NER DR mission

[SABRE17]

i just found out about this NER Disaster Relief mission at the end of july/beginning of august. does anyone know anything more about the exercise than what has been noted in the mission plan? some info is FOUO so i don't wanna say to much on CAP talk but I'm very excited for this mission.

[ZigZag911]

What I heard is that when Westover AFB became unavailable for NER SARCOMP  (scheduled for that same weekend), rather than simply cancel, region leadership consulted with wing CCs and decided to hold a region wide DR exercise -- probably based on a weather event (I guess hurricane, hard to simulate an ice storm in this heat!), emphasizing cooperation among the wings.

Each wing will set up its own ICP and receive tasking from NER.

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

I'll be serving as IC for CTWG. Expecting details from my Wing DO anytime now.

[EMT-83]

I assume that there will be no notice given, so we could possibly schedule time off from work to participate?

[SABRE17]

personally i find that practice stupid, it should be announced several meetings in advance at the unit level for interested participants to ensure their paperwork and gear are in order and time to take care of anything else that may be lacking
(missions in MAWG are infrequent so it happens where we aren't always prepared) also considering based on the scenario we already have some notice of a "storm". i know  that i personally will make an announcement next meeting to my cadets and let the seniors know about it. seeing as i am trying recruit GTM's we need to get GES and some GT3 prerequisites handled so they can go

[RADIOMAN015]

Cap'ers fire up your radios :angel:


RM

[ZigZag911]

I saw a region notice thru my wing list serve; inquire of your chain of command.

[Krapenhoeffer]

<devils advocate>But in real life, you wouldn't have time to make sure your gear is ready. It's supposed to be ready at all times...</devils advocate>

[Spaceman3750]

<devils advocate>But in real life, you wouldn't have time to make sure your gear is ready. It's supposed to be ready at all times...</devils advocate>

There's also the fact that no employer is going to release their person for a semi-surprise drill on the fly, like was stated before. That type of stuff has to be pre-arranged.

[RADIOMAN015]

<devils advocate>But in real life, you wouldn't have time to make sure your gear is ready. It's supposed to be ready at all times...</devils advocate>

There's also the fact that no employer is going to release their person for a semi-surprise drill on the fly, like was stated before. That type of stuff has to be pre-arranged.

The reality of the situation is that most of CAP's large training mission are held on weekends because that is when the majority of the membership is not working in their normal paying jobs or going to school.  There are some retirees and some others who have different or more flexible work/play schedules that may be able to cover short notice weekday missions or training/evaluation missions.

I think NER Cap'ers will find this to be an interesting & challenging exercise.  Oh by the way, might be a real good idea to check out your radio communications equipment (transceivers & receivers) prior to the exercise start.   Which by CAP policy is suppose to be confidence checked weekly anyways (but as you all know there's a lot of non compliance with that policy)  :angel:
RM   

[NavLT]

I have had several emails about the mission but the primary string that commanders better start working on is that the mission is during the wing encampment so many of the key players are out of action.  When they look to the bench for the 2nd string they find the there are not many on the bench.......lots of trainees but not too many trainers. 

I have alot of members who burn vacation (yes on weekends too) to play but the organization of the training for the trainees has been lacking of late (4-5 years) and now many members who did want to play won't anymore.  We need to identify trainee slots and trainers and line up names in advance for those functions so people know they are going to be the PSC trainee on shift 2 Day 1 under Major XXXXX.

I am feeling a good push on the mission but the devil (as always) is in the details.  Everytime we ask for more info on trainers and ICP positions open we get the "just show up and find out".  What would an IC do if 11 CUL Trianees showed up on 1 day? Train 2 and send the rest out as RO with Ground Teams?  The next mission you would get ........2 maybee.


V/R
LT J

[SABRE17]

i honestly couldn't agree more, especially in my wing, just the exercise it self is causing some headache. some people are saying that its a "table top exercise" when others are saying to get ground gear ready etc etc... is there any one, (hopefully MA wing) that has details about MAWG's involvement? command posts, etc?

if this is going to be a small exercise over the whole weekend i don't see a point in going, especially if there are no task sign offs, id rather work at my restaurant job, then sit around and do nothing like so many other exercises end up.

[EMT-83]

So, did everyone have a good time?

Found out Thursday night where and when to report. Up at 0430 to get to the squadron, collect gear and cadets, and report to the CP. After morning briefing, we were sent to a central staging area to await ground team tasking.

Command reports a simulated helicopter crash and the first air crew to hear an ELT reports its position about 5 miles from our staging area. We're tasked with tracking it, thinking this is way too easy. After chasing shadows for an hour, the air crew determines that the signal is coming from farther north. Gotta love power lines!

We're tasked about 20 miles north, where a second air crew does an outstanding job of leading us to where they have tracked the signal. We did find the beacon about 4 miles west of this point. Gotta love terrain!

We return to the CP for paperwork and debriefing, help clean up and head back to the squadron. Put everything away and leave for home. At 2230, fuel receipt uploaded into WMIRS and off to bed.

Lessons learned? This was my first foray into ground work; I'm normally on air crew. I can say that my MO experience was definitely an advantage, in knowing the thought process of the air crews and effectively communicating with them. This should also make me a better MO, knowing the challenges faced on the ground.

Having to rely on CAP communications and not reverting to cell phones made us think a little harder and be aware of our surroundings. When we lost signal, we'd head for higher ground and establish communications. We spent a lot of time changing channels to switch repeaters for the CP, and using simplex channels to talk to aircraft. All in all, a long day but we walked better prepared for the real thing.

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

Minted a brand new IC for CTWG.
Had support from an outstanding ICP Staff.
Flew in the CAP AC that was the first up over Ground Zero.
Went home and got 13 hours of sleep.

That's a good day

[RADIOMAN015]

Looks like Maine Wing got some excellent media coverage :clap:

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Civil-Air-Patrol-to-conduct-disaster-exercise.html  ---  pre exercise date notice to the public letting them know what is happening, I assume so they won't be alarmed   

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Civil-Air-Patrol-practices-for-disaster,150203  -- Good action shot of the aircraft

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=122571&catid=2  --- Some video of the ALE radio in operation

Hats off and a mighty salute to Maine Wing for their public relations efforts :clap: :clap:
RM