UNIT TASTES VICTORY on TWO FRONTS

CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS— It was a very successful weekend for the CC-CAP Squadron and its Brahma Cadet Flight. CAP Officers and cadets were able to “fight the good fight” for Civil Air Patrol on two fronts; one in one Corpus Christi’s biggest events of the and the other in a SAREVAL at Victoria.

BEACH to BAY in CORPUS CHRISTI
Weathermen predicated “scattered thundershowers” and the threat of other winds and rains for Armed Forces Day, 19 May 2007, however it was arguably one of the best days for Corpus Christi weather this century. All in all, a beautiful day for running along the Gulf of Mexico.

CAP Officers and Cadets were asked by the organizers of the 32nd Annual Beach to Bay Marathon to provide assistance to them guarding trophies and providing assistance to participants at the finish line.

There was an estimated 11,000 people gathered at Corpus Christi’s Cole Park along the shoreline. The Unit was deployed in two elements, 1) Minimum service dress clad cadets from Kingsville’s Brahma Cadet Flight to provide passive security and a presence on stage and 2) a BDU clad element at the finish line to assist distressed or dehydrated runners.

Also in attendance was 1st Lt Jerry Lunceford who ran a leg of the 26 mile marathon. In attendance were Major Joe Ely Carrales, Major Fidel Alvarado, 1st Jerry Lunceford, SM Monica Lozano, Cadet Airman First Class Philip Lozano, Cadet Airman Michael Beal, Cadet Airman Chelsie Skarda and Cadet Airman Basic Morgun Bedynek.

The unit began assembling at 0700 hrs in Kingsville and finally met at Cole Park at about 0800 hrs where Cadets and CAP Officers set up awards tables and began guarding the stage. Cadet Lozano and Major Alvarado were tasked to the finish line and runner began arriving around 0845 hrs.

Three tons of ice and four truckloads of water later, around 1200 hrs, the last runners entered the gate and awards were distributed. The Unit finished its duties and retired to the Whataburger on the Bay fast food restaurant for lunch. It was a very good day and cadets returned home looking forward to the next weeks O-Flights in Kingsville.

SAREVAL STAGING AREA in VICTORIA

Capt Dennis Bazemore and 2d Lt Mike Garmon attended the USAF Evaluated Search and Rescue Exercise in lieu of attending the Beach to Bay Activity. It had been agreed that the Unit would deploy on two fronts and those needing to complete mission work would be dispatched to Victoria to augment the Civil Air Patrol presence in the State wide activity.

2d Lt Mike Garmon Reports…”I participated in 2 sorties. The first was a transport mission to San Marcos. The second was a series of photo reconnaissance targets.”

“The plan,” 2d Lt Garmon Continues, “was to fly again after lunch and Capt Bazemore was to fly on that sortie; however, several of the Eval (USAF DIRECTIVES) tests on mission base slowed down the process and eventually we were bumping up against Capt Saddler's Duty day limitations.”

Garmon also reported that some of the tests on Mission base included an evacuation of the Mission base building, cell phone failure and relying on the use of the HF Comm Nets. Victoria had communication in the morning over the HF with Mission base, but in the afternoon, propagation is not as good and Victoria could not communicate with Houston. All these “real world” issues that effect CAP missions and to which solutions must be mitigated.