Five CC-CAP Officers receive Award for Hurricane Ike Service

By Major Joe Ely Carrales, CAP

Corpus Christi, Texas— Five CAP Officers were honored on Tuesday 10 March 2009 for their service last September in support of the disaster relief operations for Hurricane Ike.Lt Col John Barfoot, Lt Col Rene Velazquez, Major Joe Ely Carrales, 1st Lt Mike Garmon and 2d Lt Bill Barnes were presented a Civil Air Patrol Disaster Relief Ribbon with “V” Device.

This marks the first time in the recent history of the Corpus Christi Comp Squadron that the unit has had the operational acumen to deploy in support of a Major disaster relief operation. Each of the above officers did their best for various parts of the deployment. Lt Col Barfoot and Lt Col Velazquez were active at the mission base When it moved into the effected area of West Houston. Major Carrales and 2d Lt Barnes were active during the Stinson Phase of the operation, the initial Air Operations run out of San Antonio. 1st Lt Garmon was instrumental in a communications exercise that was run out of CAP Station Corpus Christi involving the monitoring of the general evacuation of hospitals and other care facilities as the storm approached.

The Disaster Relief Ribbon with “V” Device. may be awarded to any CAP member who participates in a disaster relief effort for a Presidential declared disaster. Participation must be verified by the on-scene commander. Participation in any Presidential declared disaster since 1990 qualifies. Cadet Bryce A. Nix also participated in the preliminary COMM Exercise but was not included on the award Personnel Action. A CAPF 2a has been filled out and is “in channels.” We are looking forward to writing an article on said award.

EGG HUNTING with LAND NAV

by Major Joe Ely Carrales, CAP

KINGSVILLE, TEXAS— Cadets of the Brahma Cadet Flight had an opportunity to learn and apply a new skill last week.

C/CMSgt Bryce Nix, who attended the Texas Wing Ground School at Brownsville this past winter, applied the skill he learned in Land Navigation using the compass, both lensatic and SILVA. This was on Tuesday, 10 March 2009.
On the subsequent Wednesday, Major Joe Ely Carrales and Cadet Nix spent the afternoon pacing and developing compass bearings in the immediate area of Memorial Middle School. That day was hot and dry, unlike Thursday which (thanks to a cold front) was rainy, wet and (for South Texas) cold.
Two flights pursued two “routes,” using the compass bearings to find Easter eggs that contained clues and more headings for the teams to follow. Cadets Rose and Silguero made up on team and Cadets Mixon and Johnson made up the other. It was a good day.

Proficiency Flying HELPS CC-CAP

It wasn't too long ago that we were all asking, "Why don't we have an aircraft?" Now, our hangar is no longer empty and it is up to us to use that aircraft.

Remember, P-Flying helps CC-CAP in more ways than one. It makes our aviators better pilots. It serves to polish our aircrew skills. It allows us to show that our pilots are GO GETTERS.

We have lots of activity coming up in 2009.

1) FIRE WATCH 2009- 1st Lt Estelle Kelly, Group V Public Affairs Officer relayed this message:

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry has activated state resources to combat wildfires in Central Texas. These resources include four Texas Military Forces Blackhawk helicopters equipped to drop water and fire retardant, Texas Forest Service fire fighters and contract aircraft and heavy equipment. A cold front sweeping through the state late Friday and Saturday increased the wildfire threat with high winds and low humidity.

“Wildfires burning in Central Texas have destroyed homes and property over the weekend, but fortunately there have been no reports of lives lost,” Gov. Rick Perry said. “The state is assisting in battling this threat and will continue to provide necessary resources to protect our communities. I urge all Texans to use extreme care in outdoor activities, to be aware of burn bans in their counties, and to take precautions to protect their homes and property,”

Since Jan. 1, 2009, 3,685 wildfires have burned 118,061 acres of land across the state. These fires have threatened 1,763 homes, firefighters have saved 1,630 homes, and 57 homes were lost.

The most significant damage occurred over the weekend in Bastrop County. These damages include 25 homes destroyed and 1,000 acres burned. The fire is20burning in heavy terrain, hampering firefighting efforts.

State agencies, including the Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Forest Service and Texas Military Forces, are responding to fires across the state. Local and volunteer fire departments are providing vital firefighting personnel and resources to combat these wildfires. Volunteer organizations are also providing assistance and support for residents as needed.
As of Friday, 201 counties were threatened by wildfire conditions where local leaders have issued burn bans, which prohibit all types of outdoor burning.

(http://tfsfrp.tamu.edu/wildfires/decban.png)

Last week the governor renewed the state disaster proclamation for counties threatened by wildfire conditions. He also sent a letter to the president requesting direct federal assistance to fund statewide efforts to combat the wildfire threat.

2) Hurricane SEASON 2009. This year we will have an Aircraft, we will need Mission Pilots and Aircrew to deploy. It will mean a lot of flying. The time to qualify is NOW!!!

MISSIONS for AMERICA

A letter from Brig General Richard L. Anderson, past National Commander of the Civil Air Patrol.

Many of you who have been a part of CAP for a while may have heard the tagline “Civil Air Patrol- performing Missions for America.” This was a great tagline that had replaced the “Civil Air Patrol- Americans’ Best Kept Secret,” the later of which was seen a a bit negative.

As it turns out, the origin of the “Missions for America” has a neat back story. This week I received an e-mail from Brig Gen Richard L. Anderson, former CAP National Commander. He writes…

“I saw on an old CAP-Talk blog from 2007 in which you mentioned my coining the phrase 'Missions for America.' I thought that you'd be interested in having a scan of the note I wrote to Gen Barry that CAP flies "Missions for America." It was at an NEC, and one of the AF guys at the table said that CAP flies missions for the Air Force. That struck me as being an imprecise statement, and I slid the attached note (written on a soiled paper napkin) to Gen Barry (he was National Commander and I was National Vice Commander). For some reason, I stuck the note in my NEC agenda notebook, where it remained for probably 15 years before I rediscovered it several years ago still tucked away in the agenda.”


In the subsequent years, other taglines have been tried and all have generated some controversy or have not fully had the impact deemed necessary by the consensus. This has not been the case for the concise message conveyed by Brig General Anderson. Thank you, Sir, for this insight into that tagline and for your service to our nation in CAP as well as in the US Air Force.

SPECIAL FEATURE STORY: The Sky Watch Civil Air Patrol of Great Britain

(Editor’s Note: Last week, in Through the Air Over South Texas I was able to feature some of our brothers and sisters in the Civil Air Patrols or other nations. Among them was the Sky Watch Civil Air Patrol of Great Britain. I was greatly honored to communicate with Mr. Arnold Parker, the founder of the SWCAP and was pleased that he contributed this article. Please enjoy this message from our friends “across the pond” -Major Carrales)


SKY WATCH CIVIL AIR PATROL
by Mr. Arnold Parker
Founder of the Sky Watch Civil Air Patrol

United Kingdom—In July 2000 two little girls, Sophie George (8) and Kymberley Allcock (8) were killed by a train whilst playing on a remote railway bridge near Borth, West Wales. This tragedy caused “The Sky Watch” to be formed to get pilots of light aircraft to look out for people in dangerous situations and radio Air Traffic Control to relay a 999 call to the appropriate Emergency Services – hopefully to stop instances turning into tragedies.

The basic “flying look out” is still an important role but increased training operations, air patrols and assistance to the emergency services prompted the name change a couple of years ago from “The Sky Watch” to “Sky Watch Civil Air Patrol” to more accurately reflect the operations of the service.

Pilots donate their time, aircraft and fuel completely free of charge. Any pilot with a radio license is welcome to join but it is certainly not a “Dad’s Army” of amateur do-gooders with a Biggles complex. The average SWCAP private pilot has well over 1,000 flying hours. In addition there is a strong central core of current and retired professionals from the RAF., Airlines, Police Aviation, Air Ambulance, Army Air Corps, Navy Aircrew and Instructors.

Sky Watch developed its own Training Manual which is highly regarded in emergency aviation circles. The service mushroomed into a Registered Charity and is now the largest voluntary air observation and search service in Europe with over 200 aircraft - mainly light aeroplanes suited to air observation work, including several helicopters and autogyros.

A central core of about 75 “Responders” - Pilots and Observers trained inair observation and search are linked with the RAF Aeronautical Rescue Co- ordination Centre at RAF Kinloss, Coastguard, plus some Mountain Rescue, Police, and Regional Emergency Co-ordinators. “Responders” have covered numerous cases such as locating downed aircraft, finding missing persons, assisting in air search for Air Accident Investigation, fire patrols, etc. Last year the service achieved its first “Life Saved.”

O-Flights bring CAP Station Robstown to Life

Corpus Christi, Texas- The early morning sun crept over the horizon as CAP aviators and Cadets began to arrive at CAP STATION ROBSTOWN. CAP Aircraft N982CP was ready to become the workhorse of the Squadron inspiring a new generation of CAP aviators.

Capt Lorenzo Baldwin would be the PIC for the Day’s Activities.

This occasion would be more dedicated to Brahma Flight Cadets from Kingsville, Texas since most of them were prepared with uniforms and the necessary training from their Aerospace Ed Chapters.

The Next round of O-Flights will have a focus on the Cadets from Corpus Christi. That being said, one cadet, C/AB Miguel Ortiz of Orange Grove was able to complete an flight.

Cadets from Kingsville for the day were as followed:
C/SSgt Jonathan Garza
C/A1C Matthew Spencer
C/Amn Estrellita Silguero
C/Amn Michael Mixon
C/Amn Raymond Perez
C/AB Jose Silguero.

1st Lt John Hoelscher and 1st Lt Nick Lindsay were on hand to conduct the pre-flight instruction.

Initially it appeared that high winds might curtail the whole of the activity, however, mother nature managed to keep in within specs and soon Capt Baldwin and his first group would be airborne. Cadets Spence and Mixon were the first to fly, followed by Cadets Garza and Perez. After lunch, the Silgueros and Cadet Ortiz were able to take their ride. Capt Baldwin, also a member of the Commemorative Air Force, was able to provide an extra plus to the cadets. The
morning groups got an opportunity to visit the CAF museum and displays at Alice, Texas, where the “front seat-backseat” switch was made.

Cadet waiting for their flights needn’t have stood idly by in boredom, there was plenty planned for them including an ELT search in an airport environment (to which Cadets Spencer and Mixon took 22 minutes to find while a team of the two Cadets Silguero and Ortiz took only 18
minutes.) and the clean up of the hangar.

“Cadets should understand,” said Major Joe Ely Carrales, “that the CAP facilities at our disposal are very much ‘theirs’ and that we must all maintain them if we are to have a successful unit.”

Additionally, there are several items at the airport (some furniture, some chart table and some other cabinets) in need of tender loving care. Some of these will be “assigned” to a pair of cadets or a CAP Officer to “restore and rehabilitate.” Small metal placards will be attached to the desks and table once the restoration is complete.

All-in-all, the cadets were very pleased and left that day in very good spirits.

Read the story at KIII-TV, Channel 3's webpage...
http://www.kiiitv.com/younews/39291132.html

South Texas Civil Air Patrol Military Band holds 2nd Practice in Kingsville

Kingsville, Texas— The South Texas Civil Air Patrol Military Band held its second practice at Memorial Middle School in Kingsville, Texas on 3 February 2009. The instrumentation was settled up. The Band will function with a base instrumentation of two trumpets played by C/SSgt Jonathan Garza and C/Amn Estrellita Silguero, 1 tenor saxophone played by C/A1C Kayma Rose, trombone played by Major Joe Ely Carrales, mallets/bells played by C/A1C Matthew Spencer, and Guitar played by C/CMSgt Bryce A. Nix.

The Band practiced The Star Spangled Banner for the bulk of its practice. The rehearsal was led by Major Joe Ely Carrales and Capt Sandra Phelps. Capt Phelps is the assigned director.

Additional instrumentation will be added within the upcoming months including a three piece percussion section (snare, base drum and cymbal). C/SSgt Shane Barnes and C/Amn Mark Archer have also expressed interest in these areas. It is hoped that more rehearsals can be held that involve the whole group, however, that is logistically difficult since the unit is spread over 70 square miles of South Texas.