Historic Save story

[RiverAux]

First hand accounts of a save in VT in 1944:
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20091016/NEWS02/91016003/Remembering-Camels-Hump-plane-crash

Has a gallery with a ton of photos of the mission. 

[a2capt]

Wow, how times change.

They sent a ground team consisting apparently of 5 cadets, they took them out of school- not the parents either.

Wow. Just wow..

Try that today?

Too  bad..

[Spike]

That is awesome.  I suppose it was way different back then.  A war was on, the Cadets were much more mature because of it, smoking while pulling a person off a mountain was common practice.

They even had buses and ambulances. 

WHAT happened to that CAP??

Now more often than not we are a babysitter for Moms and Dads at real cheap prices.  I have heard older members say "back when I was a Cadet.....", and you know what, I am starting to believe them!

[Johnny Yuma]

That is awesome.  I suppose it was way different back then.  A war was on, the Cadets were much more mature because of it, smoking while pulling a person off a mountain was common practice.

They even had buses and ambulances. 

WHAT happened to that CAP??

Now more often than not we are a babysitter for Moms and Dads at real cheap prices.  I have heard older members say "back when I was a Cadet.....", and you know what, I am starting to believe them!

NHQ went corporate and they let the lawyers and chairwarmers become the de facto National Commander.

[heliodoc]

What ?

You thought some of the CAP BITD (even in the '70's) were made up?

Folks, with ththread just above mine..... WE are in the Cniffle Air Patrol.

Cniffle=Sniffle

[Gunner C]

Even in the 60s, CAP was a really superior organization.  Bring back the USAF National Commander (two star type)!  Heck, that ain't gonna happen.  It's gone forever.

[Nathan]

Wow, how times change.

They sent a ground team consisting apparently of 5 cadets, they took them out of school- not the parents either.

Wow. Just wow..

Try that today?

Too  bad..

Some units will still do it, especially if the mission is known to be an actual or disaster relief. I haven't seen any regulations that restrict pulling a cadet out of school for a USAF mission...

Good read.

[Stonewall]

Even as a cadet in the late 80s, I was always in awe of the CAP in the 60s & 70s.  In fact I have several old articles I've saved since I was a cadet and researched CAP in a library; on microfische...remember that stuff? 

Even in the 80s it was pretty much "anything goes".  I remember when CPPT was created and felt a disturbance in the force.  But in the early 90s, before we went corporate, there was still a sense of rogueness and freelance.  For a while, in the mid to late 90s, I felt very restricted and hands-off.  For some reason, between 1999 and about 2003 I said "screw it" and returned to the basics, the way I was raised in CAP.  To borrow a line from Nike, "just do it", I jusy did it.  It was one of those ask forgiveness instead of permission.  My squadron's numbers and participation, not to mention ES capabilities, went through the roof.

I'll just leave it at that.  We weren't the "blacksheep", because we got Sq of the year and many individual awards.  But we blew off the corporate culture and cumbaya liability fears and just did it.

[ol'fido]

 ^^^:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[Short Field]

You don't have to ask permission or forgiveness if you are following the regulations. 

[Stonewall]

^^^Not where I was.  A lot of times you had to ask for both, even when following the regs.  Wings creating redundant forms that already existed at region or national; people wanting their signatures on things before you were able to start your squadron van and 60 days notice requirements for a weekend rocket launch that didn't interfere with anything on the wing calnedar.

[Short Field]

^^^  That is just sad.  I could think of a lot of other things to say, but sad covers it and remains civil.