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2022 Report to Congress

Started by Fubar, February 25, 2023, 11:25:40 PM

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Fubar


etodd

Quote151 Lives Saved
Using proprietary cellphone forensics and radar analysis technology (used in 95% of 525 searches in 2022), Civil Air Patrol was credited with 391 finds and saving 151 lives, making it one of the most successful years ever for the Air Force auxiliary's search and rescue efforts.

Well I'll be. Truth in advertising. We discussed it here, but Nat'l is publicizing that 95% of SAR are NOT due to the fleet of Cessnas. Airplanes not even mentioned in this section of the 2023 Fact Sheet.

In fact SAR, is only mentioned once in this sheet, rather casually. We are headed in other directions now.
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

NIN

Quote from: etodd on February 26, 2023, 03:10:27 AMIn fact SAR, is only mentioned once in this sheet, rather casually. We are headed in other directions now.

We have been for some time.  Probably 80+% of the "real" missions in my wing are aerial photography/airborne observation missions.  Less than 20% of our "real world" taskings in the last 3-5 years have been for "direct SAR."

Darin Ninness, Col, CAP
I have no responsibilities whatsoever
I like to have Difficult Adult Conversations™
The contents of this post are Copyright © 2007-2024 by NIN. All rights are reserved. Specific permission is given to quote this post here on CAP-Talk only.

etodd

Quote from: NIN on February 26, 2023, 10:59:15 PM
Quote from: etodd on February 26, 2023, 03:10:27 AMIn fact SAR, is only mentioned once in this sheet, rather casually. We are headed in other directions now.

We have been for some time.  Probably 80+% of the "real" missions in my wing are aerial photography/airborne observation missions.  Less than 20% of our "real world" taskings in the last 3-5 years have been for "direct SAR."



Exactly.  So lets start emphasizing these others missions more and get folks interested in training more for them. Sure, we'll still need to be ready for SAR, but lets put 80% of our training on the 80% of the missions we actually do.

And for local marketing as well. When a prospective member visits, tone down the SAR talk, and get real with them.
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

PHall

Quote from: etodd on February 27, 2023, 12:52:31 AM
Quote from: NIN on February 26, 2023, 10:59:15 PM
Quote from: etodd on February 26, 2023, 03:10:27 AMIn fact SAR, is only mentioned once in this sheet, rather casually. We are headed in other directions now.

We have been for some time.  Probably 80+% of the "real" missions in my wing are aerial photography/airborne observation missions.  Less than 20% of our "real world" taskings in the last 3-5 years have been for "direct SAR."



Exactly.  So lets start emphasizing these others missions more and get folks interested in training more for them. Sure, we'll still need to be ready for SAR, but lets put 80% of our training on the 80% of the missions we actually do.

And for local marketing as well. When a prospective member visits, tone down the SAR talk, and get real with them.


I don't know how they're doing it where you live but that's what we've been doing out here in California for a few years now. We still train for the SAR tasks but we also train for the evolving AP and DR tasks too.
Not to mention the continuing CD mission.

SARDOC

I'll add some fuel to the conversation as well.  Shifting from SAR to DR.  Ground Teams get the same SAR Training (still praying for updated ground team task guide), but let's add, Wide Area Search, CERT Training, Photography, PODS training. SARTOPO with Risk needs assessment mapping. 

Tornado/earthquake/hurricanes/Wildfires, we can have volunteer teams that cover neighborhoods in relatively low risk areas while FEMA USAR/Fire, Police cover the heavily hit areas. Just food for thought.

skymaster

The "JSTARS" (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) support by CAP mentioned in the 2023 Report to Congress is an exciting new mission, and some of us who are involved in support of this mission are proud to see it mentioned in this edition. This mission is based out of one base in the US, and is a true picture of cooperation between not only the USAF and CAP, but also the Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, the Georgia Air National Guard, and the Georgia State Guard Air and Space Force/Georgia Air Patrol, meaning that it is a true uniformed  Active/Reserve/Guard/Federal Auxiliary/State Auxiliary Total Force involved project.

etodd

Quote from: skymaster on March 16, 2023, 06:14:23 PM.....meaning that it is a true uniformed  Active/Reserve/Guard/Federal Auxiliary/State Auxiliary Total Force involved project.

 ..... that less than 1% of CAP membership will ever be involved it.

Not taking away from its importance. Just thinking this doesn't need to be put out there in marketing materials as something new CAP members would do.

"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."

PHall

Quote from: etodd on March 17, 2023, 12:27:33 AM
Quote from: skymaster on March 16, 2023, 06:14:23 PM.....meaning that it is a true uniformed  Active/Reserve/Guard/Federal Auxiliary/State Auxiliary Total Force involved project.

 ..... that less than 1% of CAP membership will ever be involved it.

Not taking away from its importance. Just thinking this doesn't need to be put out there in marketing materials as something new CAP members would do.






Uhh the Report to Congress isn't really a recruiting tool, at least it's not supposed to be. It is what it's title says it is. A report to congress on what we have done with all that money they gave us.

FlyingPig

#9
Quote from: skymaster on March 16, 2023, 06:14:23 PMThe "JSTARS" (Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System) support by CAP mentioned in the 2023 Report to Congress is an exciting new mission, and some of us who are involved in support of this mission are proud to see it mentioned in this edition. This mission is based out of one base in the US, and is a true picture of cooperation between not only the USAF and CAP, but also the Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, the Georgia Air National Guard, and the Georgia State Guard Air and Space Force/Georgia Air Patrol, meaning that it is a true uniformed  Active/Reserve/Guard/Federal Auxiliary/State Auxiliary Total Force involved project.

Whats the Georgia Air Patrol? Or was that to mean CAP? I flew for the state police here in GA and Ive never heard that.   That being said, the unfortunate thing is that the state of Georgia has almost zero interest in using CAP for anything.  Believe me.  Ive been in those conversations. Its nothing CAP did wrong, it has to do with funding and turf wars in state aviation between GSP, GFC and DNR.  State aviation between those 3 agencies in GA have about 30 aircraft.  As small as GA is compared to other states, they have a massive aviation footprint.
Robert Steht, Capt.
Mission Pilot/CD Pilot
CFI Airplane / CFI Helicopter
Former Sq. Commander

skymaster

The Georgia Air Patrol is the name of the State of Georgia Department of Defense military auxiliary established by Georgia Governor Eurith D. Rivers on 23 September 1937 initially as a uniformed volunteer air arm under oversight of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, before being placed directly under the Georgia Military Department (along with the Georgia State Guard ground, air, and maritime patrol forces) on 16 April 1941 by Governor Eugene Talmadge under the Adjutant General as the Air Force of the Georgia State Guard (later Georgia State Defense Corps, now renamed the Georgia State Defense Force). Following established policies in other states that have an active State Guard, membership in the State Guard Air Force is restricted as an option only to prior service Active Duty Air Force, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard, and Air Force Auxiliary (Civil Air Patrol), other state guard Air Forces, the U.S. Space Force, and other programs that fall under the authority of the Secretary of the Air Force.

All the contemporary newspaper photos are from the Atlanta Constitution, and the Georgia Air Patrol emblem is from a November 1941 photo taken by LIFE photographer William Shrout. 



Very similar to the regular Army based GSDF, but with state-distinctive uniforms that (like the Georgia Air National Guard and Georgia Space National Guard) follow AFI 36-2903 uniform regulations with state-distinctive insignia. This is required because the regular GSDF is explicitly a Georgia-only force that cannot be called to Federal duty, and is explicitly a Title 32 organization. The Georgia State Guard Air Force on the other hand is mainly Title 10 authorized personnel providing voluntary assistance to Title 32 State of Georgia personnel, more in line like the National Guard than the regular GSDF.The uniform is essentially a state-distinctive version (depending upon duty assignment) of either the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force uniform, with the U.S. collar brass being replaced with GA collar brass, and the Space Force "delta" branch insignia replaced with an all-silver historical "prop and wings" the same as ordered for wear by the Georgia Air Patrol's first Commander, Colonel Wallace Bacon Sheffield in 1937. Grade insignia on the flight cap or beret is also the same all silver "prop and wings" in place of grade insignia. On dress uniforms, the insignia is the same as the USAF, and on the OCP uniforms, the insignia and tapes are Georgia Flag Blue thread on OCP "GEORGIA" branch tapes replacing the "U.S. AIR FORCE" or "U.S. SPACE FORCE" tapes. Also, this fulfills the requirement that the uniform be distinctive enough from both the regular CAPR 39-1 version of the USAF uniform and the U.S. Army AR-670-1 based regular GSDF uniform, but close enough to the Georgia Air National Guard or Space National Guard uniform to be recognized as being in Auxilary support of those branches. Following the general tenets of AFI 36-2903, there are no weight standards; however, military grooming standards and an age-appropriate physical fitness standard emphasizing a regular exercise regimen and healthy life choices that enhance military auxiliary mission support goals round out the program.








    This is the same Georgia Air Patrol that was the Air Force of the Georgia State Guard that was legally merged into the National Civil Air Patrol when in Federal Service under the Merger of 3 March 1942 (as noted on page 4 of the 4 March 1942 Atlanta Constitution) agreed between the War Department (represented by AAF Col Harold Blee), the National Guard Bureau (represented by CAP Regional Commander Capt George Noland), the Georgia Military Department and the Governor of Georgia (both represented Georgia State Guard Commander, right hand man and legal advisor of Governor Talmadge and retired Adjutant General) Col Lindley Camp, Georgia State Guard Air Force Commander (and Carnegie family member) Lt Col Robert Ferguson and CAP Wing Commander Major Winship Nunnally. In exchange for allowing the Federal Government to use the Air Patrol name for a military uniformed federal government agency without further legal complication for the duration of said group's existence, it would recognize the members of the merged organization as dual status Federal and State members, similar to the National Guard. When in active Federal military auxiliary status they would fall under the CAP Chain of Command. When performing State missions the Georgia Air Patrol would be the legally recognized Air Force of the Georgia State Guard and uniformed volunteer military auxiliary Air Force, and would fall under command of the Governor of Georgia through the Adjutant General, and all state CAP funding from the Federal Government would be administered through the Adjutant General's Office. Also, when in State Service, members would wear a minimally state distinctive State Guard Air Forces uniform on duty, and the National CAP would fully recognize the State of Georgia's role and its citizens in the foundation of the National CAP organization. (Essentially giving "credit where credit is due"). Not really a problem as Col Blee's own memo and attachments in the National Archives directly references the Georgia State Guard Air Force Coastal Patrol Mission in support of the U.S. Navy as a model for what would later become the CAP Coastal Patrol. Along with the Milton Knight's officially 1938 incorporated Civilian Air Reserve and Gill Robb Wilson's 1941 Civil Air Defense Services, the Georgia Air Patrol is considered a predecessor organization in the lineage of the National CAP organization. And literally every wartime mission of the National CAP was performed at the state level earlier by Georgians in State service as a demonstration of what was possible by a properly trained military auxiliary, before performing those missions as a part of CAP on a more national scale.








At the state level, it is operationally a way to allow persons with many years of CAP training to continue to use those skillsets and experience to support and enhance missions of the Georgia DOD, and to do so within the structure and culture of an official state military auxilary more akin to the WWII era CAP. This is NOT in competition with CAP at any level, but just a way for experienced CAP members to hone their mission skills further, and provide a trained and capable volunteer air arm under a state military auxiliary chain of command. An effective force multiplier, a good deal for the taxpayer, and a excellent way to serve one's community and state tapping skills and training that modern CAP members already have. At this point it is mostly drone based aviation, support of GSDF ground SAR, communications, IT and cyber support, academic research support, and liaison with other uniformed services. Additionally, since CAP personnel involved in this program must be trained, vetted, active/AEO/or retired members, it does help CAP members keep their skills sharp, and helps with CAP member retention since it encourages members to stay mentally active and not bored or sedentary.

baronet68

Michael Moore, Lt Col, CAP
National Recruiting & Retention Manager

FlyingPig

#12
Very interesting. Clearly the GA Air Patrol is something you're passionate about. I Didn't know that. I would say the GA Air Patrol has been lost to history.  I read through your post but do they still exist? They certainly aren't a resource anymore.   I've never seen anyone and surely never seen them at any state events or disasters.  Im assuming since all the photos are from the 1940s that its an organization thats no longer around?
Robert Steht, Capt.
Mission Pilot/CD Pilot
CFI Airplane / CFI Helicopter
Former Sq. Commander

Shuman 14

Georgia State Defense Force Webpage

GASDF Wikipedia Page

Captain Steht, it looks like the GASDF does not have any type of "Air Wing" unit or division to specifically support the GA-ANG and GA-SNG anymore.

Joseph J. Clune
Lieutenant Colonel, Military Police

USMCR: 1990 - 1992                           USAR: 1993 - 1998, 2000 - 2003, 2005 - Present     CAP: 2013 - 2014, 2021 - Present
INARNG: 1992 - 1993, 1998 - 2000      Active Army: 2003 - 2005                                       USCGAux: 2004 - Present

skymaster

Quote from: FlyingPig on March 23, 2023, 12:39:09 PMVery interesting. Clearly the GA Air Patrol is something you're passionate about. I Didn't know that. I would say the GA Air Patrol has been lost to history.  I read through your post but do they still exist? They certainly aren't a resource anymore.   I've never seen anyone and surely never seen them at any state events or disasters.  Im assuming since all the photos are from the 1940s that its an organization thats no longer around?
It is very much still around, although (with the exception of some high profile Georgia State Guard Air Force officers, such as Major General Butterworth when he was the ranking GA DOD appointed officer) you don't see it featured very prominently on the web, primarily because all non-prior service civilians enlisting in the "regular" GSDF are only branched into the Army side, as is common with most State Guards (with the standard State Guard "saber and rifle" branch of Service insignia). But if one is prior service in a branch of service that does NOT fall under the Secretary of the Army, but is a branch of service that is represented in the National Guard structure (i.e. Air and Space), that person has the option of wearing the (state distinctive) auxiliary uniform of that branch of service when acting in support of the Georgia DOD. And (with the exception of General grade officers who are by definition more "high profile"), the rank-and-file Georgia DOD Auxiliarist wearing their minimally distinctive uniforms of whatever branch they are in, performing their support duties in a professional manner out in the field, mostly without much fanfare, in fact blend in so well with their paid Reserve Forces counterparts that (especially in a field uniform or flight clothing), if you didn't look REALLY closely, you might not be able to tell the difference between an auxiliarist and a reservist.

Official photos from of a much more recent vintage (as in less than a decade ago) show the Georgia State Guard Air Force's highest ever ranking officer, Maj Gen (GA) James Butterworth, very clearly in the special general officer variant of the Georgia State Guard AIR FORCE uniform. He was appointed to that grade by then-Governor Nathan Deal concurrent with being tapped to head the GA DOD.



If you look closely, the "U.S." cutouts on the Georgia State Guard Air Force Uniform have been replaced with silver "GA" cutouts, the same exact ones as worn by the Georgia State Patrol. This version, WITHOUT a period after the letters, when worn with the GSGAF uniform indicates that the person came into the GSGAF from a source other than CAP. ONLY CAP personnel serving volunteer "additional duty" assignments in the GSGAF/Georgia Air Patrol in support duties for GA DOD components are entitled to wear the version with a period after the "GA.".



This tradition goes back to the Georgia State Guard Air Force uniform of the 1940s which was also the original CAP uniform worn in Georgia, as shown in this 18 January 1942 Atlanta Constitution photo.



For field uniforms, the standard GSDF uniform is authorized on duty as shown in this GA National Guard  photo.



And for flight clothing, (such as worn on an official visit to check out the JSTARS aircraft operation supported by CAP and noted in the latest Report to Congress). the flight uniform is the virtually the same as the Georgia Air National Guard.



But, it takes multiple groups working together in State of Georgia service Reserve AND Auxiliarist, to complete the missions professionally and swiftly, as shown in this 2014 GA DOD photo at the Georgia State Capitol. (NOTE: the only General grade officer in the photo who was a National Guard General Officer is the gentleman on the left. Every other General Officer in the photo was an Auxiliarist).



FlyingPig

#15
I realize the GA state guard air force is still around, I'm referring to them having an aviation side.  There aren't GA State Guard/Air Patrol air crews flying around in GA Air patrol aircraft are there?  Why is he in a flight suit walking around the JSTARS at Warner Robins?
DNR, GSP and GFC have all but eliminated the use of CAP aircraft in GA. About 3 years ago, GA Forestry snatched the CD mission from CAP.  That was a huge chunk of flying for GAWG.   Aviation in GA is so ridiculously redundant that whenever there is a disaster you have 3-4 different agencies all tasked to go take photos or do damage assessments of the same things and then a day or two later, there's as CAP plane flying the same mission and submitting photos of things that were crossed off the list 2 days ago.  I'd be curious if there is yet ANOTHER aviation branch flying around that I never managed to see or hear or interact with. 
Robert Steht, Capt.
Mission Pilot/CD Pilot
CFI Airplane / CFI Helicopter
Former Sq. Commander

skymaster

Quote from: FlyingPig on March 25, 2023, 12:29:49 PMI realize the GA state guard air force is still around, I'm referring to them having an aviation side.  There aren't GA State Guard/Air Patrol air crews flying around in GA Air patrol aircraft are there?  Why is he in a flight suit walking around the JSTARS at Warner Robins?
DNR, GSP and GFC have all but eliminated the use of CAP aircraft in GA. About 3 years ago, GA Forestry snatched the CD mission from CAP.  That was a huge chunk of flying for GAWG.   Aviation in GA is so ridiculously redundant that whenever there is a disaster you have 3-4 different agencies all tasked to go take photos or do damage assessments of the same things and then a day or two later, there's as CAP plane flying the same mission and submitting photos of things that were crossed off the list 2 days ago.  I'd be curious if there is yet ANOTHER aviation branch flying around that I never managed to see or hear or interact with. 
The manned aircraft side is (like the early CAP) based on member-owned aircraft leased to the state. You are correct on the Georgia Forestry Division and Department of Natural Resources really taking over much of the flight hours of what had been CAP manned air missions for many decades. Between the aforementioned paid state agencies and their air fleets, and the GSDF providing uniformed "boots on the ground" doing 90% of the ground team missions CAP used to in the not too distant past, it is no wonder. Look at the two following webpages showing their capabilities, and it is understandable why the state might be tempted to use more locally controlled resources.

Georgia Wildlife Division Aviation Unit

Georgia Forestry Division Air Ops: Sky High Protection

From the 1930s all the way through the early 2000s, many of those functions were performed almost exclusively by the Georgia Air Patrol, and post-1942 merger, by CAP. But, as time went by, little by little, both the nature of CAP and how missions were done changed. We went from a being an armed, public safety and military auxiliary and State Guard that was designated as state replacement for the activated and deployed National Guard, with deputized members assisting state police agencies, with its own weather officers, firefighters, medical officers, bombardiers, parachutists, medics, military police, investigators, ambulance crews, and every other type of CAP serviceperson needed to perform nearly any duty that was needed to support our community, state, and Nation. Even in my many decades in CAP, I personally not only flew missions, but was trained in rappelling and mountain SAR by joint CAP and Army Ranger personnel; had the opportunity to parachute out of a plane. Flew in an Air Force jet. Trained in military marksmanship by the Georgia Air National Guard. Experienced weightlessness in special flight training. Crossed a rope bridge while artillery simulators went off around us. Rappelled down Mount Yonah, and ran in formation up Currahee. As part of a CAP exercise, acting as a contracted OPFOR force for the U.S. Army Ranger School Mountain Phase, dressed in quasi-Russian uniforms and (with non-lethal) weapons with Army-provided blanks, proceeded to try to capture Ranger students as part of their training. Directed traffic at airshows and other official activities. Trained commanders at all levels in how to effectively run units. Served as Director or Assistant Director of many CAP training activities. Served with CAP members who were founding members of CAP. Command and staff assignments galore. Cross trained in nearly every specialty in CAP at some point. Built CAP aircraft from parts under the direction of an A&P mechanic as an aerospace project. Trained multiple cadets who later attended military colleges and service academies and later ended up assigned to military posts at the White House and Pentagon. Pretty much did every "been there/done that" that a well-rounded auxiliary professional of my era should. Has been the Air Force-uniformed VIP representative at many joint-service events. Even been recommended for higher level service awards and Command slots by an Air Force 4-star general.
But, in that time, I and the people of my era (those that are still with us, anyway) have seen the Air Force Auxiliary that we have served so many decades with has moved away from a more military model that we grew up around, to something more like a civilian flying club with some aerospace education and youth program support. Not that that is necessarily bad, but other groups have seen the de-emphasis on certain prior CAP volunteer missions, and chosen to fill in the vacuum left by CAP no longer doing those things, often with paid, definitely "state" resourced uniformed personnel. 

FlyingPig

On a side note, thats me flying that DNR helicopter on their web site in all 3 of those pics. ;D
Robert Steht, Capt.
Mission Pilot/CD Pilot
CFI Airplane / CFI Helicopter
Former Sq. Commander

skymaster

Quote from: baronet68 on March 23, 2023, 06:30:28 AM
Quote from: skymaster on March 23, 2023, 02:17:54 AM


Love seeing Ercoupes in government service.

They did make nice aircraft in government service. Not only were they used as excellent observation aircraft, but when the Georgia Air Patrol was performing state missions as an aerial escort for commercial shipping at the request of the U.S. Navy, those Ercoupes (including the personal Ercoupe of Georgia Air Patrol Commander and state legislator Lt Col Robert Ferguson) carried observers who not only helped run the radios, but acted as air gunners as well, initially using state-issued Thompson .45 caliber submachineguns. These were later upgraded with captured WWI-relic German MG08 machineguns converted to 30.06 caliber air cooled versions by Georgia State Guard 27th District Commander Lt Col Mark Cooper at the armory in Rome, and replaced by AAF demolition bombs on orders of AAF General Arnold when the national CAP began an expanded version of the Coastal Patrol mission. The Thompsons were repurposed to the CAP Border Patrol mission. Photos below of Col Ferguson and his Ercoupe in government service were made by LIFE photographer William Shrout at a Coastal Patrol exercise in November of 1941. 







Shuman 14

Skymaster,

Thank you for some really interesting information.

BTW, if you know, in the picture of the GOs at the Capital, the GASDF 1-Star that is second from the left (viewer's right), is he wearing an Honest John/Pershing Missile Crewman's Badge (Center Left Pocket) or is that some Georgia specific badge, I'm unaware of?
Joseph J. Clune
Lieutenant Colonel, Military Police

USMCR: 1990 - 1992                           USAR: 1993 - 1998, 2000 - 2003, 2005 - Present     CAP: 2013 - 2014, 2021 - Present
INARNG: 1992 - 1993, 1998 - 2000      Active Army: 2003 - 2005                                       USCGAux: 2004 - Present