By Major Joe Ely Carrales, CAP
South Texas— Years ago, 10 to be exact, a somewhat slender and lanky college age fellow walked into the McNeill Computer lab in the old engineering computer lab at Texas A&M University– Kingsville. The date was 1998 and the Internet was a new and exciting thing. The young man was often heard exclaiming that it was the worlds largest and best indexed textbook from which any shred of information could be found. Some years before that, that same fellow had been a sophomore, or maybe even a freshman, in high school who had come across a “nametape” and patch of strange design. The patch had been of some note, it had what seemed to be an Army Air Forces winged star with the word “TEXAS” in white against a red background. The nametape had the words “CIVIL AIR PATROL” in white against a sort of blue background.
Those patches had stayed in a protected drawer for a while, but on that early June 1998 day they were in plain sight. “What the heck is CIVIL AIR PATROL?” the fellow said to himself. The computer soon had an answer. The CAP webpage in those days was somewhat rudimentary...it listed the three missions and how a person could join. A further search led to a website for something called the Brownsville Composite Squadron...and other to something called the TEXAS WING. All strange...yet appealing.
And so it was that the lanky fellow, and a cousin, travelled the roads to Brownsville to join the Brownsville Composite Squadron. From that night began a long string of adventures in the Civil Air Patrol. This article, however, is not so much about the adventures of the lanky CAP SM, but rather a bit about how CAP has changed, evolved and grown in those short ten years.
UNIFORMS
Uniforms are the most visible aspect of CAP. From the Flight Suits to the Service Dress Coat,
from the BDUs to the golf shirt. Uniform are what people see the most. That is why we must present ourselves in the best possible way in those uniforms.That being said, the uniforms of CAP have changed to a noticeable level. In 1998, the NEW SERVICE DRESS was phased into CAP and the older four pocket tunic, in use in an almost unchanged form since the late 1940s-early 1950s, was on its way out. CAP held on to it until long after the USAF had replace it with the McPeak uniform and later the post-McPeak Uniform.
One will notice from the photo on the left that the Texas Wing Patch was prominently displayed on the service coat. At that time, the Wing Patch was mandatory on all CAP uniforms, including all forms of service dress, utilities and flight suits. It was not mandatory, or even allowed, on the White/Gray aviator uniform...but it was on the BDUs. This was changed after the 9-11 terrorist attacks to portray the idea that we were “ONE CAP.” It remain today on the BDU uniform as per a Texas Wing Supplement made by Col Frank Eldridge and kept in practice until today.
Two uniforms that are gone today but that highlight that period are the “smurf-suit,” a blue utility uniform akin to “coveralls” and the Guayabera shirt in navy blue worn with gray trousers. Guayaberas are a style of shirt popular in Latin America.
I still use the same set of BDUs I got for the REDCAP we had in June 1998, only I had to add the “reversed American Flag” patch that came in after 9-11 as rank to both sides of the collar lapels. In 1998 we has our rank on one side and the letters “CAP” on the other. It looks pretty funny in old pics now, but it was very natural back then. Also, in terms of rank insignia, we didn’t used to wear it on our BDU covers...we looked pretty strange with no rank up there.
UNITS in SOUTH TEXAS
Believe it or not, but the great Group V of the Texas Wing we know today did not exist in 1998. In 1998, South Texas was under the jurisdiction of Group III/Texas Wing of which the commander was Major Robert Middleton of the Rio Grande Valley. Brownsville Comp Squadron, the initial unit I joined, was under the command of Capt Chris G. Bujanos which met at the Confederate Air Force hangar (even the name of that organization has changes since then). Corpus Christi was under the command of Major Mucio Garza and was meeting at the Bunker Room of the Corpus Christi Army Depot of the Federal Military Reservation of NAS Corpus Christi. McAllen was a squadron I had only heard of only meeting 1st Lt Lee Jinks at Edinburg, Texas in June 1998. Victoria, too, was a unit that I had had no direct dealing with at that time. Those units made up the old Group 3. San Antonio was part of Group 19.
What marked those days, from my less than experienced then mind, was that most people in CAP in South Texas did not work together. Unless one flew to SARexs or drove to such activities, most CAP Officers and Cadets worked in their small areas,
ACTIVITIES
In 1998 and 1999, the idea of having a Distributive Search and Rescue Exercise was a few years off still. Most Groups, or even Units, would have their own SARex or training and would attract talent from across the Wing. Also, there were TYPE A and TYPE B Cadet Encampments, one such type being a local or GROUP encampment. These were being phased out at that time in favor of the WING ENCAMPMENT model.SLS and CLC were also more likely to happen in South Texas. Even in Corpus Christi, Texas. Once such SLS took place at NAS Corpus Christi while and other such training, the CLC, took place at Brownsville’s Southmost College (Now UT Brownsville).
A regular local activity was a SARex at Kleberg County Airport. In 1998, such an activity took place and I had been selected to “scope out the field.” Capt Chris Bujanos has selected the first week of November since that week offered the best weather every year. It was uncanny, the last week of October would drop gallons of water on the field...creating a mosquito haven the like of which have not been rivaled since.
However, the first weekend of November saw clear skies and pleasant conditions.
2008 vs. 1998
So much has changed since those days. I’m older, a husband and father and a lot more “well kept up with CAP.” The internet allows me to communicate with the vast pool of CAP Officers and Cadets. I’ve been the commander of this unit twice since then. One a “not so good” go at it and this second one being the best years I can recall.
There is a lot yet to accomplish. By the end of 2008 I should like to see us at a point where we can host a staging area at a DSARex. I would like to see an SLS or CLC in Corpus Christi. I would like to see a return and leap beyond the“way it was.”
No, the good old days are not locked in some ten year old time capsule of my remembrances. The GOOD OLD DAYS are yet to come. In August we will have achieved something we could not boast in 1998, a week dedicated to CAP and the official opening of “a place of our own.” We will unlock CAP service to a level never recorded in the shared remembrance of Corpus Christi...we will be a good partner to the Corpus Christi International Airport and the Greater South Texas Community. The benefits will be many and the tears, hopes and dreams of all those in the Corpus Christi Composite Squadron will be realized. I’ll now leave you all with a page of images from over the years. See you all in 2018!!!
