Wyoming Wings

Wyoming WingsJune 2009

Orientation Flight Weekend

see story on page 3 . . .

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Wyoming WingsThe 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 firm 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 official 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 Wyoming WingCivil Air Patrol

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Wing CommanderColonel stan skrabut

Editor1st Lt. Jeanne stone-Hunter

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please call1-800-635-6036

Continued on page 7 . . .

Commander’s Commentsstan skrabut, Col., CAP, Wyoming Wing Commander

I am way behind the power curve in put t ing th is note together, and unfortunately, I must keep it short so that I can get it off to the magazine. I am currently sitting in a motel room in Cody attending the first SAREX of the year writing this note. We had a great turn out and good training in spite of the weather working against us. I am hoping for better weather for the next few months, but it is Wyoming in the springtime. As I look at where we are, I am quite pleased with our standing in the region and nation. It is because of all your hard work that we are doing so well.

We are now finishing up the month of April, so this is a great time to report where we are. At this time in FY 2008, we flew 162 hours. In FY 2009, we have flown 321 hours. This is double the hours of the previous year. This is a significant accomplish-ment and it could not have been done without the tremendous support of the State of Wyoming and their financial support and the

Wyoming Military Department. We currently rank 22 out of 52 for aircraft utilization; this is up from 43 at the end of last year. We have made great strides in conducting B-12 flying; we cur-rently have a C-17/B-12 ration of 104%. This is huge; other wings in our region are around 40 to 50%. In spite of this good news, not all of the crews are taking advantage of the B-12 proficiency flying. Additionally, our cadets need to receive orien-tation flights; so far, only 68% of all our cadets have received a flight, and they are eligible for 9 flights. We are planning a large orientation flight weekend at the end of May.

Aerospace Educat ion – Presently, 44% of our members have received this award, and we are on track to again meet our goal of �2 members earn-ing this award for 2009. I am seeing some advancement in the Aerospace Education spe-cialty track; naturally, I would like to see more. This is a great

Wyoming Wing Conducts Orientation Flight Weekend

Twenty-f ive Wyoming Wing Cadets, �8 Wyoming Wing Senior Members, and 4 Colorado Wing Senior Members participated in the Wyoming Wing’s first-ever Orientation Flight weekend, 29-31 May, in Lander, Wyoming. Four Wyoming Wing pow-ered aircraft and two Colorado Wing gliders, as well as a commercial tow plane from Colorado supported Cadet Orientation Flights throughout the weekend. Several Wyoming Senior Members also experienced the thrill of glider flights.

Ten Cadets flew their first powered

Orientation Flight, and 22 Cadets received their first glider flight. The three Cadets not receiv-ing glider flights opted out of the opportunity. The remaining Cadets flew powered Orientation Flights 2 through 5, depending on their specific needs. In spite

Lt. Col. Eric Davis, Wyoming Wing Director of Cadet Programs

of a few minor cases of airsickness, the Cadets’ smiles indicated a hugely suc-cessful weekend.

The participants arrived Friday, 29 May at the Twin Pines RV Park just south of Lander, where they pitched tents and had dinner. The group woke up early Saturday morning for break-fast, briefings, and a 0745 show time at the Lander Airport. After safety brief-ings from Wing Commander Colonel Stan Skrabut and the Orientation

Flight Pilots, the Cadets received flight assignments and assisted the Colorado crews with glider assembly. They also learned glider launch and wing-runner proce-dures. All but one Cadet received glider flights on Saturday, and all but four Cadets received powered Orientation Flights on Saturday.

Saturday night back at camp, the Cadets and Senior Members feasted on pizza and enjoyed pick-

up games of volleyball and football. During this time the participants were also able to socialize with each other in a relaxed atmosphere. This was a great opportunity to discuss issues, problems, and solutions common to the geographically dispersed units in the Wyoming Wing.

The five Cadets who did not fly on Saturday were the first in the air on Sunday morning. Also on Sunday, the Senior Members who wanted to take

the chance were allowed glider rides. It’s difficult to say who had bigger smiles after their glider rides, the Seniors or the Cadets. Suffice it to say, all the participants exited the craft with huge smiles.

Cadets participating in the event

were Cadet Airman Basics Brandon Munn and Teray Haynes; Cadet Airmen Katelyn Munn and Shelby Sterling; Cadet Airmen First Class Daniel Crosby, Christopher Bray, Tyler Toman, James Argeris, and Stephen Myers; Cadet Senior Airmen Joshua Kirkman, Tyler Stovall, and Nathan Kamm; Cadet Staff Sergeant Stephen Belden; Cadet Technical Sergeants Ross Wald and Evan Schmitzer; Cadet Master Sergeants Christopher Hodges, Elizabeth Parker, and Dylan Cattaneo; Cadet

Senior Master Sergeants Kyle Dewey and Matthew Court; Cadet Chief Master Sergeants Christopher Gross and Ezekiel House; Cadet Second Lieutenant Nia Cattaneo; Cadet First Lieutenant Brad Coonis; and Cadet Major Heather Gould. Lieutenant Coonis was the Cadet Officer in Charge of the event.

Wyoming Wing Senior Members participating in the event were Wyoming Wing Commander Colonel Stan Skrabut; Lieutenant Colonels Eric Davis, Assunta McDonald, Doug Henry, and Michael Carlson; Majors BJ Carlson, Dennis Cornell, Jason Wollard, and George Twitchell;

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specialty track, and all senior members are encouraged to pur-sue it. Finally, if your unit is not involved with the Aerospace Education Excellence (AEX) program, I encourage you to do so. You can now enroll online within e-services.

Cadet Programs – Presently, 44% of our cadets have earned the Wright Brothers Award, 10% have earned the Mitchell Award, and 5 % have earned the Earhart Award. No cadets have earned the Eaker or Spaatz Award. I am not seeing much movement in this area; I would like to see more. As I mentioned earlier, only 68% of cadets have had an orientation flight. Our goal is 100%; if you are a cadet and have not flown with CAP; see your unit commander to schedule a flight.

E m e r g e n c y S e r v i c e s – Presently, 81% of our mem-bers have completed General Emergency Services training, this is up from �9%. The region goal is 100%, so we have a little work yet to do. We are also graded on the number of mission pilots we have. In order to meet the standard set by National, we need 5 mission pilots for each of our aircraft. Presently, we have 3.41 mission pilots per aircraft; this is a decrease from 4.9. The NIMS courses are holding a couple of members back. We need to place more attention in getting members through the various NIMS courses.

Membership – Naturally, we can not get any of our missions

done with out our membership. Senior members have been steadily increasing. We have increased senior member mem-bership by 9 since the beginning of the year; however we are down 1 cadet since the begin-ning of the year. I would like to see more emphasis in cadet membership. Of course, I do not want to see a loss in membership if we can do anything about it. We are currently at 236 mem-bers, this has been a positive trend, and I am very happy.

Thanks for all your hard work. I am looking forward to even more success in the future. Keep up the great job.

As you can see, there are a number of ways where your individual efforts help Wyoming Wing as a team. Please be a great team player. Remember, T.E.A.M. – Together Each Achieves More.

Well that is it for now. I look forward to what the next three months brings us. In the mean-time, make a difference and get involved. Be safe in everything you do.

Captains Gary Chizever, D.J. Sadler, John Todd, Miguel Acevedo, Orville Moore, and John Burkett; First Lieutenants Adam Munn, Michael Gray, and Bill Jepsen. Lieutenant Colonel Davis developed the plan for the event and led the overall activity.

Colorado Wing Sen io r Members participating in the event were Lieutenant Colonel Jer Eberhard; Captains Sam Streger and Bob Lynn, and Senior Member Rick Mason. Lieutenant Colonel Eberhard and Captain Streger were the glider pilots, Captain Lynn was the tow plane pilot, and Senior Member Mason directed glider ground operations and taught the Cadets the basics of glider ground ops. We in the Wyoming Wing a re indeb ted to the Colorado officers not only for the glider operations in Lander, but also for safely towing the 2 gliders over 360 miles from Boulder, Colorado to Lander, and of course, the smiles on the faces of Cadets and Seniors as they exited the gliders.

Colonel Skrabut said, “This was a great event and we need to do it again – SOON!” The Cadets could not have agreed more with this statement, and the Wyoming Wing Staff is looking forward to planning and execut-ing another flying weekend in the near future.

Commander’s CommentsContinued from page 1 . . .Orientation

FlightsContinued . . .

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This article is for all Senior Members and Cadets in the Wyoming Wing. Many of you have joined this volunteer organization for Search and Rescue. What ever your reasons for becoming a part of this World Class Volunteer Organization I applaud and commend you and thank you for all of the contributions you are making to Civil Air Patrol. I appreciate all of the hard work you Squadron Commanders, Directors of Aerospace Education Officers, Directors of Professional Development, and all Officer Positions held both at Wing HQ and in your Squadrons are accomplishing because we can not do the Mission without you. We are now more than affiliated with the United States Air Force we are a Team. Aerospace Education and those reports you are required to fill out are vital to the Mission. Anything your Squadron does falls under Aerospace Education. Any activities you par-ticipate in, any training you take, any community service you do all counts for Aerospace Education. The only way National HQ, Wing HQ, and your Squadron can recognize you, or show appreciation is to get the information about all involvement by you in Civil Air Patrol. The only thing we can offer you in Civil Air Patrol is Rank, which must be earned, and Awards for Service Before Self. It also lets Region and National HQ know what we are doing out here is this smallest State population wise with land mass and mountains fifth largest in the Nation. We have all types of weather here and more wind than Chicago. By Civil Air Patrol Regulation we must have an Aerospace Education Program, and we must promote Civil Air Patrol. We need External Aerospace Education Officers and they are normally Teachers. These Officers do not have to belong to Civil Air Patrol, but we do all we can to recruit them to become members. The Specialty Track for Aerospace Education

maj. steven L. Ellis/Wyoming Wing HQ. DAE/DPDDirector Aerospace Education

Civil Air Patrol

Wyoming Wing Headquarters Aerospace Education

is 215 and the Specialty Track for Director of Professional Development is 204. These are both excellent Training Fields for all members to earn a Master Rating. If any of you will complete the General Charles (Chuck) Yeager Award while in Level II Training you are entitled to wear an additional device on your Ribbon Bar. The Yeager Award Test is online and it has a lot of history about the United States Air Force, Space, and Aircraft. I hope this article will spark some interest in completing this Award. The Scott Crossfield Award can be earned by completing the requirements in Specialty Track 215. These are all building blocks to your career in Civil Air Patrol. The United States Air Force expects us to live up to our promise of being well Trained, Educated, and Mission ready. The United States Air Force expects us to be enrolled in a Specialty Track and to complete training. If I can be of assistance to all of you please contact me at Wing HQ. I am avail-able to answer questions, concerns, and provide guidance in solving your problems, and encourage you to have a thirst for knowledge and learn as much as you can about the organization you have become a vital part of in service to our Nation.

Teddy Roosevelt said, “Do what you can with what you have no matter your position in life.” No one remembers, but we all remember a student of his who said, “Ask not what your Country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your Country.”

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Awards and PromotionsChuck Yeager Aerospace Award Recipients Lt. Col. Nickie Fuerst WY 000 SM Ronald Leader WY 00� 1st Lt. Robert Mosbacher WY 066 Capt. Gary Chizever WY 0�2 1st Lt. Phillip Duran WY 072 �st Lt. Erik Hendershot WY 0�� �st Lt. Marvin Nunn WY 0�� �st Lt. Joseph Herman WY 0�� Capt. Charles Moore WY 0�� �st Lt. Neil Mayes WY 0���st Lt. Ju’thann Self WY 0�8SM Martin E Phillips WY 0�9

Wright Brothers Award C/SrAmn. Nathan Kamm WY 0�� C/SSgt. Jonathan Barella WY 002 C/SSgt. Evan Schmitzer WY 059 Billy Mitchell Award C/CMSgt. Josh Vallee WY 066 level iii Capt. Daniel Wilcox WY 002 level iV Capt. Jeanne Stone-Hunter WY 00� Promotions Capt. Jeanne Stone-Hunter WY 00� 2nd Lt. Ambika Schoening WY 001 Capt. Randall Hunter WY 00� Capt. Roy Baughman WY 002 �st Lt. Joseph Feiler WY 002 �st Lt. Adam Munn WY 0�2 Capt. Nicole Farnham WY 072 Capt. Gary Chizever WY 0�2 Lt. Col. Michael Carlson WY 075

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Chances are you’re not making the most of the Wing’s web pres-ence and there’s a lot there to offer . Col . Skrabut recently set up a social networking site specifically for Wing member’s use. It has got all the great features of MySpace and Facebook with the added benefit of being exclusively for us. Unit commanders and parents can rest assured that the site offers a safe place for cadets to interact with each other and with the senior members.

You first must create an own account. Then you can personalized “my pages”, add friends, invite friends who aren’t already signed up, create groups, post photos and videos and much more. I suggest each commander create a unit group for their members and use that group to keep everyone in the loop; share photos and news; etc. Why not add a group for each specialty track too? The options are infinite. Photos and videos from all your unit events can be posted. Col. Skrabut has a “Commander’s Corner” where he’s posting impor-tant information and “Wyoming Wing News” highlights events and member accomplishments.

What are you waiting for? Sign up now and get to know your fellow CAP members.• Wyoming Wing Ning (Social Networking) Site

Join the Wyoming Wing’s Own Social Networking Site

Capt. Jeanne stone-Hunter

- http://wywgcap.ning.com/• Wyoming Wing Webstie - http://partnerpage.

google.com/capwyhq.org?tab=mSYou can also find the Wing on:• Facebook –• Wyoming Wing - http://www.facebook.com/

home.php?ref=home#/pages/Wyoming-Wing-Civil-Air-Patrol/30723342934?ref=ts

• Twitter – • Wyoming Wing - http://twitter.com/wywgcap• Wheatland Composite Squadron - http://twitter.

com/WheatlandCAPIf you or your unit is using social networking,

I would love to hear from you – stonehunter@capwyhq.org.

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Hello and a belated Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone’s 2009 is going well and I am sure everyone is looking forward to the summer. I know I am!

Since we are not currently producing a monthly Cadet Programs Update as we did for some time, I wanted to run down the list of what’s going on in the Cadet realm. Of course all these things are available on the Cadet Web Site (www.wyocadets.com), but I know not everyone has ready access to the internet and I still find Cadets (and Seniors) who don’t know we have a Cadet Web Site! So, on with the 411…

CADET ADViSORY COUnCilThe Cadet Advisory Council seems to be gain-

ing some traction throughout the Wing, for which I am most grateful! We have a great group of moti-vated CAC Representatives right now and I hope they will continue to participate in the CAC. They are all submitting their monthly reports on time and virtually everyone is participating in our confer-ence calls. We also had a great turnout in Casper in March for the face-to-face meeting in conjunction with the Senior Member Commander’s Call.

The CAC is a forum for Cadets to positively influence the Wing’s direction and help set up and execute activities. It is an opportunity for Cadets to lead and they should be “chomping at the bit” to become your unit’s representative and show what they can do. I consider them, and I am almost certain Colonel Skrabut considers them, an invaluable part of the Wing Staff. Squadron Commanders should consider them an integral part of the Squadron Staff as well.

All the CAC Representatives report two com-mon problems in all squadrons. Those two issues are recruiting and retention. We have done a couple of things to try to boost this, so far without success. If anyone has ideas on how to improve retention, which will help get more people in, please let us know!

Lt. Col. Eric s. DavisDirector of Cadet Programs

Cadet Programs Update

Our CAC Representatives are as follows:Chair: C/Maj. Heather Gould, SheridanCasper Primary: C/SMSgt. John HouserCasper Alternate: C/SrAmn. Josh KirkmanCheyenne Primary: C/CMSgt. Josh ValleeCheyenne Alternate: C/CMSgt. Ezekiel HouseLaramie Primary: C/SMSgt. Christopher GrossLaramie Alternate: Not yet appointedCody Primary: C/SMSgt. Kyle DeweyCody Alternate: C/A�C Stephen MyersSheridan Primary: C/CMSgt. Nia CattaneoSheridan Alternate: C/MSgt. Elizabeth “Elle”

ParkerWheatland Primary: Not yet appointedRocky Mountain Region Representatives:Region Primary: C/SMSgt. John Houser, CasperRegion Alternate: C/MSgt. Elizabeth “Elle”

Parker, Sheridan

nATiOnAl CADET SPECiAl ACTiViTiES (nCSA)

This year Wyoming had two Cadets selected to participate in NCSA. Cadet Major Heather Gould was picked to attend the National Flight Academy - Powered, at Ashland, Nebraska. Here she will earn her solo wings. Cadet Senior Master Sergeant Kyle Dewy was chosen to attend the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training Familiarization Course. At this course, Cadet Dewey will get a taste of what USAF Officers endure when they attend training to get their wings. Congratulations to both Cadets!

Wing CADET ACTiViTiESENCAMPMENT

We regret we are not able to field an Encampment this year. Camp Guernsey is too busy training active duty, reserve, and National Guard people to accom-modate us this time. However, we are confident we will return in force next year! In lieu of an Encampment, we are going to do several smaller activities this year. Here are a few of them…

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FlYing WEEKEnDOf course by the time this magazine gets to

you, we will have already had the Flying and AE Weekend in Lander, Wyoming. I feel confident in saying that unless the weather closes us down, we should have had a great time with powered and glider orientation flights, aerospace education, ES-related classes, a barbecue, volleyball, softball, and another spectacularly successful CAC meeting!

gROUnD TEAM SCHOOlCaptain Josh Thomas and Cadet Christopher

Gross are working to set up a class for ground team personnel. We have many hurdles to clear before we get this moving but before the weather gets cold again, we should be able to get us all together in the field for some intensive training on ground team skills. Watch the web site for details as they develop!

DRill ACADEMYI have not been 100% happy with the results

of our Cadet Leadership Schools, especially in the area of drill. I believe we need a class with plenty of time devoted strictly to drill. We must have time to practice and time to correct mistakes and follow-up to be sure we have corrected everything. Otherwise, Cadets seem to revert to bad practices once they return to their home units. So, we will address that through a Drill Academy.

The Drill Academy will be fairly physically intensive, with the better part of two days devoted almost entirely to drill. That’s a LOT of drill, but I believe the Cadets’ ability to perform, lead, and teach drill will be much improved. Senior Members wanting to learn how to drill will be welcome as well.

FiRST AiD & CPRLieutenant Kelsey Raile of the Laramie County

Fire District 2 (Formerly Known as C/Lt. Col. Aitchison) has volunteered to teach a CPR/First Aid Training class for our Cadets. Since First Aid/CPR qualifications are required for the ground team qualification anyway, so this should dovetail nicely with the ground team school.

We are looking for a good time to present this

class, since it takes the better part of an entire day to effectively learn the material. We are looking at POSSIBLY presenting this class at the Wing Conference in October. We’ll see how things work out with the Ground Team School.

CADET lEADERSHiP ACADEMYAs we have done the last two years, this fall

we plan to conduct our Cadet Leadership School (CLS). We will probably be doing this in October or early November. This year we will be eliminat-ing MOST of the drill from the class, as that por-tion will be expanded and incorporated as the Drill Academy. So, the Fall CLS will look somewhat different than the ones in the past.

Cadets attending this year’s CLS will need to have attended the drill academy, unless they have attended previous CLS years’ classes.

CADET UniFORMSThe Laramie Squadron has a lot of extra uni-

forms. If you need one, please coordinate with your CAC Representative and Squadron Commander so that he/she/they can contact Cadet Christopher Gross, who is assisting the Laramie Squadron in finding good homes for uniforms.

ORiEnTATiOn FligHTSUnits need to pursue Orientation Flights for

their Cadets. I have tasked the CAC Representatives to help their unit commanders in any and every way possible to be sure Cadets get signed up and to “hound” (professionally of course) their unit commanders to be sure they schedule Orientation Flights. This is a monthly topic at our CAC confer-ence calls, and of course Colonel Skrabut watches the numbers as well. If you want to keep Cadets, one proven method of keeping them is to fly them!

I think that’s about it for now. Please feel free to drop me an e-mail at seminole89@bresnan.net if you have any questions or concerns, or post a blog out on the Cadet Web Site. I look forward to see-ing you at a Cadet Activity in the near future! And remember our web site: www.wyocadets.com. H

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I would like to tell you about my trip to the National Boards in Washington, D.C. While I was hoping it was a dream, you can’t make this up.

My trip was intended to be a roundabout journey to the national boards; I was planning to visit friends in New York, my mom in Pennsylvania , and the nat ional boards in Washington, D.C.

On Saturday morning, I woke in plenty of time to make flight from the great Laramie Airport. It was clear weather with a tem-perature of 2 degrees. My flight was scheduled to leave at 0650, and I was comfortably waiting a half an hour prior to the flight. Fifteen minutes prior to take-off, we were checked through secu-rity, but oddly enough, our plane was not in front of the termi-nal yet. As soon as we checked into security, ground handling towed the plane to the front of the terminal. Interesting, but no worries, my next flight leaves at 0900. I noticed that they plugged a power cart into the plane. As we were waiting, an attendant notified us that there was going to be a delay, it was cold out, and they had to warm up the plane. I am thinking to myself, it is 2 degrees, there is snow on the ground, and it is Wyoming; I am sure this was just as obvious the night before. Thirty minutes go by and we were updated that the power cart was draining power from the aircraft, and they would

You Can’t Make This UpBy Col. stan skrabut, Wing Commander

have to go to Cowboy Aviation to use their cart. So they drag our aircraft over to Cowboy Aviation. Fifteen minutes later, our aircraft was running engines and taxied to the taxiway to do a preflight. Great! I will still make my connecting flight. The pilots then bring the aircraft over to the terminal and shutdown the engines. No problem, this was expected to load passengers. However, the TSA attendant commented that both the pilot and co-pilot left the plane, this was not a good sign. Apparently, no one noticed that we busted our window, and the pilots had to redo the paperwork to fly in to Denver. Once everything was in order, we finally departed, and we are expected to arrive in Denver at 0845.

We arrived in Denver as expected at 0845 and pulled into the “A” terminal; unfortunately, my connecting flight was in the “B” terminal. In knew that I could make the “B” terminal in �0 minutes if I pushed it. At 2,000 less feet, the running was easier. I arrived at my connect-ing gate at 0855, only to see my connecting flight being pushed back… 5 minutes earlier than advertised. Here I am in Denver, standing in line, waiting for the check-in agent to get done with the person in front of me so that I could get instructions on my next steps. As soon as the woman in front of me was done, I stepped up to be assisted;

however, the agent started to walk away without a word. I asked her where she was going, and she told me she had to go to another counter. Since there were two others behind me, I asked her what we were sup-posed to do. She told us to go to customer service; obviously, because we’re certainly not get-ting any customer service where we were standing.

After spending an hour in customer service, I was noti-fied that I was now on standby to Chicago, and they directed me to the proper gate. I was lucky because they had a couple of open seats to Chicago and caught a flight out of Denver; however, I would never make my flight to Rochester on time. When I got to Chicago, I found out I was again on standby. But to add to the story, the only weather front in the nation was parked right over Chicago and there was a blizzard. Naturally, this was delaying all flights out. Regardless, I report to my gate, and I am pleased to note that I am number 5 on the standby list. I think it was terminal “B.” Well my plane is reported to be late by at least an hour. So I grab a bite to eat and work on some CAP stuff. Well, my flight comes and goes, and I never moved from my fifth place. The next plane to Rochester will leave from the “C” terminal. To get from one terminal to another, you have to go outside and board a bus. I get

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to my gate and I am still listed as number 5. Again, a plane comes and goes, and I stay at number 5. The next plane to Rochester will again leave from terminal “B.” I again bundle up and brave the blizzard to take a bus to my gate. When I get there, I ask about my chances to catch a flight, the agent said the flight was full, and my best chance out was to fly to Buffalo. Well, Buffalo was certainly closer than Chicago, so I grabbed a standby flight to Buffalo. The flight was to leave at 2200. The problem with Buffalo was that the car I had reserved was in Rochester. I arrived at Buffalo around mid-night and strolled over to the rental car place. I checked in to my rental car agent to see if I could change my rental to at least start in Buffalo. Unfortunately, the computers were down at my agent. However, the next agent over was willing to rent me a car. For $140, I could rent a one-way to Rochester. It was an expensive 60 miles. Before I left Buffalo, I dropped by the lug-gage agent to get an idea where my luggage was. I was confident that it was not in Buffalo, and I was right, it was still in Denver.

Well, the drive from Buffalo was rather uneventful other than the fact that it was snowing, and it was 0100. I arrived at the airport in Rochester so that I could turn in my car first thing in the morning. I checked into a familiar motel at 0200. I was exhausted and jumped right into bed, setting my clock for 0730 so that I could meet a friend

for breakfast. During my great sleep I awoke due to a loud con-versation. I thought it was next door and that it would die down. Unfortunately, the noise did not die down, so I got dressed to ask them to quiet down, I was surprised to see a group of 4 right out side my door having a party. After some friendly dis-cussion, they moved their party. This was 0330. I went back to bed only to be awakened by more loud conversation. Again, I dressed and opened my door to find the party has grown to 6 but it moved to two doors down. This was at 0530. At 0730, I promptly woke up to get my car and meet my friend.

The day went very well, tir-ing but well. I gave a martial arts seminar in the afternoon with some good friends. After training, I called the airlines to find out where my luggage was, all my uniforms were in my bag and the next day I was to leave. The airlines had no idea where my luggage was; however, I took a chance and drove an hour to Rochester to see if my lug-gage arrived. When I arrived at the airline, the luggage agents were just setting it aside and get-ting ready to call me. With my luggage in hand, and a car with XM, I was back in Geneva for a goodnight sleep.

Pr ior to leaving on my trip Rochester, I noticed that I would be returning through Washington. I called my travel company and they told me that it would be possible to drop my Rochester to Washington

connection once I arrived in Rochester. I figured I would just turn in my car in Washington, and fly out of there after the boards. Keep this in mind, it will come up again.

My mom is doing well; I thought you would be curious. I visited for a good day and a half and then drove down to Washington. When I arrived in Washington, I stopped by the airport to see if I could turn in my car and cancel my first leg of my flight. Unfortunately, infor-mation I received earlier was not correct. I am glad I checked with the travel agent prior to turning in the car.

The national board went well, and upon completion, I had to jump in my car for a 7 hour ride back to Rochester. I stopped in Corning for a sleep, and woke in time to turn in my car and catch my flight. I arrived at my gate an hour ahead of my flight, so I sat back and cranked up my com-puter. My flight was scheduled to leave at 1050. Fifteen minutes prior to boarding, we were noti-fied that our plane was delayed in Washington due to snow. Apparently, someone failed to put deicer on the wings. With snow on the wings, who would have thought deicer was needed. An hour and a half later, our plane arrived and we departed Rochester for Washington. Believe it or not, the only weather front in the nation was sitting over Washington. We arrived in Washington and pulled up to the gate. We waited for 30 minutes at the gate because

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someone had to find a set of steps so that we could get off the plane. Naturally, I missed my connecting flight; however, this time, a flight agent booked me on a later flight without standby, and I got extra leg room. This flight was on time, and I man-aged to board, but I was stuck between two guys who were twice the size of me. As you can imagine, they were pretty big. I sat for 4 hours with my arms crossed but the leg room was nice.

W e l l , w e a r r i v e d i n Denver, and I strolled to my gate. Everything seems to be going well, and I will soon be home. Fifteen minutes prior to the flight, we were informed that they needed to find some pilots for our plane and that there would be a delay. I could only laugh. Well, a half an hour later, they found some pilots and we were ready to board. I was glad to be getting home. We took off and we were on our way, yeah! However, half way home, the pilot came on the speaker and informed me that there was a problem with an oil gauge and we would have to divert to a maintenance facil-ity… in this case, the facility was in Cheyenne. I could not get a break. Fortunately, my wife was notified of the change in air-ports and left a message on my phone that she was going to pick me up. At 2230, I arrive safely in Laramie. Boy, do I love to fly. It is all about the adventure. I am planning my last trip to Washington to be via Amtrak.

In a Change of Command ceremony in the Laramie Valley Composite Squadron on August 16, 2008, 1st Lt. Vance Hoyt assumed command. 1st Lt. Hoyt replaced Maj. Randy Schein.

In attendance: Col. Stan Skrabut, Maj. Randy Schein, Capt. Gery Simpson, 1st Lt. Chris Gallus, 1st Lt. Vance Hoyt, C/MSgt. Christopher Gross, C/TSgt. Brock Hileman and C/Amn. Matthew Hayek.

When the regular unit meeting started, Col. Skrabut called SM Vance Hoyt forwarded and awarded the grade of first lieutenant to him. After that, Col. Skrabut called Maj. Schein forward and Maj. Schein relinquished his position of Commander. 1st Lt. Hoyt stepped forward and assumed the position of Commander. After the Change of Command, Maj. Schein said a few words and Col. Skrabut took questions from all the members in the Squadron. After Col. Skrabut and Maj. Schein left, 1st Lt. Hoyt met with the members and discussed the future of the Squadron.

1st Lt. Vance Hoyt is retired from the Air Force. He lives with his wife in Laramie. He plans to be a pilot in the Civil Air Patrol while being a Commander for the Squadron.

Laramie Valley Composite

Squadron Change of Command

C/msgt. Christopher grossPublic Affairs Officer

H

Make this upContinued . . .

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yEs!3 SAR’s in3 Weeks

By Lt. Col. Mike Carlson

It’s been a dry spell since I’ve written an article for the Wing’s Magazine. I was hoping someone would fill in for me, but, that didn’t happen. Sooooo, here are my experiences with 3 SAR’s that occurred during a 3 week period of the end of January and the first part of February, 2009.The 1st was on Monday, Jan 26th. Three snowmobilers, from Colorado, took the weekend to snowmobile in the Snowy Mtn. range of south central Wyoming. They did not return as scheduled on Saturday so the families called the Albany County Sheriff around 0920. The weather at the time was snowing and high winds.The Albany County SAR Teams were out early Sunday morning searching but to no avail by 2300 that night. By Monday morning the 3 had spent 2 nights out in the weather. The weather conditions were slowly improving in the area; by after-noon blue sky was peeking through but there was three feet of new snow.CAP was called out to help provide air assets to look for them. I was called by Col. Skrabut to be Incident Commander (IC) just shy of noon time. With the help of AFRCC (Air Force Rescue Coordina-tion Center) and WY JOC (Wyoming Joint Operations Center) basic informa-tion of approximately where to start plac-ing CAP assets came to me. From here, let me tell you, one person has a hard time putting this together. But, 95% of the CAP WY SAR’s are run this way. When we have SAR Ex’s we all gather together in one spot. The IC has staff members available to handle all the minute details. He/She can react personally one on one if needed. But, as I said above, the majority of the times one person ends up handing all the tasks.I was fortunate to have Major BJ Carlson, my Commander of the Cody Cadet Squadron and our family, at home with me. While I was trying to obtain information and look for aircrews she was able to take some basic position reports and spot the areas on

several different maps we use in CAP (WY Gazeteer, Grided Sectional maps, Google Earth, etc., etc.).I encounter a lot of problems. The biggest one was the newer re-quirements, set out by National CAP that we now must comply with the US standards of Emergency Services set out by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). They basically say that all agencies will comply with how they are to manage an incident. There are certain courses to take to understand the sys-tem. National CAP said, about April of 2008, that as of January 1st, 2009, for members to continue with their ES jobs they must take certain NIMS/ICS courses to continue. For most of us that means we must take on-line courses ICS-100 & ICS-700. Pilots and Staff also need ICS-200 and SAR Staff positions ICS-300 & ICS-800. For exact details check out CAPR 60-3 the letter by then Brigadier General Courter dated April 10th, 2008, from

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Regulations & Manuals, from your E-services. I guess a bunch of us did not take the 7 month opportunity to comply and so there were fewer qualified folks for me to select from.Weather and pilot sickness prevented the Cheyenne based aircraft from being used for the mission. With weather conditions in Casper and hard time finding crew members shot that option. Jackson Hole’s look at the weather said they were not able to launch. Same was true for the Big Horn Squadron. Sooooo what to do?With time clicking away, now that it’s later than 1400, not able to get aircraft into the area to search, and not wanting to have the snowmobilers stay out for a 3rd night, I call AFRCC and ask if helicopter assets out of FE Warren Air Force Base could be used with thermal imaging equipment. My reasoning is the onset of darkness and thermal imaging would have the best probability of detection. As AFRCC is working on that plausi-bility I get a call for the Albany County Dispatch office that the 3 had been found alive. They had walked to a nearby trail and were found by a group of snowmobilers from Iowa. They were not in need of medical attention. They had no food but were able to melt snow for water.GREAT!!! So I start calling folks of the “Call-down.” When I get to AFRCC they said the helicopter crews were a ½ hour from “wheels-up.”So, what started at about 12:00 noon and ended about 1715, did not end for me and a few others. It was my understanding that the last part of the Search Teams got off the mountains by 2300. That was about the same time the last piece of paper that I completed and sorted into the Mission Packet.The 2nd SAR was on Sunday, Feb 1st. Two young snowmobilers from Montana went out snowmobiling in the north end of the Big Horn Mountains. They did not return as scheduled on Saturday night. Their parents called into the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Department Sunday morning for help in locating their children. I’m a volunteer firefighter for the community of Burl-ington and have a Pager/Radio for call out to fires. It’s always on. About 0800 MST the pager goes off and the Sheriff’s Dis-patch office calls out North Big Horn SAR Team to search for the two. By 0815 I hear the IC, over the radio, ask the dispatcher to start the process of getting CAP “In the picture.” I want to jump in but must hold back. We can’t join in on a SAR until “Officially” asked. That means that the dispatch office must call Wyoming Homeland Security (HS). HS calls out to WY JOC & AFRCC. From AFRCC they give us that all important Mission number to start charging against. They call Col. Skrabut notify-ing of the commitment, and he in turn starts thinking of which IC might be available to handle it. Like the previous SAR, I am the only one in Wyoming that completed all the NIMS requirements for Incident Command Staff and was relegated the IC job by 1030 MST. The 2 hours of waiting weren’t wasted. Again I use BJ to help out. I call Big Horn Squadron’s Commander Rita Malone and ask for use of her squadron’s air assets. She puts me in contact with Capt. Orville Moore. I give out the details as I knew at the time and said to start prepping until we get the official word from AFRCC. With a Mission number in hand I call Capt. Moore and say it’s a “Go.” I send BJ up to the Cowley Airport with some special maps, radios, and act as Support Staff on scene for me.Communications is always important. The North Big Horn SAR Team was using FM transceivers operating off the County’s repeater on Medicine Wheel. CAP has its’ own frequencies along with air-band frequencies. The problem is they don’t work together. There is one that will work and that is WY’s Mutual Aid frequency. I coordinate the information to both sides and the call signs to be used. CAP Flight (CPF) 4935 has “wheels-up” at approximately 1215 with a crew consisting of mission pilot (MP), 1st Lt. T. Herman; mission observer (MO), Capt. O. Moore; and mission scanner (MS), 1st Lt. N. Mayes. They were tasked to fly a search pattern over a CAP Grid in the Medicine Wheel area. During the duration my input is minimal, as all IC’s are, when things are up and working. Instead I take on the role of Com-munications Officer and make sure that the crew reports in on the ¼ hours, before and after the hour. Then, by 1230, there were rumblings the 2 had been found, but not confirmed. By 1330 it was confirmed. I “Call-off” CPF 4935 and have them return to base (RTB). Listening to the SAR radio the 2 snowmobilers had gotten their one snowmobile stuck in the deep snow and ended up running it out of gas. They spent the night out hoping someone would come looking for them. A group of snowmobilers from Deer Lodge found the two and brought them to the staging area where their pick-up was parked. Under the insistence from the SAR IC the two were checked out by the on-scene EMT’s. By 1350 I hear a report requesting for ambulance service to the stag-ing area. It seems that one of the snowmobilers had stepped in a creek and had water seep into the boots resulting in some toes that were probably frost bitten.

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The aircrew arrived back safely and set out, with BJ, to make sure the aircraft paperwork was completed. I start on the paperwork trail and complete the Mission Packet about 2000 that evening.The 3rd SAR was on Sunday, Feb 15th. This involved a much older snowmobiler back down in the area of the Snowy Mountains. The individual, from Iowa had just come to the area for the first time on Saturday. He had gotten his machine stuck, extracted it with some help from others, and told them he was going to head out in a certain direction and be back later. He never showed up so the Carbon County Sheriff’s Department was contacted. The search started out on Sunday morn-

ing, the Sheriff’s Department went through channels and CAP was called on for air assets around 0730. Here again, Col. Strabut asked if I would handle the IC duties and volunteered his and Capt. John Burkett’s services so I wouldn’t have to be buried. Col. Skrabut set up a Skype Chat so one input could be seen by all and entered the sorties into WIMRS. Capt. Burkett took over get-ting a crew from Jackson while I worked on getting a crew out of Big Horn Squadron. The information of the area to search was not transmitted accurately. Later communications with Carbon County dispatch set us straight and I made sure the aircrews had the new info before “wheels-up.”The process seemed to proceed well and had “wheels-up” out of Jackson by 0930; CPF 4953 was crewed by MP – Capt. A. LaPointe, MO – 1st Lt. B. Jepsen, and MS – SM S. Foster. Their Ops plan was to fly toward the search area some 2 hrs away and either refuel in Rawlins or Saratoga. The Big Horn Squadron had Capt. Moore fly CPF 4935 from Powell to Cowley Airport and pick up other crew members. Their Ops plan had them flying to Casper, pick up other crewmembers and refuel as neces-sary before proceeding to their assigned search area. They had “wheels-up” by 0948. CPF 4935 was crewed by TMP- 1st Lt. N. Mayes, MO – Capt. O. Moore, and MS – 1st Lt. T. Herman.At 1002 I receive a call from the WY JOC saying the individual was found alive and well and was being taken to Saratoga Clinic for check-up. GREAT !!!! another successful search and people found alive and not hurt. But……. Ohhhh man…… I’ve got to get in touch and recall the aircrews that are in transit. Capt. Burkett works on contacting the Jackson crew through FSS while I am lucky enough that the Big Horn crew hadn’t gotten too far, just over Worland, where I transmitted the “call-off” and RTB orders.I later get a call, approximately 1115, from the Jackson crew at the Saratoga airfield refueling. They had figured out the mission had been called off and were planning to return to Jackson. On the way to Saratoga they had experienced 30 – 45 knot tailwinds. The 2 hours they had flown to Saratoga would most likely take 3 hours back to Jackson. They had “wheels-up” out of Saratoga by 1145 and I expected not to hear from them until at least 1445.In the meantime Capt. Moore had returned the plane to Powell and refueled it. He said he would like help in filling out the paperwork for his flights and asked for my assistance. I’m NEVER going to turn down an opportunity like this. Soooo, I spend about an hour on the phone with Capt. Moore helping work his way through adding data to WIMRS and completing CAPF104’s for the flights.Around 1400 I get a call from the Jackson crew that they were on the ground and refueling the plane. But…… wait a minute…… they’re in early. Instead of flying at higher altitudes they stayed lower and made it back in 2 hours. At least they had a good flight.With all crews back safe I take a looooong deep breath and let out the tension. Since the CAP plane crash in the Big Horn Moun-tains 1-1/2 years ago I act like an old mother hen and worry about the safety of my troops.The remaining time until 1830 is spent on that great paperwork shuffle. Making sure that WIMRS is updated, IMU has all the people involved imputed, ICS Forms 201, 211, etc, etc, etc…. are finished.To Major George Twitchell, who has been doing this for what seems forever, “How have you kept all your hair?”What I have learned (through the School of Hard Knocks) is the IC doesn’t have to be the Lone Ranger. Now that we have qualified folks having access to e-mails, computers, and phones the IC won’t be alone and can delegate things that need to be accomplished in a timely manner. Those of us, that are IC’s, just have to remember there are qualified CAP members out there biting-at-the-bit, willing to help in any way. We just have to step back, take that deeeeeep breath when the situation is coming down fast and furious, and say,

“i…. need…. HElP!” H

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Some of you may be wondering about the new requirements set forth by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) for all enti-ties involved with emergency services. All ES personnel in WY are required to complete at least the IS100a and IS700a courses which are on-line through the FEMA website at http://training.fema.gov/IS/NIMS.asp. Depending on your specialty level, CAP Emergency Services personnel may need additional courses such as IS200a, IS800b, ICS 300, and ICS 400.

All but the ICS 300 and 400 courses are avail-able on-line. There are study materials available as PowerPoint presentations or pdf files. The tests have between 20-25 multiple choice questions and the answers are usually easily accessible in the study materials. An easy way to proceed is to do a key word search in a pdf file to find the answers. These can be completed in comfort of one’s home or through group training at the squadron level. All-in-all it does not take a lot of time and once you have received this certification it does not expire (of course that does not mean that there might not be other requirements as we go along). Once you receive a certificate of completion that information can be entered into the Operations Qualifications section of e-services. Once it is approved by the unit commander and Wing Staff it will be regis-tered permanently on your training record.

The ICS 300 is required for all command and general staff positions (Operations, Planning, Finance/Administration, Logistics, Safety, Liaison, Incident Commander, Information Officer). This is where the WY Wing is hurting right now. We currently do not have many members qualified with ICS 300 and therefore at SAREX’s or SAR’s we can function with only a handful of people. That really taxes the current qualified members. Unfortunately, the number of ICS 300 courses available throughout the state is limited and many require a person to be available for 2-3 weekdays.

By major BJ Carlson

What is with these New FEMA Requirements?

Just before Easter I completed the ICS 300 course in Worland. Due to my spring break vaca-tion schedule I only needed to take one day off from work. Our class had 12 participants and I was the only one serving in a volunteer capacity. The rest of the participants were from law enforcement, fire departments and other agencies that may need to use the ICS (Incident Command System) guide-lines. It was quite an interesting group and one good thing about the class was that it was free.

The premise of the ICS 300 course was to discuss incidents that could expand and use the expertise of various organizations. The use of common terminology and standardized, defined staff positions allow various groups to function under one system. FEMA is trying to get everyone using the same system across the nation in order to streamline emergency services and provide a way for groups to work together to make efficient use of resources, people, equipment, and money.

The class was a mixture of PowerPoint pre-sentations and practical exercises. The nice part about the exercises was that they were always done as a team effort. Because each team member had a different background, understanding, and approach to handling things, it was good to get different viewpoints. It also let us know that we are not alone in this ICS business. It really cemented the notion that “two heads (or more) are better than one.” In a real ICS situation we are expecting people to work together so the class was purposely set up that way.

I would encourage WY Wing members to take all of the necessary courses on-line as soon as pos-sible. Then search out and sign up for the ICS300 course in order to help the Wing fulfill its emer-gency services mission. And, if you wish to be an IC (Incident Commander) or Agency Liaison you will need the ICS400 course as well, but that is a matter for another article. I have not taken that course and am not sure if I want to go that route quite yet.

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On March 10th promotions were held for Cadets at Wheatland Composite Squadron. Cadet Matt Court was promoted to C/MSgt., Cadet Evan Schmitzer was pro-moted to C/SSgt., Cadet Jamie Ames promoted to C/SrAmn., Cadet Tyler Stovall promoted to C/A1C, and our newest cadet, Shelby Sterling was sworn in as a C/AB.

Cadets from Wheatland Composite Squadron began the CAP Rocketry Program this April.

We have completed the REDSTONE chapter. This pro-gram is progressive in nature. Each of the

three sections named for a type of rocket; Redstone, Titan and Saturn. Each chapter begins with a reading and 10 question test. Each member get their OWL signed and then complete two hands on activities have a qualified senior sign off and get your commander to sign off and you received a nice certifi-cate. Once all three sections are completed you earn your model rocketry badge.

The “A F l igh t Above”

Lt. Col. Assunta mcDonald

Wheatland Composite Squadron News

after school program begins at Torrington Middle School. Middle School s tudents a t TMS wil l begin the brand new revamped after school program hosted by the mem-bers of Wheatland Composite Squadron. The group will meet each Monday after school at the Middle School from April 20 and will run until the last week of school in early June. The students will get a taste of the full CAP cadet program by participating in leadership, aerospace, physical training,

ba s i c emergency se rv i ce , safety, and drill and ceremo-nies. When they complete the program they can graduate into the regular squadron.

Drug Demand Reduction will be a big part of this program also. The companion book “A Flight Above” compiled by Lt. Col. McDonald, combines les-sons from the Cadet Leadership Book, Aerospace Dimensions, AEX and the brand new Let’s Go Flying book written by Dr. Ben Millspaugh for the NHQ CAP DDR/AE program.

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H HEADQUARTERS H Wyoming Wing, Civil Air Patrol

Bldg. 233, Warren AFB(307) 773-4519 • Fax (307) 773-4783

www.capwyhq.org • www.gocivilairpatrol.com

MAiling ADDRESS: Wyoming Wing, Civil Air PatrolP. O. Box 9507, Cheyenne, WY 82003-9507

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I recently attended my first SAREX. I had no idea what I was getting into and was a little hesitant. I wasn’t sure what I’d be asked to do or if I was up to whatever tasks I’d be assigned. I’m still in my first year in the Civil Air Patrol and somewhat behind the learning curve. I arrived at Wing Headquarters Friday, July 20th at 1710 (that’s 5:10 for you non-military and Air Force types). I was to meet Colonel Skrabut at 1730 and had a few duty chores to do before he arrived. As always seems to happen when one makes plans to meet another, the Colonel didn’t arrive until nearly 1800. I got far more work accomplished than I thought I would. “You’re late.” I pointed out (not a whine) when he finally arrived.

We loaded the Comm Van with our gear and with only two trips back into the building (one to print a Form 73 and the other to grab some Commander Commendation Certificates) we were finally underway. “When are we eating? I’m hungry and need a Coke.” I asked (also not a whine) as we pulled out of the Wing parking lot. So, our first stop was the base gas station for road snacks. A young airman, who used to be a cadet, recognized the Colonel’s uniform. We spent nearly 30 minutes trying to recruit him for either the wing or the Cheyenne squadron. We, of course, felt this was time well spent.

We jumped back in the van, ready to hit the road but all that happened when the Colonel turned the key was the starter made a clicking noise. I thought for sure our trip was not going to happen. After several tries the van finally started. It turns out the van prefers the key to be turned a very specific way before it will condescend to start. It was nearly 1900 before we were lumbering down the highway in what I’d decided to call the Ford-osaurus, aka Comm Van. I was shocked when we starting flying past everything

By 2nd Lt. Jeanne stone-Hunter

My First sArEX

Cadet 2nd lt. Zubik relaxing in his home for the SAREX.

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on the road. I didn’t think the van could go that fast and was pretty sure the Colonel wouldn’t speed in a CAP vehicle. “Why are we passing everyone? How fast are you going?” I asked (also not a whine). He checked the speedometer. It indicated we were traveling at 75 miles per hour. The GPS had a different story to tell. According to it we were flying along at 91 miles per hour. The Colonel immediately slowed to a reasonable, safe and legal speed. (Note – soon after the SAREX Captain Schein took the van in for repairs so in the future we shouldn’t have people unwittingly committing traffic violations.)

”Are we there yet”, I asked (also not a whine) somewhere north of the Torrington highway interchange..

As we neared Wheatland I noted (also not a whine) that I was hungry and asked, “Can we get something to eat?” Having spent long days at Wing during our recent inspection preparation and the actual inspection, I’d had the occasion to pick up lunch a couple of times and it was always Subways. “Do we have to eat Subway again? Can’t we eat somewhere else?” I asked (also not a whine). With our subs in hand we set out again for Casper.

“This seat is killing me. My back hurts.” I commented (also not a whine) to no one in particular. The Ford-osaurus must have the most uncomfortable seats. They’re hard, pushed too far forward and don’t really recline because of all the equipment in the back.

We finally arrived at the campsite at 2130. In Squadron Leadership School part of what is taught is ethics so I was quite surprised when we didn’t stop to pay the required park fees. I was equally shocked to see a “No Overnight Use” sign posted next to the fee schedule. Heedless of the warning, the Colonel blasted through the entry while assuring me that we had permission to stay for free and overnight. I reasoned that as a CAP officer, he wasn’t likely to lie to me, so I relaxed.

When we arrived Major Mike Carlson and Cadet Lt Zubik were already set up and relaxing. C/Lt Zubik had quite the tent set up (see photo).

A thunderstorm had been brewing for the last hour or longer. The wind, lightening and impending darkness had us hurrying to set up the Colonel’s tent and mine. Tent building was made more difficult because the Colonel and Major refused to allow flashlights and everything had to be done in the dark. God, however, seemed to not care about their “light discipline” rule as He kept lighting the entire sky in a spectacular fashion! My tent went up fairly easily, even in the dark. (How many CAP officers does it take to build a one-person pup tent? Three seniors and one cadet officer.) The Colonel, however, had a three-room mansion and he and Major Carlson were forced to endure the now very damp weather to complete construction of his palace. “It’s raining. I’m getting wet.” I noted (not whined) when the rain started. I, being the wily second lieutenant, had decided an inspection of potential leaks on the inside of my tent was necessary so I climbed in. Who says lieutenants are dumb?

Within a few minutes, a torrential downpour started and I began to fear my tent would float into the nearby Platte River to the Mississippi River, and eventually through the New Orleans, to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. I only hoped that one of the CAP wings downstream would have good enough weather and be well rehearsed through their own SAREXs to mount a SAR to find me before my untimely death at sea.

At 0530 the next morning (Saturday) the Colonel gently shouted us awake. It’s a great sign of my self-discipline that he wasn’t maimed. I imagine I’m like a particularly unpleasant bear being awakened too early from his hibernation. I tend to snarl, bare my teeth and growl when spoken to too early. The hour wasn’t a problem. I’m up by 5:30 every morning. The issue was that I don’t want to see, talk to or hear from anyone the first hour or so I’m awake (ask my hubby!). At least my stony silence and monosyllabic answers couldn’t be mistaken for whining. I wanted to permanently silence everyone in camp’s voices.

As we neared the airport, we pulled into a truck stop for breakfast. “Why can’t we eat in the restaurant like Captain Burkett? What do you mean I have to eat stale, prepackaged donuts for breakfast?” I asked (also not a whine). Donuts and Cokes in hand, we drove the final mile or so.

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We arrived at the Natrona County International Airport by 0700 and set up shop. Since this article isn’t really about the SAREX, I’m going to skip the details. Suffice to say, I had a great time, completed several tasks for Mission Information Officer qualification, learned a little about using WMIRS and spent that afternoon participating in a ground crew. Everyone was fantastic, incredibly knowledgeable, willing to help me learn and just fun to be with. I never once felt my lack of experience was a hindrance to the team or that I wasn’t welcome to participate in anything they were doing. If you’ve ever stayed home from a SAREX with those fears, trust me, you have no need to worry.

Saturday night we stopped at Safeway for dinner – more fine dining. Captain Todd joined the rest of us campers. We gathered around to eat dinner. The mosquitoes also gather for their dinner – US! Even with a lack of artificial light to draw them, these enterprising pests located us easily. “The bugs are eating me alive.” (also not a whine) I commented. I was given a can of bug spray which helped immediately upon appilication.

When I climbed into my tent, I noticed it had developed an odd odor. It might have been me.The Natrona County Sheriff Deputy, who woke us at three AM Sunday morning, didn’t buy the

Colonel’s story that we had permission to camp overnight for free. He didn’t seem to know that CAP officers have the utmost integrity and never lie. After grilling the Colonel for what seemed like an hour, he decided to let us remain and we were able to get another hour or two of sleep before the wake up ritual mentioned previously began anew.

Fresh from our four hours of sleep in tents with hard, lumpy floors, we arose again at 0530 to complete the second day of the SAREX. All went well again and by shortly after noon we were done.

I never once whined during the entire weekend but I think Colonel Skrabut disagreed. Actually, I know he disagrees because he accused me of it. I think he believes I achieved a high level of proficiency and

Capt. Patricia Clark and Maj. Mike Carlson checking qualifications in WMIRS.

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may feel I am at least qualified as a technician in the Whining Officer Specialty Track. Or maybe he’ll let me pass right up to the master level! Oh, wait; I haven’t completed ECI-13 yet. I guess it’s just technician for me for now.

Lesson I learned but didn’t cover in this article include:

• Don’t stay at a campground without a shower.

• Don’t wear your best dress uniform. That’s why they make BDUs.

• Wear comfortable shoes if you do wear a dress uniform. Wear comfortable boots if you’re in BDUs.

• Bring lots of extra batteries, both the disposable kind and the rechargeable ones the radios use.

• GPS and ELTs are cool toys.• Don’t let a spinning prop hit you in the

head (didn’t have to experience that one to learn it, but thought I’d throw it in!)

Members learn about using gPS for ground team searches.

H

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With the weather predicting a fierce spring storm, the organizers of the first SAREX of the season (April 17-19) were wondering

whether it would be a go. By Thursday night it was decided that it would indeed be a GO!, at least for the upper and western portions of the state. Unfortunately, the storm brought a heavy blanket of snow from Casper to Cheyenne and did not allow most CAP members from that region to participate.

With members from Jackson, Cody, Big Horn, Wheatland, and Sheridan along with the Wing Commander (who managed to get out of Laramie before the storm hit), we began the SAREX at 0745 on Saturday. It was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine and warm temps. Following the safety and com-munications briefings, Senior Member Mike Carlson, who was serving as Incident Commander, was for-

mally promoted from Major to Lt. Col. by Wing Commander Stan Skrabut. Congratulations!

Air and ground sorties were distributed and soon crews were busy doing the necessary paperwork and briefings to work their mis-sions. Air crews were sent to take photos and the ground team was tasked to work with one aircraft to search for an overdue plane . With nothing to go on but a flight path, both the plane and van proceeded east to Greybull.

Thank heavens for SAREX’s to work the

kinks out. Effective communications were a concern for the first portion of the day. Once that was cleared up we were tasked to search in a certain grid. The problem then was a fluctuating signal that would be strong one moment and weak the next. It was frustrating, but after about 3 hours of flight the plane crew finally spotted the “debris” and marked the spot for the ground team by flying in a tight circle around the area. The ground team drove as far as possible and then hiked for 45 minutes to the sight. There was a faint signal still emanating from the beacon and we were able to walk

maj. BJ Carlson

First SAREX(of the season)

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right to it so it was a success-ful find. The cadet crew did a good job of dealing with the frustrations during the day but promptly fell asleep on the way back to Cody. A well-earned supper was the next order of business.

Sunday began with even nicer weather than Saturday a n d m o r e s o r t i e s w e r e assigned. Three CAP mem-bers from Casper were able to join the rest of the crew and soon everyone was busy with their tasks.

Lt. Col. Carlson had a missing person scenario for the ground team, which included doing an interview of the person’s wife (aptly played by Lt. Col. Carlson, beard and all). Cadet trainees were prompted to ask additional questions as Major BJ Carlson conducted the interview of Mrs. I. M. Strawman.

Following an intensive ques-tioning period the team set out to a recreational area just north of Cody and were successful in finding I. M. Strawman tucked away in the rocks. The poor head-less victim was litter carried back to the van and ceremoniously thrown back into the van and transported to mission base.

All in all it was a successful SAREX, with all the crews work-ing through various missions. Everyone arrived safely back at their home base and the IC was able to close out the training.

More SAREX’s are planned for the months of May, June (and possibly July), all leading up to an Air Force evaluated SAREX at the end of August. Come and join the rest of the crowd and participate in important training opportunities. This is the place to make mistakes and learn from them. No one is per-

fect and everyone is able to learn new skills or improve old ones. So come and hone those skills!!

Below are some com-ments from some of the con-tingent from Sheridan:

“I thought this SAREX was an absolutely wonder-ful experience to have as

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a cadet. I thought the best part of the whole entire trip was learning and trying the positions of a Ground Team member, such as work-ing with DF equipment, or operating the vehicle radios. But unfortunately I did have one problem with the SAREX, and that was the “Fire Watches.” Being woken up at 0115 in the morning after a few hours

of sleep is not an enjoyable thing. But even after all that, it was still fun to find Mr. Straw- Man in the morning. I am now looking forward to the next SAREX, and the rest of my experiences as a Civil Air Patrol Cadet!!” - C/Amn. Gheryn Height

“I thought this weekend was good and was a very good learning exercise for the other Cadets and somewhat for me. Everyone got along and we had some fun. I think the ground mission and air missions went off without a hitch but we could have done

some things a little bet-ter and so on. Finally, we just had a fun time at this SAREX.” - C/CMSgt. Chris Hodges

“I felt l ike I was going to visit God when C a p t a i n M o o r e d i d a 30 degree left bank turn and all of the blood went to my feet. Been there done that - once is enough. Thank you Captain Moore.” - 1st Lt. Ju’than H