SAR Funding For Extended Missions

[SoCalCAPOfficer]

There has to be a better way to fund SAR Missions.  As it is CAP asks its members to be the banker for several months to fund these missions.  Many of you may be unaware of it, but when a Mission Pilot goes on an extended mission he better have a hefty credit card handy.   In the ongoing mission the average three day tour will cost the Mission Pilot or the Air Crew Members approximately $1200.00 dollars out of their pocket for fuel for the aircraft, throw in lodging and meals for another couple of hundred dollars.   Sure they will be paid back, but sometimes it takes months.

Many members might have liked to have participated in this mission, but just were not financially able to.   This is no way to run these missions.   There should be a way where the Wing or National has a line of credit to fund them.
The members are willing to take off work, and lose time away from their families, they should not also be expected to finance the mission.

[RiverAux]

That is a local practice.  Some Wings (and I don't know how many) put credit cards in their planes for mission use.  Other Wings have chosen to not do this.  Local choice. 

[Eclipse]

Yep, or major operations pay for fuel in a lump at the airport acting as EOC.

[RiverAux]

Seen that done also. 

[Skyray]

That's the way it's supposed to work, but Florida Wing still owes me six hundred dollars for gas for a Christmas search in 1996 that was never paid.  I guess fortunately for me I made so much noise about not getting paid that they flagged my file, so I never got the opportunity to finance one of their searches again.

[Skyray]

Oh, as a post script, my subsequent investigation showed that the wing collected the money for my mission from the Air Force, they just never paid me.  Isn't that some kind of fraud?

[isuhawkeye]

a few quick notes on the original topic.

1. iowa wing has credit cards for all aircraft and ground vehicles.

2. we ask the requesting authority (ics logistics section) to arange housing for mission personel.

3.  don't forget that AFRCC doesn't actually pay for anything.  our federal appropriation is routed for mission expenses