CAP CAPS SIMULATED MISSION

[OldGuy]

https://www.cdapress.com/local_news/20190716/cap_caps_simulated_mission

HAYDEN — Forty-six Civil Air Patrol cadets and 38 senior members took part in a simulated mission on Friday and Saturday across Idaho and Western Montana. The exercise tested the CAP's skills and abilities in case it's called to duty by the U.S. Air Force.

The Civil Air Patrol uses this training to ready its members for emergency missions. Past missions have included earthquakes and fires, simulated floods and lost aircraft, hikers and children. Air Force observers assign these missions then evaluate each part of the mission against the CAP's standards. Each mission is designed to represent a real-world scenario that air patrol members are likely to encounter.

The Civil Air Patrol has more than 56,000 volunteer members nationwide; cadets can join as young as age 12. The Air Force uses the patrol to perform 90 percent of inland search and rescue missions.

Senior Harrison Gross, 19, joined the Civil Air Patrol three years ago and wishes he'd joined earlier. He said his service taught him good values and helped him to communicate with others effectively.

"I was kind of a punk teenager, and CAP taught me how to communicate and be respectful to my elders and those around me," Gross said.

Cadet Hannah Hoatson, 15, has been part of the Civil Air Patrol for three years. She was using radios to signal aircraft overhead. "I was recruited by a friend to join," Hoatson said. "I'm really into leadership and color guard and other things like that."

Hoatson recently underwent national training with other Civil Air Patrol cadets in Colorado Springs. She took flight training, learned about leadership development and enhanced her emergency skills.

Maria Orlikoski, an Air Force liaison officer, was evaluating the operation.

"Every time they are always superb, they always do very well," Orlikoski said.

Orlikoski has two children. Her son is a member of CAP. She said it has helped boost his confidence. "He has been in the program for two years, and he was a wallflower before and now the structure that CAP gives fills in the gaps that public school does not," Orlikoski said.

More information: 208-649-6098 or cdacap.us

[etodd]

This kind of media coverage should be at every SAREX.  At the Squadron level we are not making enough friends with local reporters. Stories like this should be huge recruiting tools, if enough follow up work is done.

[OldGuy]

This kind of media coverage should be at every SAREX.  At the Squadron level we are not making enough friends with local reporters. Stories like this should be huge recruiting tools, if enough follow up work is done.

The PIO team on this mission got radio interviews and press coverage in both states. Mission command and the individual unit commanders, all the way up including both Wing CCs and the RMR CC participated and supported the PIO component. A truly impressive, coordinated effort. Over 100 folks, over a dozen aircraft and a dozen CAP-USAF observers.

[Holding Pattern]

The press actually stayed at our mission base asking questions and interviewing cadets/officers for just a bit over 90 minutes. A bit of a record for our area.