Jun 19, 2008

Saturday morning, 0730 – “We have a mission, sir.” The call came from Emergency Services Officer Thomas Durham to the Civil Air Patrol Squadron Commander, Lt. Col. Larry Durham. An aircraft is reported missing and there is an emergency signal being picked up by the Air Force in Langley, Va. The location indicates the signal is in the Squires, Mo., area. “Very good; notify the Alerting Officer and then call me back with our assets,” was the response from the commander. Calls went out to the members of the Douglas County Composite Squadron. All available members reported willing and able to respond to this emergency. Thankfully, this was a simulated mission approved by the Air Force, which tracks all aircraft emergency signals around the world, to let the local CAP squadron practice their newly learned skills. Each aircraft has an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) that will send out a location signal if the aircraft were to crash...or sometimes just land hard. The signal is picked up via satellite by the Air Force base in Langley, Va., which then calls the Civil Air Patrol squadron closest to the signal. Even if the signal is not an actual emergency, it needs to be turned off - because the AFRCC (Air Force Rescue Coordination Center) can only track a few signals at a time – all over the world – and needs to be kept clear to track actual emergencies. Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 56,000 members nationwide. CAP performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 103 lives in fiscal year 2007. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to the nearly 22,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 66 years. The local squadron at Ava is still in the organizational stage. As a 501c3, donations are tax deductible. The local squadron is in need of an outdoor flagpole, folding tables and chairs, and most of all, they would like to put in a flight simulator so they can teach the cadets how to fly. Donations of materials or money would be greatly appreciated. In recent weeks, the Douglas County Composite Squadron has been training to handle emergencies such as a downed aircraft for the Air Force, or to help local agencies in their area, to find missing children, traffic control for events, door to door searches to check on residents after a disaster and so much more. The Squadron was formed in December of last year and now boasts of about 20 members, with ages ranging from 12 years and up. They meet at 306 NW 10th St., just across from the Ava pool and tennis courts on Thursday evenings, from 1830 (6:30 p.m.) until 2100 (9:00 p.m.). If you are interested in membership and are between the ages of 12 and 150 years old - come by the meeting or call 683-4570. You can check them out on their website, www. larryjames.net/CAP.