Wing callsigns

[Senior]

WIWAC, late 80's through early 90's Missouri Wing commo call sign was
Bluebird.  When did they change all the Wing call signs?  Why did they change the call signs?

A side note I was a cadet when the new ES cards started, and the new
bling GT badge(I always thought somebody wanted something that looked like paratrooper wings).

Another question, When did they change the old ES patch (with the plane)
to the Dog?  I was browsing CAP blog sights and saw that goofy patch.
What are they thinking(clown suit)?

[brasda91]

You know, not all the Wings changed.  KY was Middleground.  I'm guessing it was around 2000 when some of the callsigns changed.

The new patch has been around for a few years also.  Can't tell you how long ago.  Can't keep track of things like that.

[mikeylikey]

PAWG is/ was PENCAP

[_]

Another question, When did they change the old ES patch (with the plane)
to the Dog?  I was browsing CAP blog sights and saw that goofy patch.
What are they thinking(clown suit)?

I believe the dog was the/an original ES patch in the late 40's, early 50's.  It changed roughly 8 years ago.  I'm probably off by a year or two.  I know when I earned the patch In 97 I wore the old one (and still do).

Also apparently the callsigns are probably going to change again soon.  I've heard that some of our calllsigns duplicate actual military callsigns and they don't like that.  And there is apparently the feeling that "CAP flight" makes people think of combat air patrol so that will probably change. 

[W3ZR]

PAWG was "KEYSTONE" in the 80's, I was told the reason they
changed, but it escapes me now. I think it may have been a
real military unit claimed that as their own.

[Pylon]

I remember New York Wing's as being "EMPIRE", but it is now "WHITE PEAK".  It changed, I think, sometime between the late 90's and early 2000's.

[_]

PAWG was "KEYSTONE" in the 80's, I was told the reason they
changed, but it escapes me now. I think it may have been a
real military unit claimed that as their own.

Weren't they still using it in the mid 90's?  I remember hearing it sometime when I was still up in NJ.

[CadetProgramGuy]

Iowa = IOWA CAP


Suppose "Victory over Corn CAP" would be too long.....

[W3ZR]

Weren't they still using it in the mid 90's?  I remember hearing it sometime when I was still up in NJ.

I don't know exactly when it changed, I disappeared from CAP in 1987
when I discovered, *GASP* GIRLS ! ***

***
Note to male cadets:  Girls are the devil, complete your training.   
Note to female cadets: Boys are just as bad, finish your training too.

[CadetProgramGuy]

Note to male cadets:  Girls are the devil, complete your training.   
Note to female cadets: Boys are just as bad, finish your training too.

Note to officers......Same thing

[dwb]

NYWG changed from Empire to White Peak because some other agency was using Empire and apparently there was a spat about CAP using it.

It's too bad... Empire One made a really cool name for a Wing newsletter (back when there was a Wing newsletter)

[BlueLakes1]

You know, not all the Wings changed.  KY was Middleground.  I'm guessing it was around 2000 when some of the callsigns changed.

I've heard from a reliable source that KYWG looked to go back to a better callsign than "KY CAP", but any callsign that was remotely related to Kentucky has already been taken by someone else. KyANG has used "Derby" for quite a while.

(Even though I belong to INWG now, I live in Louisville and play in KYWG a lot. Former cadink in KY-039 and SM in KY-214.)

[TDHenderson]

I remember a little further back when each Wing had three distinct call signs, one for fixed base, one for air, and one for ground mobile.  Iowa was Cornstate for fixed base, Bulldog for ground, and I believe it was Cyclone for aircraft.

Then they collapsed down to one (Cornstate) using Mobile and Air for identifiers (Cornstate 58 Mobile, for instance).

[mikeylikey]

PAWG was "KEYSTONE" in the 80's, I was told the reason they
changed, but it escapes me now. I think it may have been a
real military unit claimed that as their own.

The Penna National Guard uses Keystone, so on some missions with the Guard, there were some miscommunications etc.  However, PAWG used KEYSTONE since the beginning of CAP, before the guard "took" the callsign.

[Ricochet13]

I remember a little further back when each Wing had three distinct call signs, one for fixed base, one for air, and one for ground mobile.  Iowa was Cornstate for fixed base, Bulldog for ground, and I believe it was Cyclone for aircraft.

Then they collapsed down to one (Cornstate) using Mobile and Air for identifiers (Cornstate 58 Mobile, for instance).

Veteran members relate that my wing once had . . . humm . . . you know it just occurred to me that revealing any current call signs might be a violation of OPSEC.     Is someone going to do a "gotcha" over this?   Maybe not as this is in a historical context regarding call signs no longer used.

[Hartley]

Hi Guys,

  Pretty much all of CAP's callsigns changed in the mid-90's when CAP joined the DoD callsign registry and most of the ones we had been using were already taken by other DoD units.  The "CAPFlight" callsign is registered with the FAA, not DoD, though it is listed with DoD as well - and I doubt it will be changing anytime soon.
  Yes. it is possible to get a Wing's callsign changed - your DC would be the primary POC for that, but it wouldn't be effortless..:-)

  All of the Wing Callsigns are available on the "protected" Comm website - click on the "Current Callsign List".

73 DE Hartley

[Brad]

SCWG has Sandlapper, heh, so named for the fact that the early settlers used to eat the clay so commonly found in this state.

Anyways, yea the CAPFLIGHT callsign is strictly for FAA use, i.e. speaking with ATC, FSS, etc.

[jimmydeanno]

NHWG used to be "Profile" and is now "Abenaki."  Profile hinted at the Old Man of the Mountain.  Abenaki relates to a Native American Tribe that was native to the area.

[AlphaSigOU]

Florida Wing's old call signs:

Ground: SPARROW
Mobile: CRANE
Airmobile: EAGLE

<-- was CRANE 1053 WIWAC.

I'll keep the current call sign 'Herkos Odonton' (Greek for 'behind the hedge of the teeth' - literally 'keep it quiet')

[ZigZag911]

Jersey was "Zigzag" for land, "Domino" for mobile.

Changed to "Red Dragon" in the 90s in honor of our long time wing CC
mid 50s to early 70s), Col. Nanette Sears, AKA "The Dragon Lady" (which was the name of a character in the aviation related comic strip 'Terry & the Pirates')