IL049

1st Lt. McKnight Completes Search Management Course

Marc Stanley, 2d Lt., CAP

1st Lt. Scott McKnight recently completed the search management course offered by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC).  This course is periodically taught in different regions of the country by Dan Conley, search and rescue program manager for the AFRCC at Tyndall AFB.  It has been designed for experienced emergency services personnel; the goal is to train CAP incident command staff how to plan and execute a search.  A real benefit of these sessions is that they provide important opportunities for networking.

The course attended by 1st Lt. McKnight was held over 2 days at the headquarters of the Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency in Evansville, IN.  A majority of the students were members of the Indiana Wing of CAP; there were also some local government personnel in attendance.

On the first day the curriculum included an overview of AFRCC along with a discussion of mission types, SAR resources, mission coordination and ELT's.  Also discussed was the imminent changeover of ELT transmission frequencies from 121.5 to 406 MHZ.

On the second day the class was broken down into teams each with its own incident commander.  1st Lt. McKnight assumed charge of his group which simulated a search taking into consideration the roles played by CAP, AFRCC, as well as local, state and other federal agencies.

1st Lt. McKnight is concerned that we be prepared for potential problems that could arise as a result of the upcoming ELT frequency changes.

Operation Thank You Update

2d Lt. Marc Stanley, CAP

We are in the process of shipping the proceeds of Operation Thank You, in approximately 80 boxes, to a United States Air Force special investigative unit in Iraq that interacts regularly with local residents.  Over 1,000 items including food, batteries, books, CD's and toileteries were collected.  In addition, school children wrote letters which will be forwarded to service personnel.  We also received numerous financial contributions which will be used to defray shipping expenses.

The success of Operation Thank You has largely been due the generosity of many individuals and organizations in our community including Future Automotive, Chicago Executive Airport and Signature Flight Support who served as collection centers.  We are grateful for their assistance.

The project manager for Palwaukee Squadron's Operation Thank You has been S/M Mike Grenz who largely conceived, planned and executed this charity drive on his own.

Palwaukee Assists in Flood Effort

Marc Stanley, 2d Lt., CAP

Public Affairs Officer IL-049

Mid-afternoon on Saturday, 13 September, the Palwaukee Squadron was contacted by local officials from the Village of Prospect Heights, Illinois regarding flood assistance. The Des Plaines River was at flood stage, and some subdivisions were already being saturated by the quickly rising water. After calls to the National Operations Center, and the ILWG Director of Operations, a mission number was assigned, and a REDCAP alert was sent out.

Shortly after the contact by local officials, Palwaukee Squadron personnel started planning for an impending REDCAP mission, and queried it’s members for availability. The first team organized after the REDCAP was officially sent, mustered at the Mission Base 90 minutes later, and was sent into the flooded area to assist with sandbagging duty.

Working with members of the local FD, Public Works, Village officials, US Navy recruits, and local residents, the CAP teams assisted with sandbagging efforts until after midnight. Congressman Mark Kirk showed up with staff members to personally assist in the filling of sandbags, much to the surprise of many on-scene. Congressman Kirk took the opportunity to shake hands with the many CAP members at the scene, and thank them for their assistance to the local communities. Village officials were also amazed at the manpower we provided in such short order, and have indicated CAP will be on it’s future list of ‘go to’ agencies for DR situations.

All in all, 28 members from 6 different units responded to the REDCAP. The units represented were: Palwaukee Squadron, Midway Squadron, Lewis Squadron, Forest Park Squadron, Lake County Squadron, and Group 22 HQ.

Palwaukee Cadet Earns General Billy Mitchell Award

2d Lt Marc Stanley, Palwaukee Squadron, CAP

Cadet Chief Hannah Gottschalk received the General Billy Mitchell Award and was also promoted to C/2d Lt at the August 19th meeting.  Presenting the award was Great Lakes Region Vice-Commander, Col. Robert Karton, joined by Group 22 Commander, Maj. Robert Williams, and Squadron Commander Captain Scott Murphy.

C/2d Lt Gottschalk joined the Palwaukee Squadron shortly after it became a Composite unit in 2006 and is the first cadet in recent years to begin her CAP career here and then subsequently earn the Mitchell Award.  Both of the other Mitchell awardees in the unit transferred here from other squadrons.

Maj. Robert Williams stated: "I view this as the culmination of the efforts of a lot of people who worked hard to bring back a robust cadet program here at Palwaukee.  We didn't want them to just show up for meetings, we wanted them active and fully engaged in everything CAP has to offer.  I put the goal on the table, but Maj. Dempsey and others executed on my ideas and made them their own. Cadet Gottschalk's achievement is proof that the program here is fully functional and I expect to be handing out a lot more of these in the near future."

The Mitchell Award is given after completion of the first eight structured segments of the CAP cadet program.  In addition, a cadet must also pass an examination covering leadership theory and aerospace topics.  Cadets who receive the Mitchell Award are eligible for advanced placement in the grade of E-3 (Airman First Class) should they choose to enlist in the US Air Force.  They are also eligible for advanced credit in the Air Force ROTC program.  Mitchell Award cadets may also apply for a variety of scholarships and CAP special activities.

C/2d Lt Gottschalk is a student at Prospect High School in Arlington Heights, IL.  "She will be a great cadet leader in Palwaukee Composite Squadron" says Maj. Robert Dempsey who supervises the Squadron's cadet program.