The 66th....er....65th Anniversary book.

You guys remember that 65th anniversary book that was offered 2 years ago? How many of you actually bought one? I'll raise my hand for that one. Well, after 2 years of waiting for the 65th Anniversary book to come out, I finally got my copy. It came in the mail a couple days ago; and I've been reading it, re-reading it and picking it apart since then.

Firstly, this was a great attempt; and the results are nothing to dismiss either. It has a general history of the CAP, plus photos and information on all of CAP's doings from 1941 to time of publication. I especially liked the back where it had images of all the aircraft that we have used, the uniforms we have worn (although I thought that section would be much longer) and a brief overview of how the organization works. It's an excellent "layman's guide to the Civil Air Patrol" if there ever was one.

But it does seem a bit too short. One would think that within 65 years of service there would be a lot more information and antic dotes. The Coastal Patrol section is nearly 1/2 the book. Don't get me wrong, it's important, but it's been covered so much that I want more about the post-war period.

All in all, I would say that it is an excellent addition to a squadron library; and also for those obsessed with CAP (such as myself). It could easily be put out on tables at recruiting events. Having people flip through it to see the grand history of CAP and some great images from it too would be immensely helpful. If you have the money, I say buy it!

One other thing...Turn to pg 78, look down at the bottom picture and tell me you're not jealous.
(I'll scan and post as soon as I can.)

These Things We Do...

As has become a bit of a recurring theme around here, another CAPTalk thread is the genesis of this post. What do we, the volunteer membership get out of Civil Air Patrol? I responded in the thread the Leadership experience. However, these are just the quantitative things that we see on a regular basis.

In addition to my CAP responsibilities, I am a full time college student; and work as a Resident Assistant in the Freshman dorm. This past weekend, a colleague and friend of mine passed away in his sleep. The cause of death is still unknown; as the family has not released that information, as is their right. I was alerted to this crisis when a friend of mine called me and asked why an ambulance was outside my building. The resident hall I live in is usually bustling with activity; something that one learns to tune out. I had no idea that EMTs were in my building, and the hall right across from mine. I hung up the phone and went into the main lobby to find a public safety officer. I ask what's going on and that's when I got the above news. Naturally, I jumped into response mode. The officer gave me the job of crowd control; and I did it. I asked what I should say, and was told. That was the rest of my day until we gathered the residents of my building to announce the news.

This is not a self-aggrandizing post. It is meant to show that some things we get from our Civil Air Patrol experience is not quantitative; or something that is easy to count. Some of the best things that come from our experiences here is what happened to me. I can say that CAP gave me strength, calmness under pressure, and the ability to deal with a crisis effectively and professionally. With emergencies my specialty, I knew how to react, what to say and what not to when many of my colleagues were uncomfortable an unsure about the above. One never knows what their CAP service has given them until events like the above happen. I feel that it is important to remember this every time you re-up for another year.

I also ask that you keep this family in your thoughts, and if you are the praying type, your prayers as well.

Commissioning

Personal Feelings aside, a recent CAPTalk thread has opened up debate on weather or not CAP officers are/should be commissioned. Usually, the President or Governor of a state will commission officers. As cited in the thread, the idea of the President commissioning all officers in the U.S. Armed Forces is rather new, and comes out of World War II. However, the President does not 'commission' CAP officers. Rather, they are appointed by the Secretary of the Air Force. Could CAP better accomplish it's missions if the officers were in fact commissioned by the President or other authority?

Firstly, we should acknowledge that a commission would imply authority. Right now, the enisted and subordinate grades are not required to render salute to a CAP officer (although most do); however CAP officers are required to do so to superior grades. Would not a commission warrant a salute from subordinates? I believe that it would require them to regardless of branch. Secondly, it raises the issue of squadrons commanded by a 1st Lieutenant, with majors and Lt. Colonels in them. Although this could turn into a minor point, a commission would imply that the highest ranking officer assume command. Additionally, a commission might place CAP under the auspices of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

However, with CAP assuming more missions alongside the Air Force and other military branches, the idea of a commission may be worth considering. My wing is an equal player in air operations for our state: sitting alongside and equal to the Air National Guard, and Army National Guard Aviation units. If Maj. Gen. Tuxill is to be believed (and I have no reason to think he is lying), then my wing at least will have a greater role to play in Maryland's homeland security mission. So then, wouldn't a commission be a beneficial thing for members who work side-by-side with the Real Military?

I believe the answer to this question to be yes, if only because it would allow us to better integrate us into the real forces. With our expanding mission here in Maryland, we are becoming highly visible in the greater military community. True, many know who we are now, but many others do not. It will become hard to justify men and women running around with bars who are not commissioned. It's not fair to the officers who had to earn their bars.

I should be clear about this point, however. I do not think that a simple commissioning is fair either without a major overhaul of the requirements and training to be an officer. (See "Expertise, Responsibility, Corporatess") A major overhaul of our PD system at the initial levels would be needed before any sort of commissioning could be considered. In this post I will not venture to offer a solution to this problem, as it is not the point of this article.

Integration into the real military is a very real thing right now. What is to be said of us; members who call themselves officers but have no commission? Even state guard officers have a commission: the governor of their state is the promoting authority in this case. Why, then, should the Civil Air Patrol limit itself to simple appointments? I believe that a commission, with proper qualifications to attain one, is an integral part of CAP moving forward. Perhaps a compromise could be considered: the governors of the states that the wings serve could commission the CAP officers within that state. It would be a reversion to the Civil War model of regiments like the 54th Massachusett's or the 23rd New Jersey. However, the solution to modern problems can often be found in the past.

One More Time for Aerial Firefighting: CAP Activated

I was pleased to log onto CAPBlog today and see that CAWG has been activated to fly reconnaissance flights in support of the wildfires. This is exactly in the way that we should be involved (at least in our present condition).

Yesterday, I was watching the news and heard that these fires were "Mostly Contained", which for me means that it's time for our boots and wings to mobilize. Now is the time for our presence to be known, we can certainly be of help now.

The New C.A.P; "One Heck of a Resource"

For my fiftieth post, I decided to report on the Maryland Wing Conference, which was today. I attended at the request of my squadron commander, as he could not attend and wanted a representative of the squadron there. I did something similar last year, where I filled in for him at a Commander's Call. This year, I knew that it would require a hotel stay, and the commander put me up for the night.

Needless to say, it was my first wing conference, and I was incredibly excited to attend. I was the only representative from my squadron, which made for some interesting moments. Breakfast was promptly at 8:00, and it was not a good one either. Some fruit (which for all intents and purposes was actually pretty good), and some rather delicious coffee. Maybe it's just me, but I thought that cereals and eggs were part of buffet breakfasts. After letting us mingle for about an hour, the Vice Wing Commander got up and introduced everyone, including the Wing Commander; Colonel Weiss. He gave a report on the state of the wing. A no-nonsense report card about the training goals met and not met the past year was presented. I am happy to say that MDWG met about 60% of our goals, and exceeded quite a few of those. Not a great report, but since it was the first year they used it, I would say things went well enough. There was a presentation by a representative from National, which was pretty much stuff that those of us on the great web already knew. There was also a safety lecture on new policies that are going to be enacted.

Then we split up into individual lectures. I attended one given by the IG; on how to make your squadron ready for inspections, and another on Ground Operations and Emergency Services. I was pleased to hear the group Ground Operations Officer comment on the state of medical training in CAP, and encouraging all of us to seek higher training from an approved class. We then broke for lunch, a number of awards were handed out, and then we got back to training sessions. I went to one on Flight Operations, which was rather enlightening and I think that lecture alone will be most beneficial in the times to come. Finally, I went to one on Logistics. This was went right over my head with all the forms that need to be filled out, and so I must admit that I don't think it'll be of much benefit in the long run.

We broke that night to get ready for the Military Ball. I went back and grabbed my service coat and tie. I was ready ahead of time, and arrived a few minutes early. Since I was representing the Squadron Commander, I was invited to the Commander's reception. It was nice (free soda, wine and beer for those old enough to drink it - I had a beer, and yes I'm 21) and gave me the chance to mingle with some of my wing's big-wigs. In attendance too were the Maryland Adjutant General, the Adjutant General for the Army, the Adjutant General for Air, and a Commanding Officer of one of Maryland's Air National Guard Squadrons. Although I didn't get to talk with them one on one, they were very nice and cordial.

About two hours later, as dinner was being served to the whole congregation, Colonel Weiss stepped up and made a few remarks. For all intents and purposes, it was the same as the State of the Wing speech from earlier in the day; but more dramatic and easier to listen to. He introduced Colonel Walling, the Region Commander. She oulined her new C.A.P. initiative: Connected, Available, Professional. In short, she said that the Middle East Region was connected with those in charge, Available to go on missions, and perform them in a Professional way. She ended with mild applause and everyone stood in respect.

Then came the best part of the night. The distinguished guest, Major General Bruce Tuxill, Maryland Adjutant General rose to give his speech. "A General is not a good General" he said "If he, or she, does not use every available resource- and Civil Air Patrol is one heck of a resource". When he uttered those words, the entire room broke out into thunderous applause. Everyone stood up, and there were even a few whistles. You know, with all the crap that has been going on in CAP recently, it was good to hear an Air Force General talk that way about the CAP. He went on to say that CAP had been given an equal seat in Maryland's Emergency Services and Military table. Specifically, we're now an equal player in the state's Joint Air Taskforce. Furthermore, when they look at the missions they are asked to perform, more often than not "Civil Air Patrol is right for the mission". In closing, he finished by saying that he would continue to use the CAP whenever he could. He finished with the biggest applause of the night.

Overall, I must say that it was a great time. I learned a lot, and for every lecture time I was forced to choose between at least 2 classes to attend. The only regret is that I did not get to present my squadron's guidon to the Commander during the ceremony; they handed it off to another cadet and senior. However, hearing the above comments by General Tuxill were certainly worth it.

Civil Air Patrol and Firefighting; Revisited

Back in July, I blogged about the use of Civil Air Patrol assets and forest fires. With the recent inferno that has become southern California, the topic has once again been revisited by Midway Six. I have since changed my stance on this topic, Although I believe CAP can become involved in forest fires, it cannot be until the fire is out, and the recovery process begins.

Theoretically, the CAP does have assets that could be of use. Aircraft are used as ‘spotters’, to guide in the air attack planes, and telling them when to drop their payloads. CAP aircraft could easily be used in that kind of support role carrying local forestry officials and having them direct the tankers. This is a useless argument, however. Most (if not all) states either own or contract out aircraft to do just that.

Yet, I believe that CAP would be most useful through are our SDIS and ARCHER capabilities. CAP could most effectively be utilized in post-incident surveillance of the damage to aide the resulting recovery efforts. The Ground Teams could easily be used to help persons gather what belongings are left and begin to pick up their lives. They could also be of use helping to locate the remains of the missing. I would be wary about deploying a CAP Ground Team if the blaze is still going on. I saw a National Geographic documentary recently on smoke jumpers. In it, they described how a fire could still spring up in a burnt-out area even well after the main fire passed through the area. Without supplemental training, I don't think this is a place for our Ground Teams.

One other thing to consider: forest fire fighting is a huge business in Southern California. There is really no way a non-profit organization with cheap aircraft is going to be used in this type of service there. The contractors would never allow it.

I know that I share Midway Six’s feelings of “throw me in the game, coach!”, but the reality is that we can’t help at this point. When all is said and done, CAP can help. But it can’t be done until the initial response process is completed. CAP should be the Federal aerial firefighting agency, but that was not the course we took back in 1948. However, CAP could become a great post-incident resource to those agencies that do respond. If we want to go in that direction, then it should be pursued with all due vigilance.

CAP Jr.

From Flying Minutemen, comes an interesting tale. CAP is expanding it's cadet program to include younger persons below the age of 12. I'm not going to regurgitate what's already stated there, but I will voice my own personal opinion on the matter. Firstly, we should take away a point or two:

• It is a program offered at elementary schools, and not as a separate entity within squadrons. In this way, it's similar to the JROTC program, only at a lower level of education.
• It maintains CAP's mission of Character development, Aerospace Education and Physical Fitness training, but moves it from an extra-curricular activity to an intra-curricular one.
• It apparently is not military styled
  

I think it's a good idea. Although it may not seem it, I am a Cadet Programs guy, and many a time have I been forced to tell a young kid he or she couldn't join because of their age. As the Flying Minuteman said, it is another level in which our third and forgotten mission is creeping back. One thing I must disagree with, however, is the philosophy of aiming it towards more agrarian segments of the United States. Rather, I see potential in this program within inner-cities to get children early before they turn to a life of gangs. The CAP cadet program itself is a good method of doing so; this can serve as a supplement.

One other thing: who the hell is "Cappy" and when did he get here?