Florida Wing Ground Team Folks

[Stonewall]

I have been asked to get my squadron's members involved with and qualified ground team.  This sounds like it'll be right up my alley as I am a cadet programs guy but don't want to get involved solely with the cadets right now.  I need something I can do at my own pace with a few scheduled events.

I've been a GTM/GTL/GOD GBD for most of my 21 year CAP career, but most of that was as a senior member in National Capital Wing where I have come to learn we did things a lot differently.  It was a lot easier to get things done in a smaller wing with an enormous amount of military bases and state/federal parks.  We never had to drive more than an hour to get to one of 20 awesome training areas.

Anyhoo, I'm looking for some pointers, advice, suggestions or anything you've tried and just couldn't seem to get to work in FLWG ground operations. 

Are there any "must have" items, paperwork or gear?

Is it pointless to train people as traditional ground team members?  Sticking with UDF teams?

Any state laws or guidelines I should become familiar with?  MOUs?

Paperwork trail.  Is a it a blackhole?

Thanks.

[JoeTomasone]

Bug spray.   Buckets of it.

There are a number of parks that make excellent training areas.  Really the only things you need to be regionally concerned with are the critters you might encounter (snakes, gators, every type of mosquito known to mankind), everything associated with the sun (sunburn, dehydration, heat exhaustion), and much less of an emphasis on cold weather survival -- although it can get down below freezing (mainly overnight) in the winter for the northern half of the State. 

I'd say that of the above, the thing I am most concerned with is dehydration.   I carry a Camelback (24h gear) and have 2 canteens in my 72 hr gear.   The BDUs are pretty good sun protection themselves.

There's need for both UDF and GTs -- there are a number of forests and other places that are off the beaten path -- the Evergaldes, for example -- that a UDF team is inadequate for and in which SAR missions could occur.   Florida does get a lot of UDF missions, however.

No special laws or guidelines come to mind, nor MOUs.   Cordial working relationship with the State.

Paperwork is generally quick at Wing.   

Can't think of anything else to add -- probably because my lunch is ready. 

[sarmed1]

UK...when I was there things seemed very geo specific...I was out in the panhandle which seemed to be regarded as part of Alabama or at least a land seperate from the rest of the Wing.....so in essence we did pretty much our own thing.

We were pretty much the only people in our group doing GTM type work so no one had much to say....from what I remeber there are a few areas that hit heavy into GT ops...my old Sqaudron at Eglin, the guys around Tallahasse and the some of the squadrons down south....Glades area....

Disaster operations are a big part of FLWG ES concerns... so I would try to gear towards that operating environment as the back drop for most of your ops...
Self Suffecient for 72 hours
Survival skills as it relates to no power, contaminated water, water safety and non phone comms are really important.

Once you are squared on that I would look into heading down the path of Florida RECON ops.  Gene here on the board can help you with that one, or I can forward you the contact info for one of our Group 1 guys who is heavy into the program (I still have to old training program on disk....dont know if its been upfdated or not)

mk

[Stonewall]

Thanks, Joe and Mark.

I am very familiar with the bugs in FL and I understand the state bird is the Mosquito.  I grew up as a cadet in FLWG and spent a lot of time in the woods.

Is there a wing activity request form that needs to be filled out for conducting a squadron level ES activity?

My squadron has some sort of alerting system but I don't know exactly how that system works.  It looks to be an Air Crew and UDF only alert roster.  My squadron gets lots of missions, mostly non-distress ELTs being in a huge Navy town with two bases plus JAX and CRG, not to mention on the potential EPIRBs being on the coast.

Do groups ever hold training at that level?

[BigMojo]

Down in Group VI we organized a Ground Team (all GTM2 and above) at the group level as it was easier to put together an experienced team that way. We train once a month together, and they are the first call for REDCAPs. UDF is a different animal and we have a call list based on geography.

There's not really any guidance out there, however I think something is in the works at wing. We train in the everglades a lot, but that's just us, in our AOR, its either urban or swamp.

[JoeTomasone]

in our AOR, its either urban or swamp.

And I can attest that they have the world's WORST mosquitos down there.   I attended an FTX with them some months ago and I may STILL have some of the bug bites!   I literally received around 50 bug bites while in my tent and fully dressed in BDUs.   They got me THROUGH my BDUs -- and I was bathing in Deep Woods Off (and anything else I thought might work). 

I'm glad to have gotten out of there alive.  <shudder>   

[JAFO78]

While I have been out of the loop as far as GTM for a long time, I do remember our squadron having a quick response team that the CDR would call on short notice. Up to 5 or 6 members.

They could leave Work / School in short time, then if it was a missing person or what ever was needed we would go down a list of who was qualified as who was not. Who could be gone longer, etc.

[DNall]

I have been asked to get my squadron's members involved with and qualified ground team.  This sounds like it'll be right up my alley as I am a cadet programs guy but don't want to get involved solely with the cadets right now.  I need something I can do at my own pace with a few scheduled events.

That sounds exactly like me. 

Disaster operations are a big part of FLWG ES concerns... so I would try to gear towards that operating environment as the back drop for most of your ops...
Self Suffecient for 72 hours
Survival skills as it relates to no power, contaminated water, water safety and non phone comms are really important.

I'm not in FL obviously, but I would echo that. Even with basic UDF (or entry level aircrew, comm, IC staff, etc) it's good to train against the backdrop of that scenario. Being able to realistically operate w/o cell phones is a big problem in a lot of areas now. Able to sustain w/ going home to your bed or a hotel, or having power, etc is not something most CAP members are used to, or able to do for very long. Actually being able to do the 72hr field sustain is important. That usually means a tent next to the bldg/hanger the ICP is in rather than out in the woods, but it's the same thing. And they really need to be able to sustain for much longer then that w/ resupply. There's also vehicle movement thru that kind of situation too.

On the bright side, that provides the scenario for some pretty highspeed training that a lot of folks will love. I would also be looking at some multi-agency, even if it's small-scale/low-level. Being able to work effectively across several orgs at the tac level as well as the top is critical.