Civil Air Patrol Units Conduct Joint Training to Ready Skills

2nd Lt. Raymond Cope demonstrates use of direction-finding equipment to Cadet Airman First Class Ethan Huber.
(Source: 2nd Lt. Dustin Chandler, Oklahoma Wing)

by Capt. Brandon Lunsford, CAP

Jenks, Okla (September 17, 2021) – Two Tulsa area squadrons of the Oklahoma Wing Civil Air Patrol partnered together to conduct a multi-unit search and rescue training on Sept. 11 with ground teams and aircraft. Fourteen Jenks-based Riverside Composite Squadron senior officers and cadets joined five senior officers from Tulsa-based Council Oak Senior Squadron in the training exercise, performing a variety of tasks.

“We train so we can respond,” stated 1st Lt Yolanda Daves, Riverside’s squadron commander. “We do this so we can create the skills necessary to save lives in a moment’s notice.”

(L-R) Capt. David Horn and 1st Lt. Kyle Guinn conducting preflight checks in Civil Air Patrol aircraft CAP3532 prior to take-off.
(Source: 1st Lt. Tamara Shannon, Oklahoma Wing)

The exercise scenario involved a localized response to an active emergency locator transmitter, a radio beacon carried aboard aircraft. In the scenario, search teams were informed the active ELT signal was reported by two aircraft, one out of Tulsa International Airport, and one out of Claremore Regional Airport. The location of the scenario downed aircraft was unknown.

2nd Lt. Raymond Cope observes as Cadet Airman First Class Ethan Huber and Cadet Airman Brody Million demonstrate use of direction-finding equipment.
(Source: 2nd Lt. Dustin Chandler, Oklahoma Wing)

Two ground teams were activated from Riverside, including 10 cadets. One aircrew was activated from Council Oak, piloted by Capt. David Horn, to cover the terrain. Aircrew members quickly ascertained an area northwest of Pryor as a likely crash site and guided ground team members into the search area.

Flight path CAP aircraft CAP3532 took to conduct the training mission search.
(Source: Master Sgt. Faun Daves, Oklahoma Wing)

“The professionalism and attention to detail 12 to 19-year-old cadets display in scenarios is a direct indicator of how they will react in real-world situations,” Horn stated. “With proper emergency services training we can prepare them to respond to events they cannot even imagine right now.”

The weekend operations started for this group at 6:30 a.m., which meant the adults and youth volunteers were up two hours earlier preparing for the day.

Cadet 2nd Lt. Matthew Huber follows other cadets during a ground search for an active ELT.
(Source: Master Sgt. Faun Daves, Oklahoma Wing)

"My favorite part of emergency services training is the adrenaline rush that comes when you are getting close to finding the ELT,” Cadet 1st Lt. Melia Chandler said. “It can be stressful sometimes, but when you are communicating with the plane in the air, it feels very rewarding when you find the ELT successfully. You have to move quickly and be on top of your game, but that’s all part of the fun."

Ground team members as seen from the air conducting a line search for the active ELT training device.
(Source: 1st Lt. Tamara Shannon, Oklahoma Wing)

The origins of the Civil Air Patrol story began in 1936, when Gill Robb Wilson, World War I aviator and New Jersey director of aeronautics, returned from Germany convinced of impending war. Wilson envisioned mobilizing America’s civilian aviators for national defense. The proposal for a Civil Air Patrol was approved by Commerce, Navy, and War departments and CAP national headquarters opened its doors Dec. 1. In January 1942, U-boats started attacking the shipping lanes along our east coast. By June, enemy attacks destroyed nearly 400 merchant vessels and oil tankers off the U.S. Atlantic coastline, often within sight of our shores. Civil Air Patrol was called into action by a short-handed military. With privately owned airplanes armed with light bombs, civilian volunteers became the eyes of the home skies, flying a total of 244,600 hours patrolling and safeguarding America's coastline, aiding the safe movement of war material to the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific. Today’s Civil Air Patrol may look different, but its core remains the same. It continues to support America’s communities with emergency response, diverse aviation and ground services, youth development and promotion of air, space and cyber power.

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About Civil Air Patrol
Now celebrating its 80th year, Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force and as such is a member of its Total Force. In its auxiliary role, CAP operates a fleet of 560 single-engine Cessna aircraft and more than 2,000 small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) and performs about 90% of all search and rescue operations within the contiguous United States as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Often using innovative cellphone forensics and radar analysis software, CAP was credited by the AFRCC with saving 130 lives during the past fiscal year. CAP’s 60,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. As a nonprofit organization, CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education using national academic standards-based STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education. Members also serve as mentors to 24,000 young people participating in CAP’s Cadet Programs.

Visit www.CAP.News or www.GoCivilAirPatrol.com for more information.