CAP Support in Colorado for Snow Storm

[bosshawk]

OK, you folks in CO, tell us all about your mission yesterday to survey highways and other places for folks and animals stranded by the snow.  My hopeless newspaper says that Colorado CAP was out flying: 12 aircraft, it said.

[carnold1836]

How about KSWG also. The papaer here in Austin mentioned both states but no mention of CAP at all. I would like to know if our snow bound brothers to the north were doing aerial SAR flights.

[sandman]

Local news here in So Cal mentioned small aircraft were flying in support. No mention of CAP. PAO issue?

[floridacyclist]

AOL news mentioned Civil Air Patrol no less than 4 times in their lead story yesterday, and even included quotes from the Wing CC. it cited AP for the story but when I looked the same story up on ap.org, it only mentioned CAP once. Maybe we have a member working in AOL news? LOL

[Hotel 179]

Local news here in So Cal mentioned small aircraft were flying in support. No mention of CAP. PAO issue?

Official releases will be forthcoming, according to the SITREP.  CAP is flying and reporting stranded motorists.  Other missions may be tasked....the crews are coordinating with other agencies and it seems to be working very well according to the tone of the report.

[arajca]

Email from the COWG/CC:

Thanks to all who participated in the mission 06M-2424. We flew 169.2 hours on 53 sorties over 2 days.  We found 20 stranded vehicles and 4 people in need of rescue. 3 were rescued by a local SAR team and 1 flew out via ANG helicopter to La Junta hospital.

[arajca]

Email for COWG/PA:

Hello COWG,

Tonight at 8:00 MT, I will be on Fox News Channel with Greta Van Susteren discussing the CAP's role in the recent blizzard mission.

If anyone has interesting stories or unique facts that happened during the mission, please forward them to me at cowgwebmaster@gmail.com and I will try to include them in the interview.

This is a huge publicity shot for COWG and CAP and I plan to make the most of it.

Cheers,
Steve
--
1st Lt. Steve Hamilton
Public Affairs Officer/Webmaster/Mission Information Officer
Civil Air Patrol Colorado Wing
cowgwebmaster@gmail.com
http://cowg.cap.gov

[Pylon]

The area metropolitain paper, the Post-Standard, ran the story yesterday and prominently mentioned Civil Air Patrol and a quote from COWG's PAO.  I was surprised to see the story so far away here in New York.  Very nice work! 

[carnold1836]

Well that is two of our missions covered by news agencies in th last week (although one was only at the local level)

ES - Fox News
CP - News 8 in Austin

I hope the Fox interview puts CAP in as good a light as the Ausitn news did for TXWG winter encampment.

[ande.boyer]

Did anyone happen to record the On the Record with the COWG Mission IO? I'd love to see it.

[RiverAux]

It will be on at 10PM tonight EDT.

[sandman]

Could an NHQ PAO post it on the national website so all can view it?

[RiverAux]

NHQ sent out a notice that it would be on tonight.  I don't think hey'll be able to post Fox News video on our web site.  I don't know if "On the Record" has a webcast version that could be linked. 

[Ned]

Steve,

I heard you on Fox this morning.

Very professional.

Good job, keep up the good work.

Ned Lee

[RocketPropelled]

Yes, I heard the PAO on Fox News (via XM Radio) while driving to south Alabama today.

It was a GREAT interview, the PAO did a fine and professional job portraying CAP and its current COWG mission(s).

I was really impressed, and being a former PR guy, that takes a lot!

Kudos. I look forward to seeing Fox News tonight.

[thefischNX01]

I think i just missed the interview, but a quick search on FoxNews.com containing "Civil Air Patrol" will bring up quite a few articles. 

[RiverAux]

Word is that it has been resheduled for tomorrow. 

[bosshawk]

Congratulations to everyone in COWG who participated and did CAP so well!!!!  This is a clear example of a CAP Wing that has input into the state emergency system.  Also a clear example of a PAO who apparently has his act together.  We can all learn from this one.

[Chris Jacobs]

Word is that it has been resheduled for tomorrow. 

Know when, or any of the other important details?

[rjacobs]

Word is that it has been resheduled for tomorrow. 

Know when, or any of the other important details?

From our Wing Commander:  "The interview with Lt Steve Hamilton is postponed until tomorrow night. Fox News (On the record) with Greta Van Susteren. Should be on the same time 20:00 hrs."

So the air date will be 4/Jan/2007 at 20:00 (MST).

[rjacobs]

Unfortunately, it looks like the airing of the interview on Fox News has been cancelled.

[Johnny Yuma]

How about KSWG also. The papaer here in Austin mentioned both states but no mention of CAP at all. I would like to know if our snow bound brothers to the north were doing aerial SAR flights.

KSWG flew Mon-Tue-Wed for a total of 22 sorties, about 71 hours of flight time and 50 man-days. 3 of 4 KSWG birds were used, all would have been up had it not been for a bad order starter on a C172. Mission HQ was KSWG HQ in Salina while we also had an Agency Liaision at KSARNG HQ EOC in Topeka throughout the mission.

Day 1 (Monday)was primarily a search of all major highways for stranded motorists between I70 and US50 from Salina West.

Day 2 (Tuesday) was a 10 county grid search for stranded motorists, cattle herds and snowed in farms in need of help. It was a much busier day with numerous cattle herds located and at least one stranded motorist rescued thansk to our flights. Photos taken of snowed in airports and farms were used to plan the governor's flight of the areas affected for Day 3.

Day 3 (Wednesday) was a wrap up of Day 2 plus a few more counties before AFRCC pulled the plug. An hour or so later AFRCC opened a new mission for an ELT found up in Concordia.

The Salina Journal ran two stories, one frontpage and KSAL AM radio had great stories on the KSWG effort. KSAL even interviewed the Wing CC and the IC for the noon talk show.

From all indications, we impressed a lot of folks in Kansas this week, especially in Topeka. Our entire effort cost less than one Blackhawk for one day's flight and saving $$$'s a real big thing in Kansas state government right now. We've now got 
the AG and his staff wanting to personally fly with us so it should be interesting.




Johnny Y.

[carnold1836]

Looks like KSWG did a great job. Much kudos. I hate that it takes a natural disaster or state of emergency for the powers that be realize what an asset CAP is and how we can help save lives. We had the same reaction here in Texas after Rita hit east of Houston. We no have a direct liason position to the state EOC, when the governor calls the EOC together for what ever reason we have to have someone from the local squadrons be in attendance at all times.

[arajca]

As a follow-on to the storms, COWG was awarded the National Commander's Unit Citation for its response to the storm. According to the COWG/CC, everyone in the wing can now wear the ribbon.


That's two ribbons I have to get now.

Edited to correct award given.