'PROPS': Your Weekly Newsletter

Cell Phone Team Produces Quick Rescue from Frigid Wash. River

Quick action by Civil Air Patrol's National Cell Phone Forensics team led to the rescue Friday of a Washington state hiker who had fallen into the subfreezing Hoh River.

Lt. Col. Vic LaSala, an analyst trainee on the team, was the first to respond to an Air Force Rescue Coordination Center alert. LaSala set up the “communicator” function in the cell phone team's software. That sent a message to the missing hiker's phone, asking him to click a link that would provide location information to rescuers.

The man did so three minutes later, yielding a location with 12-meter accuracy. Local search and rescue officials were given the coordinates at 5:55 a.m. local time - five minutes before the man's phone stopped working.

"The cell phone team's quick work saved this man's life for sure. They got what was needed with just a few minutes to spare,” said John Desmarais, Director of Operations.

More About the Mission

Ariz. Wing Gains New Commander

Col. Robert C. Pinckard is the new commander of the Arizona Wing, succeeding Col. Martha Morris.

Col. Joe Smith, Southwest Region commander, presided over the traditional military change of command ceremony before about 200 Arizona Wing members, their families and invited guests.

“It’s a great honor for me to have been chosen to lead the Arizona Wing,” said Pinckard, who joined the wing's Willie Composite Squadron in 2001. “I’m following in the footsteps of some exceptional wing commanders.”

About the New Commander

NHQ News

Applications Due for Final National Staff College

Applications are now being accepted for CAP’s final National Staff College. Qualified field-grade officers and senior NCOs in the grades of chief or senior master sergeant are invited to apply for the college, set for April 23-28 at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The application deadline is March 1.

The college is CAP’s senior staff school and is taught by highly qualified CAP and U.S. Air Force senior leaders from Air University, challenging students in the areas of executive leadership, management, organizational behavior and policy formation. Much time is spent examining CAP’s national-level operations. Students engage in seminar discussions, case studies and exercises throughout the course.

Please note that this is the college’s final year, as CAP’s Professional Development Program is undergoing a transformation, with the new program being launched in August.

More Info Online

Email for More Info

Natl. Headquarters Changing Phone Systems

National Headquarters will be changing phone systems effective Monday, Feb. 3. The main toll-free numbers for NHQ and the National Operations Center will still be active.

If you use the main NHQ number, 1-877-227-9142, you will not be able to enter the three-digit extension to reach a specific staff member. Instead, you will need to select the option from the automated directory to reach a particular person.

Members can still contact NHQ staff directly through seven-digit phone numbers (the 334 area code will remain the same). You can find the phone numbers listed in the CAP/CAP-USAF Directory in eServices. The directory can be found after you log into www.capnhq.gov. It’s located in the Contact Us section at the bottom right of the page (in the blue field).

The National Operations Center number is 1-888-211-1812.

ReadyOp: CAP's Newest Communications Tool

ReadyOp is a radio-over-internet system that will allow Incident Command staff to use their cellphones to speak directly to aircraft and vehicular radios. It will also allow our CAP incident commanders to run missions from their smartphones and allow Incident Command staff to create virtual Incident Command Posts for each mission.

CAP has launched ReadyOp in several wings and will launch in more wings this year.