in this magazine

are the sole responsibility of the

contributors and in no way con-

stitute an endorsement by the

United States Air Force or the

Civil Air Patrol Corporation.

HEADQUARTERS

Texas Wing, Civil Air PatrolUSAF Auxiliary

P. O. Box 154997

Waco, TX 76715

Please send articles and digitalphotos for publication to:

[email protected] do not insert thephotos into the articles,

rather make the articles andphotos separate attachments.

Col Robert F. Frank EldridgeCommander, Texas Wing

Maj Patricia P. DarbyEditor, Wings Over Texas

For information onAdvertising Rates and SpacePlease Call 1-800-635-6036

DEADLINES:

Feb. 28; June 28; Oct. 28

1

By Capt Laurie Prior

Congratulations, C/Lt ColPaul Rojas, you have been selectedfor the International Air Cadet

Exchange (IACE)! This is once ina lifetime opportunity for you toexperience the culture of anothercountry; while at the same timehighlighting the best of America.

You have been selected to go

From Texas to Turkey:International Air CadetExchange (IACE) 2006

to Turkey; a country at the cross-roads between Europe and theMiddle East. Its location makes it a

center for trade. While a relativelyyoung nation, its cultural historygoes back thousands of years.

As I read the email from CAPNHQ that had just arrived in my

Cadet Paul Rojas at Ataturks Mausoleum.

Formal Dinner, left to right, Joe Marshall (UK), Emma Lockley (UK),Anna Reddyhoff (UK), Paul Rojas (USA), and Thomas Nichols (USA).

Continued . . .

By C/Lt Col Paul Rojas


3/35

inbox, I realized that my summerplans had just changed and I hadmuch preparation in the comingmonths. Fast forward four months,IACE Turkey had arrived! It hadbeen a long road to get here andthe hard work was paying off. Ileft for Washington DC for thestart of my trip. I was welcomedby the IACE staff and our brief-ings began. I was joined by about40 other cadets all who were

heading to different countries forIACE. We spent two days in DCfor briefings and sightseeing. Thenwe departed Monday for Turkeyfor the start of our trip.

The flight lasted about tenhours and finally we arrived inIstanbul. Customs was a breezeand after getting our luggage wemet with our Turkish hosts, Ayse,

Beste, Sermet, and Sahin. Wewere taken to our dorms andawaited for the arrivals of all themembers of the IACE Turkey2006 group. Cadets from Canada,Germany, United Kingdom,France, Switzerland, and theNetherlands completed our group.We were all disappointed that wewere not joined by our Israelicounterparts due to conflict withLebanon. We headed for Ankara

the next morning. The sightsalong the way were breathtaking.Our stay in Ankara was at a Turk-ish Army Officers Base. Spend-ing three days there we visited the4th Main Jet Base, met with vari-ous officials from the AerospaceIndustry. We went to seeAtaturks Mausoleum, who is thepatriot that brought the Turkish

people from the dying OttomanEmpire to the Country of Turkey,after the Mausoleum we met withthe Governor of Ankara. We had a

formal dinner that night with moreAerospace Officials, following thedinner we spent the evening learn-ing various Turkish Dances.

We headed to Inonu whichwas the flight training center. Thedrive took us past more breath-taking sights. The next day wehad flights on an old plane frompost-World War II era. Afterlunch we had glider flights overthe mountains. That night we

spent a memorable evening star-gazing with the mountains as thebackdrop. Morning soon arrivedand we headed for the 1st MainJet Base which was home to theF-4 Fighter and Recon Squad-rons. We were welcomed warmlyby the Base Commander and thenafter a quick briefing we were


2

From Texas to Turkey: IACE 2006 . . .Continued

Cadet Paul Rojas at the Ruins of the Ancient City of Ephesus.


4/35

By charter, the International

Air Cadets Exchange is composedof cooperating national air organi-zations from any number of coun-tries. The IACE makes it possiblefor air cadets to travel to othermember nations, where they act asunofficial youth ambassadors ofgood will, learn how other cadetorganizations function, share theirmutual interest in aviation, andlearn about other people, culturesand traditions. Each group is nor-mally escorted by an adult memberof IACEs choosing.

To be eligible for IACE travel,Canadian cadets are required tosubmit an essay detailing their rea-sons for wanting to do so. On thebasis of these essays, a shorter listof candidates is developed, andindividuals from this intermediateselection must then win overtheir peers as they appear before an

interview board. Australian andSwedish cadets, on the other hand,are selected on the basis of theirdemonstrated performance andprogress in the cadet program,without personal intervention in the

IACE Cadets Visit Texas WingCapt Arthur E. Woodgate, Group I II PAO

selection process. A cadet mayrequest a country, but individual finaldestinations are not revealed untilall cadets are gathered at the airport

on the day of their flight abroad.The same uncertainty sur-rounds their final destinationwithin the host country, which isgiven to them after arrival. In theU.S., all cadets enter through

Washington, DC and CAP Nationaldecides which wings will get whichcadets, and how many of them(normally up to six). This year, due

to an emergency, Texas Wing goteight cadets (by pre-arrangedagreement): 4 Canadians, 2 Austra-lians, and 2 Swedes - who wereaccompanied by two adult escorts,one Australian, the other Swedish.

The cadets spent three days inWashington, DC before departingfor their host wings. Once theirvisit at the host wing was over, theyreturned to Washington where theyspent an additional two days before

flying back to their own country.IACE cadets Jason Averay and

Troy Pangalos (Australia); ScottCrook, Ross Faller, Megan Fink,and tienne Gosselin (Canada);and Frida Lv and Anton Lund(Sweden) arrived with easy smiles,an open attitude, and a thirst forknowledge. Their escorts were

21-31 July, 2006

Continued . . .

Lets do it all over again, please!

IACE cadets tour NASA.

3


5/35

Jessica Garcia (Australia) andHenrik Persson (Sweden). A thor-

oughly cordial and gracious group,they made friends with ease. Lt ColDawn King, Texas Wing IACECoordinator and a member ofPegasus Composite Squadron inAustin, joined them upon arrival;she would remain with the groupuntil their departure from Texas,very early on Monday, July 31st.Assisting her for the entire staywithin Texas would be two CAPLiaison Cadets: C/Capt BradleyCilino and C/Capt Richard Pope, bothof Pegasus Composite Squadron.

Friday, July 21st was a veryhappy day at the Addison EaglesComposite Squadron, host unit forthe Dallas area and part of GroupIII. Since fluency in English is aprerequisite for selection, all cadetvisitors - almost all high schoolseniors - fit right in with the groupof CAP cadets who greeted and

accompanied them.Host families opened theirhomes to the visitors, and bonds offriendship and affection werequickly formed. Sightseeing duringthese trips is so intense and diversethat it has been jokingly referred toas an extreme sport. Since Texas isa large state, going from Dallas to

of Frisco, near Dallas, welcomedthe visiting group. On July 23rd,the Six Flags Over Texas amuse-ment park in Arlington was a greathit, and at dinner that evening, thegroup celebrated two impendingbirthdays: Swedens Anton Lunds17th (July 27), and CAP Cdt Brad

Cilinos 16th (July 29).On July 23 the group traveledto Houston, a city that lies withinTexas Wings Group IV and is richin technology and history. On theevening of their arrival , MajDennis Cima, Group IV com-mander, and his wife Lt Col BrooksCima, Texas Wing Director of

IACE Cadets VisitTexas . . .Continued


Houston, to Austin, to San Antonioand back to Austin, plus extensivetravel within these metropolitanareas, meant that the visitors wouldend up traveling almost 2,000 milesby car. Young and vigorous, they tookthe schedule in stride, played hard,and absorbed it all with aplomb.

In Dallas, the group went to theAmerican Airl ines CR SmithMuseum and the Stock Yards in Ft.Forth. They spent the night atBishop Airfield (owned by Lt ColTom Bishop, Group II com-mander), where they would go forglider flights on the following day.After the glider flights, the Mayor

Romina Black with the new honorary Texas citizens.

IACE at The Alamo.

IACE at C.R. Smith Museum in front of DC-39.


6/35

CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS!Is America Ready?CATASTROPHIC DISASTERS!Is America Ready?

In the history of the United States, no catastrophicstorm crippled the American people like hurri-cane Katrina. In an effort to educate the TexasWing Squadrons, a Disaster Relief OperationalReadiness Exercise was conducted on 15-17th Sep-tember 2006. Make no mistake, the United Stateswas not prepared for the vast economic, propertyand human life devastation that was caused by thehurricane season during the last two years and manystates are still struggling to recover.

For that reason, it is imperative that the Civil AirPatrol be kept up to date on all rescue procedures.Texas Wing played a huge part in assisting with notonly Katrina, but also with Rita that hit Texas andWilma that hit Florida. The Texas squadrons need to

be educated and ready for deployment at a momentsnotice. The Decatur municipal airport was the

incident Command Post under the direction of Lt ColTom Bishop for the Disaster Readiness Exercise. TheDecatur National Guard Armory provided accommo-dations similar to facilities and equipment used whenan actual disaster occurs by providing food andaccommodations as needed. This exercise simulateda natural or man made disaster.

There were approximately 67 participants,including 12 aircraft, about a dozen cadets, 2 groundteams, 10 staff, and 25 pilots representing numeroussquadrons throughout the state. All Texas Squadronswere invited to participate and many were repre-sented not only by Senior Officers but also cadets.Capt OConan supervised the cadets in ground teamtraining, search and recovery, communications, and

medical treatment for injured persons. Some of thecadets in attendance were:

Continued . . .

South Fort Worth Diamond-back Squadron was representedby Capt Jay Workman; 1st LtGraylin Conerly, Capt ArtemisOConan, PAO SharronStockwell.

Also present were 1st Lt LisaGunnell from the TX450 WichitaFalls Squadron, E.S. TexCollins from the Crusader Com-posite Squadron, Grand Prairie,Lt Col Tom Bishop, Col Robert F.

Eldridge, Wing Commander, LtCol Steven Haney, Major DaveKinney, Lt Col Fisher.

Commencement of a briefingbe ga n w i t h L t C o l B i s hop

7


7/35

Is America Ready . . .Continued

that would be beneficial to theCAP and non-profit organizationscan request multiple copies of theprogram. There was a discussionabout weather conditions andsafety issues related to both on theground and in the air, includingbut not limited to, slick roads,lack of rain, hydration, and slickrunways. All crew members needto spend time on the ground onthe mission staff.

The Texas Wing, as well as,all CAP squadrons need to bemindful of qualified and aircrew

team replacements. As cadets ma-ture and go on to college, theCivil Air Patrol need to find waysto encourage membership growth.Cadets are essential especiallyduring disasters. During hurricaneRita, ground teams were vital inthe door-to-door evacuations.

Sunday worship serviceswere conducted by Ch. GeorgeKelly at the National Guard Ar-mory with emphasis on the topic

of Always Vigilant and GodsRedcap. The opening invocationwas given by Major DavidKinney. Music focused on songsspecific to those who serve andare guardians of day and night.

Lt Col Don Fisher providedan Aerial Photography TrainingClass. Photography performedduring the flight exercises was

shown and evaluated. He dis-cussed the basics of knowing yourequipment, what to photographand what not to photograph, donot crop photographs, angles,quality, pixels, and what custom-ers want. Photographers saw theimpact of Katrina, they saw thered in the gulf of Texas withhurricane Rita, witnessed threeevacuations, bridge and structuredamage (both long term and shortterm) and how the CAP is utilizedthrough photography. During thisexercise the CAP discovered a

fire in progress and was able tocapture the images through pho-tography.

To the Wise County Mayorand the Wise County communityand its citizens, the Civil Air Pa-trol would like to thank them fortheir graciousness, outpouring ofhospitality and encouragement to-ward all of personnel in the civil-ian sector and military sector.Wise County citizens recognize

the service and sacrifice put forthby those that have served, thosenow serving and the cadets yet toserve in the armed forces and theauxiliary. The citizens realizethey are the true benefactors.

This was truly an educationaland enlightening experience forall who attended.

discussing the hurricane seasonand the ability of the Civil Air Pa-trol to respond (1) in a short pe-riod of time at a moments notice,(2) with minimal staff, (3) withminimum training, (4) and be ableto operate in a strange or hazard-ous environment, (5) with emer-gency staff, (6) with planes, (7)and with minimal dollars to getthe job done in a crisis.

Texas needs to plan a disasterexercise at least once a year. Em-phasis was made about trainingneeds related to ELTs, proper

handling of airplanes and tiedown procedures, training aboutweather conditions, photography,scanning, medical treatment, andground teams. Ground teams needto be briefed prior to all flightsand coordinate activities withother team members to eliminateground chatter. Map training wascovered in relation to missionkits, where to get maps, locatingspecific details like where

bridges, roads, etc. are located onmaps, how to read the legend,find towers on maps, the impor-tance of not having to wait forground teams when planes areready, how to communicate withthe ground team and specific lo-cation points. GPS equipmentshould be available in all team ve-hicles. Microsoft sells a program

9


8/35

It is never too early for a cadet toplan for a career or start thinkingabout higher education. Today, thereare incredible opportunities foryoung men and women that shouldbe investigated before approachinghigh school graduation and not hav-ing any plan whatsoever. Theseopportunities combine patriotic ser-vice to ones country with excellenteducational programsand you canget paid while doing both!

Of course, the four primary ser-vices in the United StatestheArmy, the Navy, the Air Force, andthe Marine Corpsall require a col-lege degree in order to become anofficer. Commissioning can beobtained through the Reserve OfficerTraining Corps (ROTC), one of theservice academies, or specific pro-gramssuch as Officer TrainingSchool (OTS) for the Air Force.However, for some young CAPmembers, the opportunity to get intoan academy is rare and the cost ofcollege is almost prohibitive. Fur-thermore, many young men andwomen would like to begin servingtheir country immediately after highschool, rather than waiting at leastfour more years to do so.

There are a number of well-designed pamphlets produced by theservices that outline all of the ben-efits and the educational opportuni-ties available to new recruits. This

article summarizes a few that are ofparticular interest for each of theservices.U.S. ARMY The Army offers anopportunity to work in 200 careerfields and the education and trainingrequired to prepare for those careers.In addition to war fighting skills, theArmy offers fields like Engineering,Avionics, Electronics, and HealthCare. One of the skills most highly

Gain Higher Education WhileServing Your Country

By Lt Col Bob Russell, Phoenix Composite Squadron PAO

sought after is that of a linguist selectees attend the Defense Lan-guage Institute (DLI) in beautifulMonterey, California, from 6-16months for superb training in anynumber of foreign languages.

Active duty members are eli-gible for the Montgomery GI Billand Army College Fundworth upto $50,000. There can be as much as$20,000 offered as an enlistmentbonus, which is great for beginning

your college efforts. In some cases,100% of tuition assistance is offeredfor you to take classes at a college ofyour choice and, today, with technol-ogy offering Internet courses, thatmight be a way to take some courses.

Furthermore, if you have alreadycompleted some of your college edu-cation and have a loan to pay off, theArmy can offer up to $65,000through a Loan Repayment Program:you first pay off your debt to thefinancial institution, then pay theArmy back over time. The DelayedEntry Program (DLP) allows you todefer your enlistment for up to oneyear as you complete your educationor plan out your Army career path.U.S. NAVY For those cadets aspir-ing to see the world, the Navy hasa number of opportunities. Programsare offered for many diverse fields,such as Nuclear Propulsion, Subma-rines, and Cryptologist (linguist)Interpretations. The Navy College

Program (NCP) pays up to 100% ofyour tuition for off-duty courses andthe GI Bill is available, like it is forthe other services. The Navy also hasTech Prep, whereby a junior orsenior in high school can earn 15hours of college credits beforegraduation, then gain another 15 cred-its after high school at a communitycollege.U.S. MARINES Like the parent

service (Navy), there are Marine edu-cational opportunities that bear ex-ploring. There are a lot of options foryoung recruits under the Guaran-teed Enlistment Options programoffered in areas such as aviation,electronics, or intelligence. There arebenefits in the Delayed EnlistmentProgram, such as referralsget twofriends to actually enlist in the Ma-rines active duty force or reservesand it will earn you a promotion! The

Marines offer monetary support foreducation through the Marine CorpsTuition Assistance Program(MCTAP). Undergraduates can alsoapply to the Platoon Leaders Class(PLC), an accelerated way to earn afull commission as an officer.

Play trumpet, tuba, drums orsome other instrument? The MarineDrum and Bugle Corps and Ceremo-nial Band are two of the finest bandsin the nation. One Marine band, infact, plays for the Presidents official(and social) functions. If you are aCAP cadet aspiring to stay in the mu-sic field and want to join a top-notchgroup of musicians, consider joiningthe Marines and playing in one of thetop-notch Marine bands.U.S. AIR FORCE Finally, the AirForce offers lots of interesting oppor-tunities today. Spend time as a Secu-rity Cop in the Air Force, then transi-tion in civilian life to become a po-lice officer, sheriff, or some other

law enforcement official. Rememberthat the GI Bill also applies to thosecadets going into the Air Forceupto $28,000 worth of expenses and100% of tuition for college courses.Those in the Combat Control careerfield can receive great enlistment bo-nusescurrently $3,000 for a four-year re-up, and $12,000 for a six-year contract. The Air Force Reserve

Continued . . .

10


9/35

is another way to serve and get a col-lege education. (Remember that all theservices have reserve components inaddition to active duty career paths.)

MILITARY SERVICE IN GE N-ERAL Important to note, in addi-tion to education opportunities andassociated financial support for get-ting your degree, there are other ben-efits available for todays soldier,sailor, airman, or Marine. Thirtydays of paid vacation, medical anddental care, low-cost shopping atexchanges and commissaries, greatrecreational facilities, paid room andboard, an excellent pay scale, low-cost life insurance, and re-enlistment

bonuses are all nothing to scoff at.I highly recommend that cadets

interested in the opportunities out-lined in this article drop by a recruit-ing office (or all four of them), talkwith recruiters from that particularservice, get some of the many pam-phlets available to read and study,and then seriously contemplate theright move for you. You can also finda ton of information on the Internet atthe respective sites for each service:USAF Recruiting Site www.airforce.comUSN Recruiting Site www.navy.comMarines Recruiting Site www.marines.comArmy Recruiting Site www.goarmy.com

Civil Air Patrol cadets who arein the 9th or 10th grade owe it tothemselves to research all the oppor-tunities offered by the military andthe many paths that one can take to

get a paid higher education whilepursing an honorable career. Even ifyou dont make the service a career,you will find your service time veryrewarding. And, you may as welltake advantage of the educationalopportunities that abound while sup-porting your nation as a soldier,sailor, airman, or Marine. Yes, it willbe hard work, but very fulfilling anda decision you will not regret.

Higher EducationContinued . . .

Civil Air Patrol Cadet Chief

Master Sergeant Raquel Gomez-Simmons has completed all therequirements to receive the Gen-eral Billy Mitchell Award andwas promoted to the rank of Ca-det 2d Lieutenant Saturday, Octo-ber 7th. Rachel is the third mem-ber of her unique family toachieve this award. At one pointboth parents and four of five chil-dren were members of the BellCounty Composite Squadron. The

fifth was too young to join, butwas made the unit mascot until heturned 12.

Raquel has been very activein the CAP and has attendednumerous Squadron and TexasWing activities. She has justcompleted her duties as the CadetSquadron First Sergeant pendingher promot ion to Cadet 2d

A Family TraditionContinues

Lieutenant. Cadet Gomez-Simons

is also an accomplished ballerinaand this has made the CAP physi-cal fitness tests very easy for her.

Raquels older sister Vanessawas the first of the siblings toreceive the Mitchell Award and isnow a junior at Southwest TexasState University. Her olderbrother Jerome was next and isnow a sophomore at Southwest.Both Vanessa and Jerome are inAir Force ROTC. Her younger

brother, Johnny, has just joinedthe CAP the day after his twelfthbirthday and is planning to be aSpaatz award winner.

The promotion ceremony washe ld Oct 7th in the TempleArmory on Airport Road justbeyond the Draughon MillerAirport. A reception followed theceremony. The public was invited.

Bell CountyComposite Squadron

11


10/35

Cadet Lieutenant ColonelGabriella Leao was presentedwith the Southwest Region Cadetof the Year for 2006 Award at theSouthwest Region Conference, inDallas, Texas. She achieved thisaward because of her dedication,motivation, and hard work in theCivil Air Patrol Cadet Program.

C/Lt Col Leao, age 19, hasbeen an active member of the273rd Composite Squadron,based in Nederland, TX, for thepast five years. She is the currentCadet Commander of her squad-ron, a position she has held fortwo years. Last year, in July of2005, Leao was promoted toLieutenant Colonel after receiv-

ing the Ira C. Eaker Award, thesecond highest award in the CadetPrograms. She also led her squad-ron to become Squadron ofMerit in 2005. During that samesummer of 2005, C/Lt Col Leaoearned her solo wings at thePowered F l igh t Academy,and rece ived a Texas WingCommanders Commendation aswell as the Honor Cadet awardfor her dedicated participation at

the event. Three weeks later, shegraduated as a member of theHonor Flight at the CadetOfficer School held at MaxwellAFB in Alabama where she alsoreceived recognition as theflights Top Writer. In thatsame summer of 2005, Leaocompleted her first solo flight in aT-233 Glider at the Texas Wing

273rd CompositeSquadron Cadet receivesthe Southwest RegionCadet of the YearAward

Glider Academy. A day aftercompleting this amazing GliderAcademy, she left for Washing-ton D.C. as a member of the U.S.Delegation in the InternationalAir Cadet Exchange, one of CivilAir Patrols premier events.Selected to represent the UnitedStates in an exchange to theUnited Kingdom, she had theexcellent opportunity to meet for-eign military and civilian digni-taries while she toured Englandand Scotland. While there, shealso learned about the culturesand traditions of cadets andnations from around the world.

This past spring of 2006Cadet Leao received the Honor

Cadet award upon her gradua-tion from the Cadet CommandStaff College, the final school inthe CTEP progression plan. Thenin June of 2006, Cadet Leao, asthe 38th Squadron Commandera t the Texas Wing SummerEncampment held in Paris, TX,led her flights to success and con-sistently high ratings through herperseverance and persistentefforts. She was commended for

her efforts there by being awardedthe Line Staff Honor Cadetaward at the encampment gradua-tion banquet. A month later, inJuly, Cadet Leao was selected tostaff the Region Cadet LeadershipSchool, RCLS, in San Antonio,TX, and as the Alpha SeminarLeader she led her seminar tobeing named Honor Seminar.

At the RCLS, C/Lt Col Leaowas responsible for communi-cating and leading discussionsabout advanced leadership topicsand principles to high-rankingand experienced Civil Air Patrolofficers from around the South-west Region.

Most recently C/Lt Col Leaowas awarded the Texas WingsFemale Cadet of the Year Award,which was presented a t theAnnual Texas Wing Conferencein April, 2006. She was also

se l ec t ed a s t he Ai r ForceAssociations Texas Cadet of theYear. In addition to all of theseachievements, Cadet Leaoreceived a prestigious appoint-ment to the United States NavalAcademy but declined the offer toaccept admission to Rice Univer-sity in Houston, TX, where she iscurrently an undergraduate stu-dent. Cadet Leao also has plansto take the Spaatz test, the highest

award in the Cadet Programs, inthe summer of 2007. C/Lt ColGabriella Leao has consistentlyset an outstanding example to herpeers of the qualities that a CivilAir Patrol cadet should strive toattain and she has always putforth her very best effort.

By C/TSgt Marcela Leano

13


11/35

FT. WORTH SQWhen youvisit the Vintage Flying Museumon the south end of Fort WorthMeacham International (FTW),you will meet FWSS, SM DanPatz adorned in his WW II ArmyAir Corp uniform giving tours ofChuckie, a 1944 B17G. Dancan tell you all about the long his-tory of the Fortress from possiblyflying combat during the last fewmonths of the war to transportingfruit in Florida and then as a fireant sprayer in Florida and Georgia.

In 1979, Dr. William Hospersof Fort Worth purchased the air-craft and he and a core group ofvolunteers perform a running res-toration. Over the past years heand h i s t i r e l e s s vo lun t ee r s

have de-civilianized 44-8543(Chuckie) and are bringing itcloser to a combat configuration.Chuckie wears the colors of thebomb group for which it mayhave actually flown during WWII: the 486th Bomb Group, EighthAir Force, based in Sudbury,England, Aug. 1944 - Aug. 1945.

SM Dan Patz Relives Historyat Vintage Flying Museum

Dan always lets the squadronknow when Chuckie is flying.The Fortress is one of the twelvein the world that is still flying.

Even though there were 13,000built, there are about 40 on staticdisplay. Dan was elated when hecaught a ride on the Fortress toFort Worth from Denton afterbeing in an airshow. N3701Gburns on average 200 gallons offuel an hour with an additional 8gallons of oil for the engines!

1944 B17G hangared at theVintage Flying Museum at FortWorth Meacham Internationaland still flies today.

Dan is a blessing to CAP andto all the school groups and vet-eran groups that come out for atour of the museum. The children

especially like the 45 he straps on(plastic of course). But Dan isquick to tell you that he reallycould legally carry one. He whipsout his badge with a smile. Beforehe joined CAP Dan was a Ser-geant in the LA County SheriffDept.; 9 years active duty and 20years AF Reserve as a Col. withthe Security Police.

Hats off to the men andwomen who work to preserve

Chuckie, as a living memorialto the thousands of men andwomen who built, serviced, andflew them.

SM Dan Patz(FWSS) in his WW

II Army Air Corpuniform presentingChuckie, a 1944

B17G.

By Capt Laurie Prior

15


12/35

What started out as a one-timeevent, motivated by a simple need

to gather for information and anexchange of ideas on a pilot-to-pilot basis, has now grown into aninformative and enjoyable quar-terly affair. Combining a presenta-tion on useful regulatory informa-tion, and product demonstrationsthe Crusader Composite Squadroncan count on a productive day.

On 13 May the squadronhosted a quarterly Safety Fly-Inand Pancake Breakfast at theGrand Prairie Municipal Airport.The flight line marshalling crew -a joint effort of the Arlington,Black Sheep, Crusader, andMcKinney Composite Squadrons- put their skill to good use inguiding and organizing the air-craft on the apron.

After the presentation of thecolors by the Arlington Compos-ite Squadron Honor Guard, Lt Col

Roy Hill, squadron commandergave an intro. He was followed bySteven Buckner, FAA OperationsSafety Inspector, who made anexcellent Wings presentation.

On static display were anIndus T211 LS Thorpedo Sport (a

Oh, the Smell of Jet Fuel in the MorningLt Col Mike Manuel, PAO, Crusader Composite Squadron

plane that is manufactured inDallas), several CAP aircraft,

Ercoupe, Taylorcraft, half-scaleCorsair, and the much-envied creamof the crop: a brace of L-39 Alba-tross warbirds from Czechoslovakia.

The Albatross, a trainer andlight fighter that made its debut atthe Paris Air Show in 1977, is stillin use as a trainer in many Euro-pean countries. A subsonicsingle-jet bird, this sleek aircraftis much admired for its maneuver-ability and the spectacular views itprovides from its tandem cockpits.

The L-39 jets remained onstatic display most of the day, anddelighted the attendees with someexcitement upon departure andsubsequent low, high speed, for-mation fly-bys.

At the end of the day, the newfriends had become old and theold friends were somehow rejuve-nated. An unexpected bonus for

Crusader Squadron is that manyattendees join the Civil Air Patrol,once they realize that their skillscan find a good outlet at the ser-vice of the community.

Normally, airports are not allthat exciting, and small airports

even less so, but theyre useful.Many pilots believe that theres

nothing like the smell of jet fuelfumes in the morning to clear oneshead (or at least ones sinus cavities).

S p o n s o r s f o r t h e e v e n tincluded: Grand Prairie Munici-pal Airport, The Historical Avia-tion Memorial Museum,CareFlight, The FAA and Mr.Steven Buckner, Peppers Restau-rant, AOPA Aviator Air Center,Jon Boede and Roma Skinner, theCommemorative Air Force, andSportys Pilot Shop.

Presenters included: TheCivil Air Patrols Crusader Com-posite Squadron, Embry Riddle,Indus Aviation, Bell Helicopter,Vaught Aircraft, and others. Spe-cial thanks to Crusaders ProjectOfficer, 1st Lt Ron Cheney.

In mid-June, Mr. Bill Terrel,of Woodmen of the World, pre-sented the Crusader Composite

Squadron with a new AmericanFlag and a Texas Flag. With the4th of July looming near, Mr.Terrell expressed with affectionwhat the Flag meant to him,words that reflected the feelingsof Crusader members themselves.

Some of the marshalling crew, members ofArlington, Black Sheep, Cursader and McKinneyComposite Squdrons.

Arlington Composite Squadron Honor Guardpresents the colors during the Quarterly Safety Fly-Inand Pancake Breakfast.


13/35

Corpus Christi SQ-It was a(not too) warm Saturday morningon 16 September 2006 and Offic-ers and Cadets from the Corpus

Christi Comp Squadron of theCivil Air Patrol stood at attentionclad in blues as a very solemn cer-emony got underway.

The event was a special trib-ute to American servicemen whowere prisoners of war or who arelisted as missing in action. Inattendance for the occasion wasthe Veterans Band of CorpusChristi as well as others from theveterans community.

The event was hosted by theCatholic War Veterans under theauspices of the Corpus ChristiMayors Committee for VeteransAffairs. Corpus Christi CityCouncilman John Mares madeopening remarks. The guestspeaker for the event was 1SGTUSA retired Lazaro LarryVelasquez who spoke on little

Cadets Honor POW-MIAs in CorpusChristi and then Fly High in Victoria

recognized female POWs andMIAs.

Long time CC-CAP member,Major Victor Medina, Jr, nor-

mally attend these occasions, butsince Major Medina was away onvacation . . . the units cadetsresponded. The officer of the daywas 1st Lt Sandy Phelps who didan excellent job in preparing thecadets for the solemn occasion.

At the end of the event, 1st LtPhelps transitioned the formationto 2d Lt Mike Garmon, unitSafety Officer, for a road trip toVictoria, Texas. The purpose of

that trip . . . the staging of cadetorientation flights for the unitscadets.

After a short stop for a meal,and to handle some paperworkwith squadron commander MajorJohn Rios, the cadets and officersleft of Victoria arriving a fewminutes before 1600. At that timethey were turned over to Capt

Major Joe Ely Carrales stands beside the War onTerrorism Memorial at Sherrill Park. Kudos to theLeadership Corpus Christi organization for their workon that impressive landmark.

Cadet Villarreal and Cadet Lozano stand at attentionat Warren Sherrill Park in Downtown Corpus Christi,the first public outing for cadets in over a year and ahalf.

By Major Joe Ely Carrales, PAO

17

Leonard Saddler who organizedthe days flying activities.

The pilot, Capt GeneJeansonne, immediately took the

cadets and began to brief them onwhat was to be expected. In allthere were three cadets who weregiven flights. C/Basic PhilipLozano and C/Basic Dylan Hatch,received a type 6 orientationflight (meaning an initial poweredflight) and C/TSgt ChristopherVillarreal received a type 7 orien-tation flight (the second in theseries). Upon completing hisflight Cadet Hatch was given

some training in General Emer-gency Services.

That days activities heraldeda milestone in the Corpus ChristiComposite Squadron, it was anexample of capitalizing CAPactivities and time. All in all itwas a good day for the unit!Semper Vigilans!


14/35

August 11-13, at its Camp Mabry headquarters,Pegasus Composite Squadron, a subordinate unit ofGroup III, Texas Wing, Civil Air Patrol, conducted atwo-day Airman Leadership School (ALS). Thetraining focused on the required academics, Civil AirPatrol history, military customs and courtesies, andmarching drill and ceremonies. Meant for GroupIIIs new cadets, the training was attended by 14members from Greater Austin and Waco. Student in-processing started on the evening of Friday 11,followed by a game of capture the flag. With all theexcitement, cadets found it hard to sleep whenlights-out was called at 2200.

Saturday 12th started at 0600, when C/1st SgtSteven Hamman conducted Physical Training (PT)ending with a mile-long run in formation. Now fullyawake, the cadets settled into a day of academicstudy and preparation for the leadership test. Forsome, the ALS was their first exposure to what itmeans to be a CAP cadet. In describing the experi-ence, ALS was a great learning experience, said C/Amn Evan Petrosky. The basics of CAP member-ship were well covered. I was hoping to know all this

so I wouldnt stick out like someone who justjoined, he added. Im really happy that I came.Sunday involved preparation for the physical fit-

ness test, taking the leadership written exam, andpracticing marching maneuvers. Again, C/1st SgtHamman led the cadets through small-unit drills,showing them how to maneuver as a flight, in

Pegasus Squadron ConductsAirman Leadership School

smaller elements, and as individuals. Later that day,after taking the leadership tests, the cadets cleanedtheir rooms, reluctantly packed their personalbelongings, and prepared for graduation.

When the test results were tallied, the Pegasusstaff knew they had a winning class. Eight airmanbasic cadets qualified for their Gen. John F Curryaward and, breaking with tradition, the staff selectedtwo (instead of one) honor graduates: C/AB ShelbyCody and C/Amn Evan Petrosky. Everybodyinvolved did a great job, was cadet Petroskys finalcomment. He then explained that his all-inclusivecomment from the cadet instructors who had beenthere and made the weekend fun, to the senior staffthat also had been there and helped the weekendrun so professionally.

This event was enhanced by the continued sup-port of the Texas Army National Guards 132ndDivision, who lent the use of the Audie Murphyfacility and billeting.

1st Lt Daren Jaeger, Pegasus Composite Squad-ron commander, who is looking forward to hostinganother ALS in the spring of 2007, said, We arebuilding tomorrows youth and, from what I can seein these cadets, that future is bright indeed.

19

2d Lt Russell Corley


15/35

The evening of September 29 at 1800 marked thestart of Pegasus Squadrons Fall 2006 FTX, held atthe Lost Pines Boy Scout ranch, near Camp Swift, inthe Group III Area. As instructed, the trainees hikedtheir gear to camp, following a marked trail that ranthrough the woods. Once there, they dumped theirgear and the camp staff in-processed them.

After taking care of the administrative details,the students began setting up their shelter. Late arriv-als added some temporary confusion - soon inte-grated into the orderly routine - and by 2200 therewere 14 cadets and 8 seniors for a total of 22 partici-pants. A briefing covering safety and ground teamassignments followed at 2230, a Charge of Quarters(CQ) list was posted, and the first sentries took theirposts for an hour each.

At 0600 on the following morning, the cadetsstarted a new day and the assigned Kitchen Police(KP) crew busied itself with breakfast preparation.

With all the activity, they were hungry and soon fin-ished eating and cleaning up. 1st Lt Ford of PhantomSquadron led a moral leadership class, and the lastcadet arrived, bringing the number of participants to 23.

After a short break, 1st Lt Jaeger and 2d Lt Bosinstructed the trainees on familiarization and prepa-ratory training for ground team member level 3

Pegasus Composite

Squadrons Fall 2006 FTXqualification. MREs for lunch presented a newexperience for many of the cadets, a break soon fol-lowed by LPER/ELT training by Maj Pope. CaptBenavides and 1st Lt Wreyford of Apollo Squadrondemonstrated the use of the tape measure Yagi-Udaantenna. After everyone had had an opportunity touse both the H-antenna and the Yagi, Maj Draper

taught the ground team trainees orienteering and mapreading, while 1st Lt Jaeger trained the moreadvanced students on ground team leader tasks.

The students soon put their newly learned skillsto the test on a 6-point orienteering course that wasnearly 3,000 meters long (about two football fieldsshort of 2 miles). Three hours later, at 1800, the lastteam returned to camp just in time for dinner, which

During the night exercise, Cadet Hamman practicestriangulating an ELT signal.

Group shot of the trainees, at the start of the course.

Continued . . .

The trainees move along thetrail on their way to set up camp.

C/2d Lt Steven Hamman

20


16/35

Pegasus 2006 FTX . . .Continued

was dispatched seemingly in seconds, since theywere eager to hike back up the trail to an open field,set up the HF radio, and check into the net at 1900.Capt Benavides clear instructions helped the cadetsset up the radio in record time.

That night, both Pegasus and Apollo Squadrons

successfully signed onto the net. Immediately after-wards, the net closed at 1930, the cadets took downthe radio, and the ground teams prepared for theirfirst practice ELT mission. Within an hour, the onlyteam equipped with a Yagi antenna located the ELTand returned to base. The other two teams searchedfor nearly another hour before locating the ELT andreturning to base. With six hours left until reveille,one of which would most certainly be spent on CQ,the trainees were grateful for whatever sleep

Two Thunderbird Composite Squadron cadetsearned the Billy Mitchell Award and promoted toCadet Officer in a ceremony Tuesday September 5,2006 at West Houston Airport. Presented by Group 4Commander Maj Dennis Cima Cadets SharyaQuereshi and Annabel Andrews were promoted to C/2d Lt.

Both cadets are members of the ThunderbirdSquadron competition color guard team. Theyproudly represented Texas at the Southwest RegionCadet Competition this past April in Tucson, AZ.

Two Thunderbird CadetsEarn Billy Mitchell Award

Cadet 2d Lt Annabel Andrews Cadet 2d Lt Sharya Quereshi

Quereshi was also a member of the 2004 color guardteam that advanced to the national level. Andrews isan active member who is also in the process of earn-ing Girl Scout Gold Award. This prestigious award ispresented to only 1% of the active Girl Scouts in theUS. These young ladies have also participated inmany CAP activities such as Texas Wing Encamp-ments, leadership schools, glider academy, WingsOver Houston Airshow and CAC (Cadet AdvisoryCounsel).

they could get.After a light breakfast - a healthy combination of

fruit and donuts - the ground teams re-formed and setoff, each one on its own mission. Within two hours,each ground team had independently located the ELTand returned to base. Tired but happy, smiling asthey relished their success, they spent the next fewhours taking down camp and performing the mosttime-consuming task of all: picking up micro-trash.

Once the project officer was satisfied with the

campgrounds condition, everyone hiked their gearback up the trail to the vehicles and loaded them.Some thought they had left something behind,because the gear didnt seem to be as heavy as theyremembered it from nearly two days before. It wasnow near noon, October 1st. The FTX had lasted for42 hours, not quite 2 days, but they had completedalmost all of the requirements for GTM3, withsome earning nearly fully-qualified Ground TeamLeader status.

By 1st Lt Denise Thompson

21


17/35

T h e C a v a n a g h F l i g h tMuseum (www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com) is devoted to thepreservation, restoration, andexhibition of historically signifi-cant aircraft, as well as fosteringand broadening the knowledge ofaviation history and impact on oursociety, particularly among theyoung. Therefore, it was only fit-ting that they should welcomeCivil Air Patrol participationwhen they organized their Memo-rial Day remembrance, Wingsover Addison.

Texas Wings Addison EaglesComposite Squadron, also locatedin Addison, readily accepted toshare in the event. However, lackingenough member vo lun t ee r s

for the job, they sought (andreceived) help from the DallasComposite Squadron and theIrving Composite Squadron. As abonus, the Thunderbolt Com-posite Squadron, located inMcKinney, TX contributed a well-prepared honor guard to the effort.

The Cavanaugh Flight Museumsnewly-restored WW II-vintageF4-U Corsair (whose enginehad not yet been re-installed) was

a very popular exhibit. Present forthe occasion, at the museumsinvitation, was an original Corsairpilot, Marine Corps Ace ColArchie Donahue, whose authenticaircraft colors were used for therestoration, which the museumdedica t ed t o h im. Dur ingPres iden t Bushs Na t iona lMoment of Silence, the retired

Observing MemorialDay Among Warbirdsof Yesteryear

officer was delightedt o w i t n e s s t h eThunderbolt HonorGuards presentationof the colors. Later, flanked bythe Honor Guard cadets, he posedfor the CAP photographer in frontof his reborn warbird, graciouslycongratulating the cadets ontheir skill.

Some of the participatingCAP cadets, in crisp camouflageuniforms, helped guide traffictowards designated parking areas,efficiently marshalling them intoposition. Others stood guard atthe runway viewing area, makingsure that small children didntstray onto active airport areas.The combination of their youth,

good manners, and excellenttraining motivated many visitorsto come up and talk with them.The cadets, following their natu-ral inclination, candidly sharedtheir personal experiences with all- young and not-so-young - gener-ating much interest.

CAP senior members workeda small concession stand wherethe crowd could purchase bottledwater, soft drinks, and hot dogs.

Many celebrants asked about theCivil Air Patrol and its programs,and were glad to be directed to theCAP orientation area.

With an abundance of postersand videos, and the static displayof CAP aircraft, including its newGippsland GA-8 Airvan, CAPmembers addressed adults andyoungsters alike, explaining the

mechanics of flight, presentingan overview of the history ofaviation, and giving an unclassi-f i e d b r i e f i n g o n t h e n e wARCHER technology (which isdesigned for highly specializedaerial imagery). Children wereeager to sit at the GA-8s controlsand imagine themselves actuallyflying the aircraft. Their obviousenjoyment mirrored an experi-ence that many CAP membersremember having had in theirown tender youth, when it planteda seed that later led them to makeaviation a part of their life.

A chance to own a small por-tion of history (in miniature) hadbeen planned as well. A verypopular raffle yielded two win-ners of WW II model airplanes: aP-47-30 Thunderbolt and aP-51 Mustang. Meticulouslybuilt by Addison Eagles histori-cal modeler 1st Lt Stan Vasquez,they thrilled the attendees bytheir life-like appearance andrich detailing.

At days end, many youngvisi tors waved good-bye asthey passed by a CAP cadet. Itis rumored that most had starsin their eyes.

Special thanks to all volun-teers, whose time and effort madethis such a successful endeavor.

The McKinney Thunderbolt CS honor guardflanking USMC Ace Col Archie Donahue in frontof his F4-U Corsair.

1st Lt Laura Lee Woodward

23


18/35

WAXAHACHIE SQHelp usin here, somebody please helpus! A chorus of distressed criesgreeted members of theWaxahachie Talon CompositeSquadron, member of Group III,Texas Wing, Civil Air Patrol

(CAP), as they raced into thesimulated effects of a tornadoswreckage Sunday afternoon. Sev-eral volunteer victims, suffer-ing a variety of minor and majorinjuries, awaited the rescuersinside the Waxahachie FireDepartment training facility, justsoutheast of town.

The team members were put-ting into practice the twentyhours worth of training they had

recently completed under the fed-eral Community EmergencyResponse Team (CERT) pro-gram. They became the first inEllis County and the first CAPunit in Texas to be certifiedgraduates of the program.

The team, consisting of bothadults and teenaged cadets asyoung as fifteen, quickly moved

CAP Unit Trains for

Disaster Responsethrough the debris on two floorsof the building, locating survivorsand noting the type and degree ofinjury each victim had suffered.The training leaders had spenthours beforehand creating theillusion of bleeding wounds, bro-

ken bones, and even imbeddedshards of glass. Combined withdetailed briefings to each vic-tim about how to act and what tosay to the rescuers, the Holly-wood-style blood and goreeffectively portrayed the scenethat might greet first respondersto such an actual disaster scene.Once the new graduates locatedthe role-playing victims, theyremoved them from the wreckage

by whatever means were avail-able, including office chairs aswheelchairs and boards as stretch-ers. The emphasis was on pre-venting further risk of injury oreven death to the survivor, andproviding basic first aid until pro-fessional emergency responderscould arrive on-scene.

Much of the activity stressed

cooperative effort among teammembers, beginning with themethodical search of the debrisfor victims, then the process ofmoving the more se r ious lyinjured victims to a safe areaaway from the building, assessing

the injuries, and providing aid andcomfort before they could betreated by medical professionals.

I think we often underesti-mate what to expect of ouryouth, commented LieutenantColonel Nancy Smalley, TexasWing Chaplain and the teamleader for the exercise, Admit-tedly, the Civil Air Patrol pro-gram attracts the best of todaysyouth through its emphasis on

aviation, communications, andthe opportunity to be activelyinvolved in important, often life-saving missions. But when I seethis group of fifteen and sixteenyear-old cadets walk into suchchaos and misery as we saw heretoday, and get the job done, Icant help but be impressed. They

CAPCERTDrill-8Oct06-006: CAP rescuers move asimulated victim to safer ground.

Major Tom Smalley assists a simulated victim out ofa building that has been declared destroyed by atornado.

By Lt Col Gary Stevens


24


19/35

Group IV Cadets EnjoyC-17 Orientation Flight

C/2d Lt Cameron Thompson SSgt Mitchell Ferguson explains the cargo bay floor.

DowntownHoustonfrom aboveMinuteMaid Park.

By 1st Lt Denise Thompson

Loading up.

The skies over southeast Texas were clear andthe air smelled sweet after heavy rain movedthough just a few days before. The annualWings Over Houston Air Show got underway with apreliminary C-17 media flight Friday October 20,2006, organized by Lt Col Robert Wolin. The firstgroup of cadets, senior members and media were onboard a C-17 Globemaster III for a one hour flight.Several CAP cadets and senior members waited onthe ground for a second, much longer flight.

Once the plane landed and was refueled the sec-ond group boarded through the big cargo doors in therear of the plane. Soon were cruising the big bluesky. USAF PAO S/Am Rachel Martinez, with theTeam McGuire public relations office explainedher role with this fine aircraft. I am responsible forarranging community relations. I organize mediaflights and CAP C-17 orientation flights at the differ-ent air shows. She was very knowledgeable aboutthe C-17 and McGuire AFB in New Jersey where theplane and crew are based.

C/2d Lt Natalie Oropeza, Sheldon Cadet Squad-ron, was chosen to sit in the cock pit during take off.She watched as Galveston and the Texas Gulf coastwent by. We then took a north easterly course towardCollege Station and Texas A & M. After going overKyle Field we headed south along Highway 6 toInterstate 10. The cadets and senior members allenjoyed the view from the cock pit during the flight.SSgt. Mitchell Ferguson, Team McGuire, took timeto explain the floor of the cargo area. He demon-

strated how the panels in the floor can be pulled upand reversed depending on the need. Flying the l-10corridor toward downtown was exciting as we identi-fied airports and landmarks along the way. It wasquite a sight as we came in to the downtown arealooking at all of the tall buildings from a differentperspective.

Then it was time to buckle in for landing. Onceon the ground Cadet Claralee Andrews, ThunderbirdComposite Squadron, was tasked with opening thecargo bay doors.


20/35

T he Alamo CompositeSquadron, San Antonio,TX, fulfilled the dreamsof an inner-city neighborhood as

the Cadet Color Guard led theprocession in the annual MonteVista Neighborhood Assoc-iations 4th of July Parade.

Civil Air Patrols Cadet ColorGuard program is one of manyways Civil Air

Patrol can provide humani-tarian service to the community.Discovering other communityservice opportunities can be assimple as speaking with the

squadrons Chaplain.Chaplain Alvarez, Chaplain

to both the Bexar County andAlamo Composite

Squadrons, is fortunate to beable to attend many neighborhoodassociation meetings through hiswork. There are many simple butsignificant activities that can helpmake a difference for others.

Fulfilling Dreams WhileFulfilling Missions for America

Even the smallest need such asfilling treat bags for safe Hallow-een parties makes an impact onthe families in the area.

Lt Col Alex Alvarez offers aunique perspective for utilizingvolunteer opportunities during thecoming Holiday Season. Thelocal media puts out quite a bit ofinformation on organizations thatneed help during the Holidays.

Many events such as a toydrive are specific to that holidayhowever; other volunteer oppor-tunities such as canned goodsdrives come around again. I find

that it is best to volunteer duringthe Holidays with an organizationthat interest the squadron mem-bers and then develop a contactwith the organization so that thesquadron can continue to volun-teer upon request.

Collecting a file of newspaperarticles referencing organizationssuch as the Habitat for Humanity is

a good way to monitor needs in thecommunity throughout the year.

Many organizations sponsorevents that use phone bank call-

ins for pledge fundraising. This isa great way to volunteer and de-velop visibility for the squadronand Civil Air Patrol.

Remember too that joint ac-tivities may be possible with sis-ter service organizations such as aRotary Club, the American Le-gion, or the Red Cross. For thoseCAP units on a military instilla-tion the moral welfare and recre-ation offices offer a point of con-

tact for service activity within thebase community. Making an im-pact for the community is a gra-tuitous circle explains ChaplainAlvarez. The more we serve themore we will be called upon toserve. Thus fulfilling our owndreams of serving our country andour community as Civil Air Patrolmembers.

Alamo Composite Squadron passing a historic homeduring the parade.

Alamo Composite Squadron Color Guard leadMonte Vista Fourth of July Parade.

By Lt Estelle Kelly

27


21/35

ushered into a bus. We have asurprise for you. You are SpecialGuests and we have arrangedsome flybys of our F-4s we weretold. Flybys we thought, we hadall seen flybys, and little did werealize that these were to beDIFFERERNT. The bus drove usonto the flight line and up to therunway. As we waited, four F-4s

pulled onto the runway and werewithin twenty feet of our group.We stood in awe as none of us hadever been so close to a livejetfighter, but yet before us wasfour jetfighters. We watchedtakes offs, landings and flybys.

The next day we departed forthe resort town of Kusadasi, acoastal city on the Mediterranean,

for leisure and relaxation. Thefollowing day we departed for theancient city ruins of Ephesus, andhouse of the Virgin Mary. Thescenery was something to beholdsince there was so much historyof the world in that one location.We spent the following day relax-ing on the beach at KusadasiNational Park. We departed for

the last leg of our IACE journeyback to Istanbul. We visited theMilitary Museums, various palacesand the famous SultanahmetMosque. The last day was spentsightseeing on the Bosphorus andshopping in the Grand Bazar. We hadour farewell dinner and that morningdeparted for our home countries.

The Turkish Government,

From Texas to Turkey: IACE 2006 . . .Continued from page 2

TYLER SQThe Tyler/Roberts Raiders Compos-ite Squadron, Group III, Texas Wing presented aCertificate of Appreciation to Mr. Elmer Ellis, ChiefExecutive Officer of East Texas Medical Center forETMCs support to the local Civil Air Patrol since1989. ETMC has provided space for communica-tions equipment in their climate-controlled equip-ment room, as well as a CAP antenna on thehospitals tower.

This equipment has made it possible for thesquadron to communicate with aircraft and groundteams throughout East Texas for Emergency Ser-vices missions in support of the community and Nation.

Lt Col Terry L. Howlett, squadron commander,thanked ETMC and Mr. Ellis for their support in pro-viding misting machines and the ETMC canopy,both of which were used at the squadrons StagingArea in support of Group lll, Texas Wings Incident

L-R Lt Col Terry L. Howlett, Tyler CompositeSquadron Commander, Mr. Elmer Ellis, ETMCsCEO and Lt Col Dennis Bennett (former Group 7Commander)

Texas CompanyA GenerousCAP DonorBy Lt Col H. M. Butch Ragland,

PAO, Tyler Composite Squadron

Command Post during the TEXAS SENTRY COW-BOY USAF Guided Search and Rescue Training

Exercise in August. These items were especiallyhelpful for our ground teams and aircrews, in the pre-vailing triple-digit temperatures, he said.

During Exercise TEXAS SENTRY COWBOY,Group lll, Texas Wings Command Post, hosted byTyler/Roberts Raiders Composite Squadron coor-dinated 100 air and over 30 ground missionsstatewide, setting a new national record for the CivilAir Patrol.

Hosts and People were very gen-erous, friendly and accommo-dating. They went out of theirway to make sure we were welltaken care of. I appreciate theirkindness and generosity for mak-ing this trip very memorable.

My journey halfway acrossthe world allowed me to seesights and sounds most teens my

age would never experience. Howcan I become an IACE cadet?You may ask. Simple, obtain yourEarhart Award, be well roundedin school and extracurricular activi-ties, and be at least 17 before youapply. All cadets have the potentialto participate in IACE. The memo-ries, experiences and friends madeon your trip will last a lifetime!

29


22/35

Cadet Programs, generously enter-tained the visitors at their home.Highlights of their trip to Houstonincluded a behind-the-scenes visit

to NASAs Johnson Space Center(and its enormous swimming poolwhere the astronauts practicespace walking), and GalvestonsLonestar Flight Museum (famousfor its aircraft and Aviation Hall ofFame). Dinner at the great Board-walk restaurant in Kemah, nearGalveston, was memorable, with aspectacular sunset as a backdrop.

Austin (in the Group III area),founded at about the same time asHouston, has been the seat of gov-ernment from the start, and theTexas State Capitol is always apopular place. Historic CampMabry (seat of the Texas NationalGuard headquarters), offered theAudie Murphy Museum and theTexas Military Forces Museum aswindows to Texas past. The visitto San Antonio (a city at least 100years older than either Austin or

Houston) included Randolph AirForce Base (with flight time onthe T1 simulator), the AlamoMuseum, and other points of inter-est. Lunch at the Hard Rock Cafon San Antonios River Walk wasyet another occasion for celebrat-ing Cdt Lunds birthday, since thistime it was the correct day.

As a memento of their visit toTexas, after a private tour of theTexas State Capitol on July 28, Ms

Romina Black, Executive Secretaryof the Secretary of State, presentedall cadets and their escorts withHonorary Citizen of the State ofTexas certificates signed by Gover-nor Perry. The honorees, in turn,presented her with an IACE Certifi-cate of Appreciation. Afterwards,the group had lunch courtesy ofAustins landmark restaurant The

County Line on The Lake, anoccasion enjoyed by all. The Texasbarbeque was superb, the companyyoung and lively, and the guests

candid in their obvious enjoyment.Saturday, July 29, in New

Braunfels, was Schlitterbahn day.Considered the premier water parkin the United States, it became theactive setting for yet another cel-ebration of Cdt Cilinos 16th birth-day, since his proper date hadfinally arrived.

On Sunday, July 30, the visit-ing cadets spent most of the day atSan Marcos, where three CAP air-craft took them on front-seat orien-tation rides. Hosting the flight linewas the Tex Hill Composite Squad-ron, which is in Group V. IACEcadets are often licensed pilots intheir home country, and this wasthe case with Cadet Megan Fink, ofCanada. On that Sunday evening,at the Tres Amigos Mexican res-taurant, visitors and hosts attendedan informal farewell dinner. To

everyones expected non-surprise,the by-now famous cadet birthdayswere celebrated yet another (andprobably final) time. On that occa-sion, Lt Col Norm King, formerTexas Wing Chief of Staff and nowDirector of Plans and Programs,met with the cadets and wishedthem a good trip home.

As a final salute to theirhosts, the IACE cadets staged animpromptu personalized ballad, to

everyones great mirth, with twocadets on acoustic guitars (a singingAustralian and an instrumentalistCanadian), and two victims seatedbetween them (a Canadian and aSwede), personifying the balladscharacters (who could hardly con-tain their own laughter). Afterwards,the group thanked their hosts for awonderful time, and presented Lt

Col Dawn King and their host fami-lies with small gifts that they hadbrought from their home countries.

But there was one more gift

forthcoming. Each visiting groupbrings along one very special IACEaward, which they are instructed togive to the one person they thinkwas most responsible for theirenjoyment. This time they chose tohonor Lt Col Dawn King - the firsttime she had ever been so distin-guished, after many years as TexasWing IACE Coordinator. Deeplytouched, Lt Col King hugged themall, one by one, and to her immensesurprise, Cdt Anton Lund (Swe-den), who towers over her, literallyswept her off her feet. (Even rank-ing officers are permitted a senti-mental tear or two, on occasion.)

The visitors enjoyment was soobvious, and the hosts were soreluctant to part with them, that theroom became charged with emo-tion. Im coming back, Sir. I dontknow how, but Ill be back, said

Cdt Troy Pangalos of Australia tothis writer.At each stage, the visitors had

shared the company, customs, hos-pitality and food of the people inthe area, and the mere ten daysallotted to their trip seemed to van-ish into thin air. They freely sharedof themselves with their hosts, andwere candid and respectful in theirinteraction with everyone they met,who in turn will remember them

with sympathy and affection. Mostlikely, their memories will staywith them for a very long time. Tohelp them do so, each will receive aCD filled with digital images oftheir trip throughout Texas, imagestaken by the two CAP cadets whoaccompanied them and made surethat their visit was not only pleas-ant, but well recorded as well.

IACE Cadets Visit Texas . . .Continued from page 5

30


23/35

put a great deal of time and effortinto absorbing the informationthey were provided, then applied

that knowledge in a very stressfulenvironment to save lives andrelieve suffering.

Such methodical and thought-ful response during the first fewminutes and hours of a disaster byordinary citizens is the pur-pose of Communi ty Emer-gency Response Training. Infact, the whole intent of the CERTprogram is to provide the citizensof the community the skills andknowledge they will need whenthey must assist their familymembers and neighbors in thefirst minutes or hours after disas-ter strikes. It does not create athoroughly trained professional; itsimply provides program gradu-ates with the basic skills theyllneed to prevent further injury tothe victim without unnecessaryrisk to the rescuer. That latter

point is critical. In the first hoursafter Mexico Citys earthquakeseveral years ago, neighborhoodresidents were credited with sav-ing some 800 lives, but about 100of the rescuers perished due tolack of training on how to reducetheir own risk while helping others.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,which devastated large areas ofthe U.S. Gulf Coast last year, aremerely the latest of a long series

of natural and man-made disastersthat showed that neighborhoodsmight be on their own for hours oreven days before professionalmedical and emergency responseteams can reach them. The LosAngeles City Fire Departmentfirst developed and implementedthe CERT concept in 1985. It wasCalifornias Whittier Narrows

earthquake of 1987 that con-firmed that trained families,neighborhoods and employeeswere better able to meet their ownimmediate needs right after thedisaster. The Federal EmergencyManagement Agency (FEMA)now provides a Train-The-Trainer program to form seedteams in a community, who will

then conduct the training programfor others. The goal is to have abroad base of CERT-qualifiedcitizens throughout the commu-nity, ready to respond capablywhenever disaster strikes.

Civil Air Patrol membershave been responding to commu-nity needs in a variety of wayssince the organization wasfounded days before the attack onPearl Harbor in 1941. Known pri-

marily for their role in searchingfor missing aircraft, membershave increased their capabilityover the years to assist in disasterresponse in a number of ways.CAP members in north Texaswere deeply involved in lastyears huge hurricane reliefeffort, operating from stagingareas all across south Texas,

Louisiana, and Mississippi. Soonafter that, CAP spent months fly-ing fire spotting missions allacross north Texas and the Pan-handle, and is credited with mini-mizing the burn area which couldhave been simply devastating, aswell achieving stunning successin fire prevention and the savingof l ives and property. More

recently, a statewide CAP exer-cise last August, involving mem-bers in 24 locations across Texas,effectively demonstrated theirability to simultaneously provideassistance in ground and airbornesearch, storm damage assessment,evacuation route survey andmonitoring, as well as airbornereconnaissance and photographyfor numerous state and federalagencies. In fact, more than 40

real world photographic recon-naissance projects were com-pleted and submit ted to therequesting agencies during thatthree-day exercise. Whether onthe ground or in the air, the CivilAir Patrols corps of dedicatedvolunteers stands willing and ableto help their community andnation in time of need.

CAP members treat simulated injuries during a disaster drill.

Disaster ResponseContinued from page 24

31


24/3533

DELTA COMPOSITE SQUADRONbased outof David Wayne Hooks airport located in NorthwestHouston. There are currently 73 senior members and68 cadets in the program, all working and training forwhen they are called. Within these numbers aremany great individuals but also several familygroups who are actively involved in CAP.

The Wilkins family with six, soon to be eight, oftheir twelve family members is very active in CAP.Leading the way is Senior Member 2d Lt KellyWilkins, who is also the Aerospace education officer

and leads the Double Eagle Scout program charteredby Delta (CAPR 52-16). The five Wilkins cadets areinvolved in Deltas color guard and work hard towardearning promotions. Daniel, Jonathan, Abigail,Stephen, and Samuel range in age from 12 to 16. Mrs.Wilkins and older sister, Lydia (22), are Venture lead-ers and will soon be joining CAP as senior membersworking in the cadet program specialty track. The

Daniel family - 3 Captains

Wilkins are not the only family at Delta Composite.There are five in the Daniel family. Three of

which are Captains. C/Capt Jesse Daniel is currentlythe cadet commander, his brother, C/Capt Jonathan isC/Admin officer, and Senior Member Capt ClaudiaDaniel is the squadrons medical officer. Alsoinvolved are 2d Lt Douglas Daniel and 2d Lt AnnoMontgomery, mother of Claudia and grandmother toJesse and Jonathan, who comes to most Tuesday nightmeetings and events held at the squadron.

Still, there are more families with multiple mem-

bers. The Braytons with four, Buchman, Glasscock,Hustons, Wykes, and Ureke with three, and severalmore with two, are regular faces seen on duty day, atcolor guard practice, FTXs and SAREXs, and anyother activity on the squadron calendar.

It may seem confusing, at first, to see so manywith the same last name but there is no doubt inanyones mind, that all (individual member or one ofeight), are welcome and are important to the squad-ron and the Civil Air Patrol mission.

A Family AffairBy 2d Lt Mary Ureke, PAO

Wilkins family.

is a group photo of the awards

presented to the participating

Wings for a job well done

during that exercise.

Southwest Region

ConferenceFalcon Virgo


25/35

On the weekend of 13-15October, the Gladewater CorsairsComposite Squadron, held atraining weekend devoted todeveloping Ground Team searchand rescue skills with specialemphasis on L-per training in adifficult environment. L-perdescribes the operation of a por-table electronic homing deviceused to locate aircraft emergencylocator transmitters (ELT). Usu-ally, when an aircraft crashes, theELT is activated automaticallyand starts emitting a distress sig-nal. This signal is captured byground-based radio receivers andl istening satel l i tes , and theapproximate location is reported

to a central emergency responsecenter. The Civil Air Patrol unitnearest to the signal is thenalerted to find the ELT.

In addition to very rough,varying and broken terrain,the selected training area had

GladewaterCadets inField Training

Weekend1st Lt Harold Parks

numerous high voltage lines run-ning across it and a number ofsteel buildings and wire fences.These factors make for challeng-ing searches as the L-per opera-tors receives many false and con-fusing readings. Training in sucha difficult environment and learn-ing how to overcome the elec-tronic obstacles make for more

successful electronic searches inreal world emergencies.All squadron members are

trained in various positions ofresponsibility during the searches.Cade t s and adu l t membersrotated through the Team Leader,

Navigator and L-per Operator posi-tions, and all of them participatedon the search lines. Everyonecame to understand the challengesfaced by those placed in eachposition, and therefore gained avaried experience that is designedto result in more successfulGround Team searches. Thebroader the experience level of

each team member, the more thateach member can offer to theteam when an actual search is on.

After working on groundsearch and rescue training all daySaturday, with good success, itwas time for some fun. The squad-ron is in the process of forming acompetitive air rifle team, so thiswas a good time for target practice.On Sunday Lt Alexander, a certi-fied NRA firearms instructor,

presented a firearms safety classfollowed by training in competi-tion shooting. The rifles weresighted in, and all members firedpractice rounds. The squadronthen held an informal competition,with the following results: C/AmnJohn Ryan earned first place, fol-lowed by C/Maj Stephen Moutonand C/MSgt Jarred Alexander.

Getting the Next Bearing: C/Maj Kyle Vaughn with L-per, C/Maj Stephen

Mouton, C/MSgt Jarrod Alexander, C/Amn John Ryan observing.

Final Shootout;C/Maj StephenMouton and

C/Amn JohnRyan shootingin final relay ofSquadroncompetition.C/MSgt JarrodAlexanderspotting andC/Maj KyleVaughnobserving.

35


26/35

The San Angelo CompositeSquadron TX-023 conducted arocket launch event on 30 Sep-tember, at Goodfellow AFB,Texas.

Twelve cadets and six seniormembers participated in theevent; with each cadet launchinga rocket assembled at the lastregular meeting. Cadets receivedinstruction in cordoning an areafor the launch, and participatingin downrange recovery of rock-ets. The weather cooperatedgreatly with a slight breeze bring-

ing rockets down within one hun-dred yards of the launch site.

San AngeloSquadronConductsFall RocketLaunch

By 2d Lt Johanna O.

Augustine

Members of the San Angelo Squadron search the sky for their rocket.

C/Amn Angelica Gutierrezprepares her rocket for launch.

C/A1C Christopher H. Brownattaches ignition wires to hisrocket.

We created quite a spectacleSaturday as the rockets climbedinto the bright blue morning skyover Goodfellow. Security per-sonnel even visited the launch site just to watch. Cadet Davila

earned the name RocketWoman as she repeatedly

launched her rocket despite itsslowly disintegrating body. Tapeand glue and away it flew, over

and over. stated Squadron Com-mander Major Clements.

MG Antonio Pineda, Col Tom Todd(exiting SWR CC), Col Eldridge,

and Lt Col James Lasche (USAF,SWR Region Liaison Officer), as

Col Eldridge gives Col Todd aCAP-themed numbered

lithograph as a farewell present.How am I going to get this home

in the airplane? said Col Todd,as he smiled broadly.

Southwest RegionConference


27/35

TALON SQCadet BenjaminJosse, a member of theWaxahachie Talon CompositeSquadron at Waxahachie-Midlothian Midway Airport,

Group III, Texas Wing, was hon-ored with his Mitchell AwardCeremony. He had his new rankof Cadet Second Lieutenantbestowed upon him by ColonelFrank Eldridge, Texas Wing Com-mander, assisted by Cadet Jossesgrandfather, Commander B. K.West, USN (Ret). Afterwards, ColEldridge presented the new C/2dLt with his Mitchell Certificate.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. Eric

Josse of Red Oak, and a member ofthe Waxahachie Talon CompositeSquadron at Waxahachie-Midlothian Midway Airport, he cuta fine figure in his dress-blue uni-form. His obvious excitement wasshared by all unit members present,as well as his relatives who hadbeen invited to witness the event.

Cadet Josse joined the Civil Air

Texas Wing Cadet ReachesMitchell Milestone

Patrol in August, 2004, attended theOklahoma NCSA Flight Academywhere he received his solo wings, andserves as chairman of the Group IIICadet Advisory Council (CAC) and

an Alternate for the Texas WingCAC. In 2005 he was selected HonorCadet at his basic encampment in thewinter, and his squadron recognizedhim as Outstanding Non-Commis-sioned Officer of the Year.

His spe-cialty qualifica-tions includeSearch andRescue GroundTeam Member

a nd U r ba nD i r e c t i o nFinder TeamMember - bothr e s p o n s i b l epositions. Hehas served asFlight Sergeant,Flight Com-m a n d e r ,

Texas WingCommander ColFrank Eldridge andCadet Jossesgrandfather, USNavy CommanderB. K. West, (Ret)

join Cadet Josseafter pinning on hisnew rank.

Deputy Commander, and recentlyassumed command of theWaxahachie Composite SquadronCadet Corps. Cadet Josse is alsoactive in Creative Arts and The-

atre. He maintains high academicstandards and is currently a juniorin high school in his home schoolprogram. His goal is to attend theAir Force Academy and become amilitary pilot.

Cadet Benjamin Josse accepts the General BillyMitchell Award from Col Frank Eldridge, Texas WingCommander, during recent ceremonies.

By Lt Col Gary Stevens


28/35

On the evening of July 18, the

cadets of the Black Sheep Com-posite Squadron, Group III, TexasWing held an awards and promo-tions ceremony in the presence oftheir parents and their unit seniormembers. Lt Col Jack Birchum,the units Moral LeadershipOfficer, gave the invocation; ColFrank Eldridge, Texas WingCommander, presented theawards and promotions.

The occasion was noteworthyin that every cadet was recog-nized with a promotion on thatday. C/TSgt Johanna Cohen and

Black Sheep CS Holds Cadet Promotionand Change of Command Ceremonies

C/TSgt Sgt Brittany Stelting, in

recognition of their promotion,were presented with WrightBrothers Award certificates.C/TSgt Cohen was also recog-nized as the recipient of the AirForce Associations OutstandingCadet award.

After promotion to theirrespective Cadet Officer grades,C/Capt Rebecca McKinney andC/Capt Chris Papson received theAmelia Earhart award, while C/2dLt Mitchell Graham was presentedthe General Billy Mitchell Award.

In celebration of the occasion,

On Saturday, August 5, 2006, eighteen cadets,

family members, senior members and Perrin AFBMuseum volunteers, toured the International TacticalTraining Center, one of the newest companies withfacilities at Grayson County Perrin Airport.

Lieuntenant General Charlie Searock, ChiefExecutive Officer of ITTC, briefed the visitors on themission of the Tactical Training Center. Thisincluded the aircraft maintenance hanger, aircraft,and a personal walk around and inside tour of theirIL-78 giant aerial refueling tanker. Sealock is also amember of CAPs National Board.

Texoma Tour TacticalTraining Center

CAP members at the entrance door of the IL-78.

LTG CharlesSearock (USAFRet.) right, andBG John Elkins,(TNG Ret.) leftwho is PerrinAFB MuseumsCurator, andcoordinator forthe tour.

IL-78 tranker.

four cadets displayed their Honor

Guard sk i l l s wi th a we l l -timed and executed rifle drilldemonstration.

These cadets should be com-mended for their outstanding hardwork, an effort that earned themthese awards and promotions,said Col Eldridge.

After the awards and promo-tions, C/Capt Rebecca McKinneyrelinquished her position in thesquadron to C/1st Lt JohnileaPetty, who became the BlackSheep Composite Squadronsnew Cadet Commander.

2d Lt Kelly R. Castillo, PAO

By 1st Lt Charlie Giarraputo


29/35

On 9 Sept 2006, members ofthe Black Sheep CompositeSquadron, Group III, TexasWing, Civil Air Patrol took part in

the Freedom Run in downtownDallas. Held to pay tribute to theheroes and victims of the Septem-

Black Sheep SquadronParticipates in Freedom Run

City of DallasPolice HonorGuard chattingwith 2 girls.

CAP cadetstaking part in

the 5K run.

McKinney, C/TSgt BrittanyStelting, and C/A1C TimKleinmeier. All but C/A1CKleinmeier made the run with

members of other CAP Group IIIsquadrons, while the rest handedout information about the CivilAir Patrol to interested persons.

To start the event, the City ofDallas Police Honor Guard pre-sented the colors, followed by thepledge of allegiance and the Na-tional Anthem.

All participants finished theevent, and no injuries were re-ported. On this day, similar activi-

ties took place across the Nation,as part of a national day of re-membrance, five years after the 9/11 terrorist attack.

ber 11th tragedy, the event in-volved a 5K run and a 1 milewalk.

Black Sheep Composite

Squadron members included 1stLt Opal McKinney, SM TerriKleinmeier, C/Capt Rebecca

41

By 2d Lt Castillo


30/35

Blacksheep SQ-On 14 Octo-ber 2006, the Black Sheep Com-posite Squadron assisted with theannual Wings and Wheels AirShow at the Mesquite Metro Air-port in Mesquite, Texas. First pre-

sented in 1932 as The National AirCarnival by the Birmingham AeroClub, it was a free-admission eventthat included many aviationnotables as guests and performers.

During WW II the show wassuspended, but in 1946 it drew anattendance of 400,000 - the largest

CAP Helps Stage Air Show

1st Lt Toby Buckalew speaks with an attendeestanding by the Black Sheep Squadrons Cessna C-182.

Black Sheep members pose infront of a Commemorative AirForce R4D. Back row left to right:C/A1C Tim Kleinmeier, C/AmnJustin Davis, 1st Lt Opal McKinney,C/Capt Rebecca McKinney, C/SSgt Andrew Smith, Lt Col MikeEberle, C/TSgt Brittany Stelting, 2dLt Ray Hicks, 2d Lt TerriKleinmeier. Front row left to right:C/TSgt Johanna Cohen, C/2d LtMitchell Graham, 1st Lt JustinCoffman, C/Amn Tracy Norman, C/AB Jeremy Banks. Other memberswho were busy answering visitorsquestions, not pictured, includedCapt Ron Marshall, 1st Lt TobyBuckalew, 1st Lt Bob Morton, and2d Lt Kelly Castillo.

SM Terri Kleinmeier passes a P-17 Stearman whileon her way to marshall another plane.

ever until that day. As the civilaviation world evolved, and majorairports became overcrowded withcommercial traffic, the showmoved to smaller airports all overthe country, under the Wings and

Wheels Air Show banner. Manyyoung attendees have first flown ina small plane at one of these.

The air show attracts many pi-lot-owners who fly in for the oc-casion. Traditionally, the BlackSheep Composite Squadronserves a pancake breakfast that is

always well-attended. This yearthe squadrons cadets raised $270thanks to it.

Squadron personnel werebusy all day with flight marshal-ling, visiting plane security, and

some parking duties. A recruitingbooth saw many interested peoplefile by, both teens and adults, ask-ing many questions and pickingup informative CAP pamphlets.

The squadron was praised byattendees, pilots, and airport man-agement for a job well done.

2d Lt Kelly Castillo, Public Affairs Off icer


31/35

Cadet Cameron Condrey takes a ride on ahovercraft.

APOLLO SQUADRONWhoa! Whats that?said the Apollo cadets as they looked at the home-made hovercraft the squadron commander hadbrought in her truck. Get on and Ill show you, Isaid, as their faces showed surprise, confusion, andwanting to get on and try this thing that they had neverseen before. In fact, perhaps Texas Wing had neverseen anything like it before, either.

Let me explain why we decided to make twohovercraft for the cadets. As we were busy planningthe next aerospace night, we thought we would teachthe CD hovercraft that are in the AEX book. But wedidnt have a pattern, so we rummaged around theInternet and found a pattern for hovercraft that couldcarry people.

Building something we could ride on seemedlike a great idea. Besides, we decided that thesewould be much better for teaching Newtons laws ofmotion than little CD hovercraft that could hardly liftanything much at all. Also it would make the cadets

Newtons Laws ofMotionCan Be Fun

C/TSgt Michael G. Moody,

Cadet Commander, Apollo CS

get up and do something, instead of just sitting there,pretending to be awake, putting up with another

boring lecture.The expensive part we already had - a leafblower we could use for a fan to keep us off the floor- so we decided to go ahead and build a hovercraft.Then we realized that if we built just one, it wouldtake too long for all the cadets to go through the lineand each get a ride. Thats when we decided to buildtwo. But to build two we needed another blower, sowe contacted SM Davidson and asked if we coulduse his blower. He said yes and volunteered hishouse to build the project.

Hoping it would work, we went and got all the

items to build the hovercraft, and took everythingover to SM Davisons house and started working. Totell the truth, none of us actually thought it wouldwork, until SM Davidson got on it, and it picked himup like he was nothing. Now it was time to start thetesting, which is when the real fun started, as we tied

Continued . . .

Cadet Moodysets up the firsthovercraft.

a rope around my waist and sentme down the driveway. It was nota smooth gym floor l ike the


32/35

instructions said to use, but it stillworked. We even moved out intothe street and it kept on going. Itworked smoothly even when wepassed it over the extension cords,and never touched them. By thenthe second hovercraft had beenbuilt too, and that one had to goon its own test run. It was amazinghow well they worked, and we hadspent only $90.00 in making both,

and that included seats for them.In my case, I always learn

better when Im having fun, andanyone could see how much thecadets enjoyed riding thehovercraft. Everybody - cadets,senior members, and even littlechildren whose parents hadbrought along - loved this activity.

Then we set up a childs plas-

tic basketball hoop and had thecadets pull their way up to italong two ropes we laid for them.They had to put a ring into thehoop, and pull themselves back asfast as they could, because it wasa relay race and each team had itsown rope, and each team wantedto be the winner, of course.Except we were having so muchfun that we forgot to keep score,

so nobody knows who won.Besides, some cadets liked it somuch that they competed on bothteams, too.

The hovercraft worked verywell and taught the practical sideof Newtons discovery, as well asbeing easy to repair. The plasticripped on one of them, and fixingit was a snap. All we had to do

was put a strip of duct tape on it,and it was as good as new. Therewas only one problem with ourcreations: we had no way of con-trolling them besides tying a ropeto the passenger and havingsomeone pull both passenger andhovercraft around.

We tried using an auxiliaryleaf blower but that didnt workvery well. The instructions said

that someone had used a fire extin-guisher to propel them, but it alsosaid not to let kids do that. Evenwithout directional control, though,everybody loved them. And we hada great time while learning aboutNewtons laws of motion.

Thank you http://members.cox.net/2smbschool/hovercraftfor the hovercraft design.

Cadets pull their way along ropes for the relay race.

Laws of Motion . . .Continued

45


33/35

The dog came barging in andwoke me up the morning of thefirst ever Commemorative AirForce (CAF) Cadet HeritageAcademy. Just three weeks be-fore, I had come back from en-campment, and now my mother

told me what the CAF CadetHeritage Academy was, and that Icould go. I was thrilled that Iwould be one of the very first togo. What a treat! I remember be-ing so excited. I was going to golearn about the wars of America,and fly airplanes! This may notsound like a big deal to you, but itis for a CAP cadet age 14.

CAF Cadet Heritage AcademyThe hours dragged on but

somehow the day flew by, sothere I was in Midland, TX, onehour after getting there, and I wasalready in the middle of a pressconference! Right after that wewent to the hotel, changed into

our blues and checked in, all fourcadets from Apollo CompositeSquadron, Group III, TexasWing. After checking in for thecourse, we listened to a presenta-tion done by a WWII veteran. Itwas very interesting for all of usthere.

The next day we got up andwent down to a local high school

that had a ropes course. That wasthe most fun thing there. Westarted off by doing some get-to-know-you sort of things. Andthen we moved on to this ropeswing, which sounds like a sillygame, but just you wait, because

it got tough in a hurry.For this team event, we had to

get a container full of wateracross to the other side of this gapand all of us had to land and stayon this really small platform with-out spilling a single drop of water,and if one of us did drop somewater, then all of us had to goback to the beginning. I thought it

texas wing - dec 2006

Documents