Dale Brown, who writes military fiction thrillers, usually focused on the Air Force, has included a big passage relating to CAP in his new book, "Strike Force". I won't tell you exactly how this relates to the story, but one of the cadets does play a big role later (but not as a CAP cadet - something else). I'll just talk about the CAP stuff.
Basically, you're reading along about a brewing conflict between the US and Iran and all of a sudden you're at a squadron-level field exercise in Minnesota with the Grand Rapids Composite Squadron. He devotes a few sentences talking about CAP ES missions in general then moves on.
There are 4 flights of cadets conducting an orienteering exercise over a 10 sq km area with apparently only 1 adult supervising. Each flight is sent out to find ammo boxes with flags in them (on their own) and told to report back to a central point no more than 4 hours later and the flight with the most flags in the shortest time wins. The catch is that everybody is wearing laser tag equipment and if one flight is able to tag the leader of the other flight they get to take all that flight's flags. I won't tell you how this comes out.
After this is over, there is a short physical fight involving 3 cadets. Apparently this is seen by the senior member who after it is over comes over and the cadets feed him a line of bull. He doesn't buy it but only tells this to the cadet sort of responsible for it who he chastises in private. He doesn't say anything to anyone else. He probably would have later, one of the cadets gets called away from the encampment in an unusual way and he does go pretty far in making sure it is legit before letting the cadet go.
Oh, and did I say that the senior is wearing a Beretta pistol in a holster on his hip?
In all about 20 pages are devoted to this incident. Overall, it is probably a good passage, with the pistol being an obvious mistake. I think I recall Brown mentioning CAP in passing during his last book.
Its not really cricket to critique something you haven't actually read, but based on your synopsis I would hazard Mr. Brown didn't spend much time doing actual research.
Well, he is usually pretty good about research from what I can tell, but he could have at least avoided the pistol mistake by talking to just about any CAP member. I suspect that the laser tag stuff would probably still stay in for dramatic effect.
Even with that stuff factored in, this is still pretty darn good publicity for CAP. He sells millions of books.
It's just that he researched it in Florida. Down here we have different rules about pistols.
Is that a joke?
I'm sure you guys have the same rules in Florida as the rest of the US for CAP purposes:
http://level2.cap.gov/documents/u_082503081302.pdf (http://level2.cap.gov/documents/u_082503081302.pdf)
Quote from: RiverAux on July 12, 2007, 02:29:33 PM
Well, he is usually pretty good about research from what I can tell, but he could have at least avoided the pistol mistake by talking to just about any CAP member. I suspect that the laser tag stuff would probably still stay in for dramatic effect.
Even with that stuff factored in, this is still pretty darn good publicity for CAP. He sells millions of books.
Awesome, so millions of people will think we're a bunch of laser-tag playing yahoos, who allow our cadets
to roam free in the woods unsupervised for hours at a time. Cool.
Quote from: markh on July 12, 2007, 08:59:31 PM
Is that a joke?
I'm sure you guys have the same rules in Florida as the rest of the US for CAP purposes:
http://level2.cap.gov/documents/u_082503081302.pdf (http://level2.cap.gov/documents/u_082503081302.pdf)
No we don't. Ask your national commander to show you his surrogate pe uhh pistol.
I checked out Strike Force from the Library last weekend, but until I saw this thread hadn't started to read it.
Later in the book, a report from the CAP officer about the incident where the cadet is taken away somehow gets into the military intelligence system and is used to verify a theory about the larger conflict featured in the book.
I think this book is cool.
During World War II there was a Saturday matinee serial called "Scouts to the Rescue" in which Boy Scouts foil an attack by Nazi agents when they "Find" a box of hand grenades on a camping trip, and attack the Germans with them.
The latest issue of the Volunteer http://www.cap.gov/documents/MarchApril_Volunteer_lores.pdf has a 3 page story about Dale Brown and his use of CAP in the novel. No critcism of any of the story points I mentioned.
Quote from: Skyray on July 12, 2007, 11:11:07 PM
Quote from: markh on July 12, 2007, 08:59:31 PM
Is that a joke?
I'm sure you guys have the same rules in Florida as the rest of the US for CAP purposes:
http://level2.cap.gov/documents/u_082503081302.pdf (http://level2.cap.gov/documents/u_082503081302.pdf)
No we don't. Ask your national commander to show you his surrogate pe uhh pistol.
Okay, I'm intrested, how are you guys different? (I'd have gone PM but you have them disabled)
^Uh, yeah... Never mind that.
Skyray has been banned. Not sure why the forum is not showing that.
Back to this threadcromanced topic.
Read it. meh.
Many years ago CAP was featured in a sci-fi short story. I don't think I still have it, but the plot was in the future and CAP was tasked with doing brain scans on dead enemy pilots. This was also set in the NCR, if I recall.
Anyone recall the name of the book or the author? Thanks.
Nice topic!
Now that someone mentioned this, there is a movie where "Civil Air Patrol" is mentioned, I can't remember the name of the movie but its about a helicopter crew or whatever gets shot down they take out the terrorists and get to a sub station base or something like that and they have no radio communications so their commander brings in a CAP guy in civvies to help fix their radio equipments and suggests an alternate way to broadcast their signals...
Anyway the fact that "Civil Air Patrol" was mentioned, he was in a foreign country trying to help the AF/Marines get their radios working again was kinda cool but he wasn't in uniform neither did he salute or anything.
Please focus on this book. There are other threads discussing CAP in books, movies, etc. or start a new one.
Quote from: RiverAux on March 17, 2008, 11:25:45 PM
Please focus on this book. There are other threads discussing CAP in books, movies, etc. or start a new one.
Really there are other threads? TBH it is part of the focus, no it wasn't pointed about the book but the fact that CAP was mentioned in the book comes to mind about various mentions in various other books and media makes the point in addition to the fact CAP was mentioned in THIS book as well.
I'd be interested in reading THIS book however, from reading the synopsis... thats enough and CAP is named in it... :D :D