MDWG, WVWG finds crashed aircraft

From the MDWG Website:

2/25/2008–Cumberland, MD–Civil Air Patrol located the missing A36 Bonanza aircraft at approximately 5:45 p.m. on February 22 three miles northeast of the Cumberland Regional Airport. CAP members from Maryland Wing and West Virginia Wing conducted the search along with the Maryland State Police. There were no survivors.

Bravo Zulu!

I got a call last Friday morning from my Squadron CC asking if I could go to this, but had to turn it down based on weather and classes. I was happy to hear the wreckage was found quickly, by a ground team no less. My blogger-in-arms Midway Six should be delighted to hear that. It furthers the fact that Ground Teams are as vital to SAR as us airdales. It's just too bad this couldn't be a "save".

Happy Birthday, George!

Perhaps because I attend Washington College, or that I am a history dork, I feel it appropriate to honor America's first President today on his 276th Birthday. We remember the wisdom that he possessed, guiding this great nation through it's formative years.

Of all the Founding Fathers, He is the only one everyone trusted. Twice, he was put in positions of authority, and twice did he accept. The first was when he was made Commander in Chief during the Revolution; the other as Presiding Officer of the Constitutional Convention. But it was his refusal of office that made him great. At the end of the war, the Army wanted to coup and make Washington the new King of America. He refused, and resigned his commission. It was he who limited himself to two-terms as President, although he could have been President for Life if he wanted. This wisdom helped guide the Country into an era of relative stability, one that would last until the Civil War in 1861.

In the midst of a Presidential Primary, we should remember that the office of the President was created for Washington himself. What we as Americans define as a qualities indicative of the Presidency are, in fact, directly traced to Washington and his conduct in the office.

Therefore, in conclusion, I think we can all proudly say "Happy Birthday, George Washington".

Professional Development Academy

From the Official Maryland Wing Website:

2/13/2008–Reisterstown, Md.–Maryland Wing Civil Air Patrol officers from across the state traveled to Camp Fretterd to experience an intensive weekend of administrative and leadership training. The Professional Development Academy, dubbed PRODEV, brought together three basic schools in CAP management and leadership at the same time. These elements are: Squadron Leadership School (SLS), Corporate Learning Course (CLC), and Unit Commander’s Course (UCC).

I was unable to attend that course due to other commitments, however after talking with my Squadron Commander (who did have the opportunity to attend). He enjoyed it, and thought that it was a great opportunity. I noticed a slightly more confident air to him last week, as well as another member of my unit who attended. As a result, I think it's worth branding this as a success. Not only was the National Guard involved and supportive, but it drastically increased the expertise of the wing as a whole. This solution worked for us this one time. I would be excited to see what more would do.

Read the whole article here.

One Year Later....

Welcome to the Air Patrolman. First, a little about me: I am a Technical Flight Officer in the Civil Air Patrol, holding ratings as a Mission Observer, currently training in GTM-3 and as an EMT. I currently attend Washington College in Chestertown, MD, majoring in Political Science. Although Politics is a large part of my life, mostly through default, I do not intend for this blog to become political in any way. This blog is to present opinions on the Civil Air Patrol, Emergency Services/Management and other 'things' related to those two.

And so, let the madness begin...

That was one year ago today, and you'll notice that the name of the blog was "Air Patrolman". Within a few hours of posting, I came up with the much better title "What's a Flight Officer".

But still, a year later...

In the past year, we've seen a National Commander step down, more recognition from congress in the form of a now-defunct bill and global recognition in the Steve Fossett Search. This blog has been mentioned on CAPBlog not once, but twice. Hopefully there will be many more years of this blog, and excitement that we have seen since this blog launched.

Thanks for having me so far.

Lunar Eclipse

Ladies and Gents, it's that time of decade again. There will be a Lunar Eclipse on Feb. 20th. For me, this is fortunate, as that is my squadron's Aerospace Education night. Mark your calendars, this is something to see, and teach about too.

Harrison Ford: Pilot

Firstly, Happy New Year! First post of 2008.

And now, onto our regular...er....semi-regularly scheduled programming.

Ever since I was 5 and saw Star Wars for the first time I always thought Harrison Ford was the man. Of course, it's been many years since then, and the actor has had many flops in the past few years. I was on youtube last night, and I found this video of him talking about his flight experience. I know it echos my own feelings towards flight, and I imagine that it does for many others.



It should be noted that the actor offers his services as a helicopter pilot to Teton County Search and Rescue; one of them is chronicled on wikipedia. Additionally, Ford is the chairman of EAA's Young Eagles.


Another Note: I have not had a chance yet to upload the picture from my last post. My scanner has been broken since late-november. I will post it when I have an opportunity.

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.)