What kinds of activities have you done at a field training exercise?

[cmoore]

I'm looking into the possibility of planning a field training exercise for our cadets.
I'd like to get some suggestions from other squadrons - what activities have
you done, how long did it last, etc.

Thanks,

Chris Moore, 1LT CAP
Sacramento Composite Squadron 14

[Eclipse]

A full summer day, taking advantage of the long day (assuming you don't camp.

ELT search.

Air / Ground coordination with an aircraft guiding the team to a piece of aircraft fuselage.

Basic fieldcraft (fires, shelter, etc.)

Line searching.

Compass work in the woods with pre-set targets.

[mikeylikey]

Compass work in the woods with pre-set targets.

Heck....I can't stress this enough.  I suppose I am a "Compass Queer", but I believe everyone should be able to do land-nav without a GPS!

I like to go the day before and setup the course by myself.  It gives me some relaxation time all to myself, before I have to deal with 30 cadets the next day 

[sarmed1]

It depends on your local resources the focus or interests of your group & the time frame you are looking at.....
I have done a lot of 1 day trainings and a lot of 3 day (2 nights and 2 full days)


Any of the CAP GTM type field skills are useful.   I like to group like skills together such as a "Navigation Weekend", "Survival Weekend" or "Communications Weekend" (or day)

With the right assets/resources, I have gotten rappeling days  or Crash, Fire, Rescue orientation.  Firearms training (or simulator) flight simulators.  (local military) Manyof the topics you can tie into weekly programs, such as "ground school" in the AE bloks during the month presceding a weekend simulator trip.

mk

[Eclipse]

Compass work in the woods with pre-set targets.

Heck....I can't stress this enough.  I suppose I am a "Compass Queer", but I believe everyone should be able to do land-nav without a GPS!

I like to go the day before and setup the course by myself.  It gives me some relaxation time all to myself, before I have to deal with 30 cadets the next day 

We have the advantage of a formal orienteering course in the not-too distant area.  It has defined, coded targets with a key map and a mix of about every type of terrain you can find.

Its an eye-opener to do real land-nav for members who were tasked in a parking lot with coffee cans.

[DC]

We occasionally do weekend bivouacs focused on ES. We do Practice Beacon searches in the woods, practice compass work (we have teams navigate set courses, it allows them to practice both shooting and following azimuths and pace counting), practice with litters, Line Searches, Shelter Building, etc. There is a ton of stuff you can do with a little imagination, and you can also make it an enjoyable experience while still accomplishing valuable training.

[Eclipse]

The most fun for everyone is making it as real-world as possible and throwing in some curves.

A basic beacon search is pretty straitghtforward, and just people can muddle through it, but try having a second beacon ready and lighting it up nearby when the team gets close (had the USAF do that to me once, now most teams I train expect that).

An intermittent beacon can be fun, too.

Place debris up in a tree to get them in the practice of looking everywhere, not just up.

We have a piece of a biz-jet we use as "debris", and we attach a note to it that continues the scenario (number of "victims", or the pilot was alone, injured, and trying to walk out alone - then we use clues along a walking path for them to track the guy).

We've also been toying with the idea of a couple of lost people who don't want to be found and are moving on the team.

Another curve is to have the N-number, color or plane type different on the target then the scenario to see if the team is paying attention.

Above all, make sure there really is something to find - its so frustrating to me when planners send teams on goose chases for "training" when they know full well there is nothing to find.

[Michael]

I participated in a Night navigation course last summer.  It refined navigation skills, efficiency with gear and movement, and mustered teamwork within the group.

If you carry this out, make sure glow sticks and flashlights are readily available, as they should be for any Ground Team Member.   (Although, they aren't really needed if there is virtually no artificial light in the vicinity, and there's a bright moon out.)

[Walkman]

A full summer day, taking advantage of the long day (assuming you don't camp.

Summer FTX.. Weak sauce! Us in UTWG like to do ours in the dead of winter in 4 feet of snow at 8000 ft!

Had one FTX in November, mostly focused on winter outdoor survival. We hiked 4 miles (and 1000 ft up) and arranged a winter camp.

Feb 9th we've got another one, this time tracking an ELT and some land nav stuff. Snows deeper this time, we've got to use snowshoes.

[cmoore]

Summer FTX.. Weak sauce! Us in UTWG like to do ours in the dead of winter in 4 feet of snow at 8000 ft!

Was it uphill both ways? 

Seriously, thanks to everyone for their replies.  This gives me a lot of great ideas.
We have a composite squadron, but the seniors and cadets are completely separate.
We're hoping to change that, but at the moment most seniors (including me) don't
know much about the cadet program.  I've got several years of boy scout experience,
though, so I'm hoping to apply some of that field knowledge to the cadet program.

Thanks!

Chris Moore, 1LT CAP
Sacramento Composite Squadron 14

[Walkman]

Was it uphill both ways? 

Actually, In all honesty it was! We hiked up an over one of the peaks to get to the camp area. So each way we had some climbin' to do. 

[Stonewall]

Here ya go, from another thread:

WINTER OPERATIONS EXERCISE

[SKYKING607]

Activity 1:  Use what ya brung!  Solicit a volunteer to demo cooking a meal with gear they brought.

Activity 2:  Demo building a shelter using materials nearby.

Activity 3:  Missing Cadet search.  Select a Cadet who will volunteer to be "lost/missing."

Activity 4:  What ya bring?  Have a "senior cadet" lay-out their gear and explain why they brought it.

Activity 5:  Team tent building.  Use a military GP Small, Medium, or large.

Activity 6:  Night event:  Light discipline.  Demo different lights.

Just some ideas.....

[Duke Dillio]

Here's a couple of ideas that I don't see mentioned that can take away from the straight and narrow:

1.  Contact a local search dog team and work together with them for a few hours.
2.  Contact your local Lifeflight, Medflight, or other helicopter agency and set up a helicopter LZ.  You can play with the helicopter, if they allow, or they can talk you through setting up an area.
3.  Try your hand at mantracking.
4.  Practice processing a missing ground team.
5.  Do a full walk through of a crash site including surveillance and perhaps moulage activities.

Just a few ideas.  I'm sure I have loads more somewhere but this should get you started.

[gistek]

Coordinate with other nearby squadrons.

Each squadron could be in charge of planning some aspect of the training.

I once managed a skills challenge program where each participating group planned three competitive events.

On the event day, members of the groups competed in activities like the following:

Tent building
Fire making
Message passing
Bandaging and splinting
Victim carries
Search line
Trail Blazing - leaving clues to your trail
Trail Tracking - following clues left by someone
Tent Striking (including putting the tent back in its bag)

Check what ES skills your unit needs and build the field training around those items.