The Reaper Mission in Syracuse, NY

[etodd]

Well now that Maj. Gen. Joe Vazquez has visited the Mission and its all over the PUBLIC CAP website, including photos of members who worked Missions ... it should be ok for us to discuss it now?

Its never been secret, except at CAP Hdqs, as the general public in SYR was all excited to know the RPAs were coming to save the guard base from potentially shrinking or closing. It was always a big news event from the start. LOL

Here ya go:

http://www.capvolunteernow.com/todays-features/?natl_commander_visits_reaper_training_program_in_ny&show=news&newsID=22617

If you haven't volunteered for a mission yet, I highly recommend it. Mission pilots as well as Mission Observers needed.  Its a really fun week doing rewarding work.

[Eclipse]

Well now that Maj. Gen. Joe Vazquez has visited the Mission and its all over the PUBLIC CAP website, including photos of members who worked Missions ... it should be ok for us to discuss it now?

No, other then what is published.

No one ever sad it was a secret, nothing in CAP is a secret, but plenty is confidential or sensitive. Discussing "when and where's" is still a bad idea for any mission
when it is ongoing.

Maybe you don't understand this, but a lot of actionable intel for bad people isn't a FB posting that says "I'll be here on this day",
it's little pieces of info culled together over time.

Don't be that guy.

[SMWOG]

Never was a secret
ANG had press release since day one

[Hyperion]

Maybe you don't understand this, but a lot of actionable intel for bad people isn't a FB posting that says "I'll be here on this day",
it's little pieces of info culled together over time.

Don't be that guy.

How many examples can you give us, in the 70+ history of CAP after WWII, where CAP was targeted for terrorist activity / by "bad people"?

CAP is not some super-secret OPSEC organization; units proudly blast their meeting time, attendees, and locations on FB for new recruits along with their missions. It's CAP. We do public, transparent service as civilians.

Knock it off with the fear propaganda.

[abdsp51]

Maybe you don't understand this, but a lot of actionable intel for bad people isn't a FB posting that says "I'll be here on this day",
it's little pieces of info culled together over time.

Don't be that guy.

How many examples can you give us, in the 70+ history of CAP after WWII, where CAP was targeted for terrorist activity / by "bad people"?

CAP is not some super-secret OPSEC organization; units proudly blast their meeting time, attendees, and locations on FB for new recruits along with their missions. It's CAP. We do public, transparent service as civilians.

Knock it off with the fear propaganda.

Open your eyes and look at the bigger picture.  The Reaper missions are AF missions and not just CAP missions so hence there is an OPSEC and FOUO concern with this.  And guess what there is nothing stopping agents from utlizing a CAP meeting to scout an installation out for a strike.... 

Maybe you need some OPSEC refresher training if you even took it to begin with.

[Luis R. Ramos]

We are back to having some members paying lip service to our agreement with another organization.

Maybe this is the reason why some of us are not called out on missions. Because those we agreed to behave with in certain way see some members not keeping the end of their bargain.

We agreed to observe OpSec. Yet we have some members stating we should not care about OpSec!

[RogueLeader]

Maybe you don't understand this, but a lot of actionable intel for bad people isn't a FB posting that says "I'll be here on this day",
it's little pieces of info culled together over time.

Don't be that guy.

How many examples can you give us, in the 70+ history of CAP after WWII, where CAP was targeted for terrorist activity / by "bad people"?

CAP is not some super-secret OPSEC organization; units proudly blast their meeting time, attendees, and locations on FB for new recruits along with their missions. It's CAP. We do public, transparent service as civilians.

Knock it off with the fear propaganda.

I have. And no, I'm not giving out details other than it was reported to the appropriate authorities.

[Ozzy]

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/reaper_drones_will_begin_daily_flights_at_syracuses_hancock_airport.html

[vesryn]

I attended the meeting with the CAP members on Monday. Not much was said about the actual mission, but plenty was said about uniforms and the future of CAP planes and aviation.

[etodd]

Geez folks.  All I wanted to do was to let folks know how much fun it was and that it was a learning experience as well, that others might enjoy.

As I was taking cell phone photos of all the inner workings ... the Air Force folks were all like "No problem, take all you want!"  Anything the AF wanted to keep under wraps they would not have let us "civilian volunteers" see. (That logic is escaping a few folks.)

It was someone at our local Wing that went all OpSec on us and told us not to post any of those photos.  The AF could care less.

But of course ... I have and will continue to follow those orders from the CAP guy.

And next time I do something fun and worthwhile in CAP ... I'll just keep it to myself and not let others know they could do it as well. I'll become one of "those clique members" who don't want to share the toys or fun. 

.

[Luis R. Ramos]

And what makes you think that others in here... don't know it's fun?

Why do you think we are here, that we are looking for boring stuff?

[abdsp51]

Geez folks.  All I wanted to do was to let folks know how much fun it was and that it was a learning experience as well, that others might enjoy.

As I was taking cell phone photos of all the inner workings ... the Air Force folks were all like "No problem, take all you want!"  Anything the AF wanted to keep under wraps they would not have let us "civilian volunteers" see. (That logic is escaping a few folks.)

It was someone at our local Wing that went all OpSec on us and told us not to post any of those photos.  The AF could care less.

But of course ... I have and will continue to follow those orders from the CAP guy.

And next time I do something fun and worthwhile in CAP ... I'll just keep it to myself and not let others know they could do it as well. I'll become one of "those clique members" who don't want to share the toys or fun. 

.

I can assure you the AF cares about it's multi million dollar assets...  Were you cleared to take photos possibly in a controlled or restricted area?  Did PA approve you doing so?  Did PA accompany you?   

And I bet you the AF guys who gave you that ok may not have had the authority to make that call.  Either way some of the responses here (at least my initial one)  was not directed at you. 

But since you love to post about disregarding regs you kinda open yourself up....

[etodd]

And what makes you think that others in here... don't know it's fun?

Because of private messages and emails I've gotten where many folks have said it was the first they have heard of it. This mission is open ended at this time, and they are going to need more and more folks to step up. Its surprising me how many Wings are not spreading the word amongst their members, and when a member asks, they tell me its shrugged off.

These type of things could really help with recruitment and retention, and obviously a recruitment person was not consulted by the person who wrote this article. Most folks reading this would assume its just NY members working it. When the truth is that members as far away as FL and WA are helping. That would have been a really good thing to emphasize in the article and would NOT have lead to any type of security issues.

[Luis R. Ramos]

I am pretty sure more members than you think know about it.

Like others have said, you have not proven they do not know.

Have you stopped to think those members you said do not know, may have been practicing OpSec? Not that they do not know, but they do not know you that well and just want to be quiet about what they know?

[Eclipse]

"It is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma..."

[etodd]

I am pretty sure more members than you think know about it.

Like others have said, you have not proven they do not know.

Have you stopped to think those members you said do not know, may have been practicing OpSec? Not that they do not know, but they do not know you that well and just want to be quiet about what they know?

This is too funny.  If someone is so OpSec to the point they would even disavow any knowledge of the very PUBLIC side of the Mission (forget ANY details) ... then that person is way beyond normal OpSec. That is someone who .... oh forget it. You know the cloak and dagger military wannabe types. LOL

But yes, I've had some good folks asking me , not for details, but who to contact officially for more details and to ask about getting an assignment. And YES ... I send them along to the person in charge. In my best Sergeant Klinger voice ... "I KNOW NOTHING!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmzsWxPLIOo

[AlphaSigOU]

...But yes, I've had some good folks asking me , not for details, but who to contact officially for more details and to ask about getting an assignment. And YES ... I send them along to the person in charge. In my best Sergeant Klinger voice ... "I KNOW NOTHING!"

You mean Sergeant Schultz? (More correctly, Stabsfeldwebel (the equivalent to First Sergeant) Schultz!)

[SarDragon]

When I joined the Navy, back when Noah was a deck hand, I got a security briefing. One of the biggest things they stressed was the concept we now call OpSec. One part of that was NOT telling people that you even had a clearance. Another was to not disclose the specific level of your clearance. Still a third was to not talk about classified stuff, even by skirting around it, unless under proper circumstances.

One of the ways the bad guys accumulate information is by collecting little bits at a time, and assembling them into bigger items. Talking about something like the Reaper mission, over and above what has been officially released, is bad form. If you don't know exactly what is or isn't sensitive, then you just do not discuss it. It isn't your place to decide what's OK, and what's not.

[etodd]

It isn't your place to decide what's OK, and what's not.

Baaam.  And thats the deal I'm talking about. The NY Wing and some of their Squadrons obviously have determined what can be used for promotions and do it quite well:

https://www.facebook.com/CentralNewYorkGroupCivilAirPatrol/?fref=ts

But folks at other Wings say NO! KEEP QUIET!  So we have a terrible consistency problem amongst brass from wing to wing.  Making it a nightmare for those who would like to promote these exciting things to potential CAP members.  Its like ... "Hey, come join us. Once you do and know the secret handshake, THEN I can tell you what we do!"   

[abdsp51]

It isn't your place to decide what's OK, and what's not.

Baaam.  And thats the deal I'm talking about. The NY Wing and some of their Squadrons obviously have determined what can be used for promotions and do it quite well:

https://www.facebook.com/CentralNewYorkGroupCivilAirPatrol/?fref=ts

But folks at other Wings say NO! KEEP QUIET!  So we have a terrible consistency problem amongst brass from wing to wing.  Making it a nightmare for those who would like to promote these exciting things to potential CAP members.  Its like ... "Hey, come join us. Once you do and know the secret handshake, THEN I can tell you what we do!"

Says the guy who advocates breaking regs or bending them ....