A Happy Ending

Started by JohhnyD, October 12, 2019, 09:42:59 PM

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JohhnyD

Coeur d'Alene, ID... Mid morning Saturday the 12th of October, the Coeur d'Alene Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was alerted and requested to prepare to fly in support of an Air Force authorized search mission for a party of missing and overdue hunters in Cassia County.

The alert went to all Idaho mission volunteers. Aircraft and crews from Mt Home, Boise, Spokane and Idaho Falls poised to launch. By 11:00 that same morning local crews were on their way to squadron headquarters. Mission Pilot 1st Lt. Jeff Rodgers, CAP working with the Incident Commander Maj. Kirk Dehn, CAP had the paperwork and preflight in progress. As the rest of the flight crew arrived, at noon, the Civil Air Patrol Cell Phone Forensic team was able to trace and locate the hunters and gets them in communication with the local Sheriff's Office and the air sorties stood down.

Capt. Michael Venning, CAP the commanding officer of the local squadron said, "We train regularly so that we can be ready for these missions. We love happy endings - the whole team performed brilliantly!" he also noted, "Maj. Dehn was coordinating the entire effort from Hyannis, MA – this demonstrates the ability of our team to work complex missions using modern technology to save lives."

The use of historical cell phone data to support Civil Air Patrol search and rescue (SAR) missions originated in April 2006 when Maj. Justin Ogden, CAP, first used software he developed to help predict the most likely area to search for a missing airplane. Ogden was joined by Col. Brian Ready and Maj. Jerad Hoff, and the three became the core of the National Cell Phone Forensics Team, which was designated a national CAP asset in 2009. As the number of missions has grown, the team now includes eight members, all of whom are members of Arizona Wing. All team members are volunteer professionals. In 2018, the team completed 364 missions and was credited by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center with 208 finds and 156 saves. From its inception in 2006 through 2018, the team been assigned 1,668 missions, and has been credited with 735 finds and 528 saves.

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Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force's Total Force, which consists of regular Air Force, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, along with Air Force retired military and civilian employees. CAP, in its Total Force role, operates a fleet of 550 aircraft and performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 78 lives annually. Civil Air Patrol's 56,000 members nationwide also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. Its members additionally play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. Performing missions for America for the past 75 years, CAP received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.

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

etodd

Yes indeed.  The handful of folks on the cell phone forensics team ... looks like they average 90% of our Saves now ... make the 60,000 thousand other members look good. LOL
"Don't try to explain it, just bow your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on ..."