CAP Aerial Photos, Online Assessments Provide Support in Idalia Aftermath

The federal and state response to Hurricane Idalia’s assault on Florida includes over 1,200 aerial images provided by Civil Air Patrol’s Florida Wing for impact assessment, along with structural damage evaluated online by CAP members across the U.S.

The Florida Wing was tasked with providing aerial photography after Idalia made landfall Aug. 30 in the state’s Big Bend.

In all, 164 wing members were involved in the response mission. They conducted 33 flights totaling 76 hours, and also carried out four ground missions.

Meanwhile, 39 members in 21 wings across the U.S., including Florida, participated online in the CAP geospatial team's mission assessing Idalia's impact on structures.

This PBS Hawaii special, “Home is Here,” features Civil Air Patrol's Hawaii Wing. It first aired the evening of Aug. 30 and is also available for viewing on the PBS Hawaii website.

“This was an excellent opportunity for our members, both adult members and cadets, to share with our community who we are, what we do, and what has been our experiences,” said 2nd Lt. Janel S. Fujinaka, the wing's public affairs officer.

The special includes interviews with Col. Stacy Haruguchi, wing commander, and former wing commander Col. Roger Caires. Also featured are Lt. Cols. Dana McLaughlin, the wing's director of emergency services, and Marlene Johnson, wing director of cadet programs, among others.

2023 National Conference

AFNORTH Award Goes to Kentucky Wing

The 2023 Air Forces Northern Command (AFNORTH) Commander’s Award, presented annually for the most meritorious Civil Air Patrol mission of the previous year, recognizes Kentucky Wing members for their response to extreme flooding in the Bluegrass State last summer.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, commander of AFNORTH, made the presentation Aug. 18 during CAP’s 2023 National Conference in Bellevue, Washington.

Maj. Ian Burkett, wing emergency services officer and CAP’s lead liaison officer for the mission, accompanied by Col. Brian Schmuck, commander of the Kentucky Wing, accepted the award — given for the wing’s unprecedented relief efforts in response to several complexes of thunderstorms between July 28-Aug. 25, 2022, that brought heavy rain, deadly flash flooding, and devastating river flooding to eastern Kentucky and central Appalachia.

“I am proud of the exceptional teamwork and dedication demonstrated by Maj. Burkett and all of our auxiliary airmen who contributed to this very significant disaster response,” Schmuck said.

Other CAP national awards were announced during the conference, including Cadet of the Year, Senior Member of the Year, Aerospace Teacher of the Year, and Squadron of Distinction.

Also announced were this year's JanEX Prize innovation recipients.

CAP, uAvionix Partner to Expand Low-Altitude Aircraft Data for Search and Rescue Missions

Civil Air Patrol and uAvionix Corp. have partnered to deploy a DO-260B-compliant, dual-band Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) receiver network to complement Federal Aviation Administration sensor data with low-altitude aircraft positions in support of CAP’s radar analysis mission.

The ADS-B receiver technology — already in use in Virginia — is designed to shorten the accident-to-rescue time in the National Radar Analysis Team’s search and rescue efforts.

The radar analysis team “has been working several years to test small ADS-B receivers to place at locations with limited FAA coverage,” said Lt. Col. Mark Young (pictured), the team’s commander. “The availability of these new receivers, built to RTCA aviation certification standards, and its subsequent real-time data from FlightLine data available to Civil Air Patrol, is a significant advancement for our team.

Now that the 2023 National Conference is in the books, preparations are underway for next year's conference in San Antonio.

Maine Cadets Fly with National Commander

It was blue skies and smiles all around for four Maine Wing cadets who experienced their first Civil Air Patrol orientation flights with the organization’s national commander and CEO, Maj. Gen. Edward D. Phelka, in the pilot’s seat.

Phelka also provided ground instruction, oversaw preflight inspection, and discussed control surfaces with the four cadets — Cadet Staff Sgt. Jacob Dow, Cadet Senior Airmen Elliott Szarowski and Quinn Szarowski, and Cadet Airman Cooper Leonard. All belong to the 35th Composite Squadron.

The national commander conducted the flights while visiting the Maine Wing during its annual conference.

“The cadet experience I think is really important, to do all of the different things cadets have a chance to do,” Phelka said. “Giving orientation rides is one of my favorite things because I love creating those experiences [for cadets]. It’s a chance for me to continue to do that as a pilot; it’s one of my favorite things.”

Louisiana Cadet Honored with Spaatz Award

Cadet Col. Sebastian Miskimmin received Civil Air Patrol’s top cadet honor in a setting as close to home as possible — his parents’ back yard in Covington, Louisiana.

Miskimmin was presented with the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award during a farewell party as he prepared to leave a few days later for basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. His parents, U.S. Navy veterans Kimberly and John Miskimmin, pinned his new cadet colonel insignia on his CAP uniform as friends and family looked on.

Angelini Assumes Indiana Wing Command

Col. Aaron Angelini, a Civil Air Patrol member with more than 20 years of leadership, finance, and management skills, took command of the Indiana Wing in a ceremony Aug. 12 in Indianapolis.

“I am looking forward to working with Indiana Wing volunteers to continue Civil Air Patrol’s service to the nation and community,” Angelini said. “I would like to carry on the excellence Col. Robert Freese instilled in the Indiana Wing.”

Angelini succeeds Freese, during whose 3½ years as commander the wing distributed about 1.5 million meals as part of the COVID-19 pandemic response; participated in local, national, and international exercises with CAP, the U.S. military, and foreign military personnel; and increased the wing’s cadet enrollment.

Revived Aviation & Aeronautics Business Academy Graduates 20

Twenty cadets from 14 wings in six regions across Civil Air Patrol completed the Aviation & Aeronautics Business Academy on Aug. 11, becoming the first to do so since the  National Cadet Special Activity was last held in 2015.

Previously conducted in McMinnville, Oregon, the activity was resurrected this year across the country at Vaughn College of Aeronautics & Technology in Queens, New York.

The academy “opened my eyes to all the different career fields in aviation,” said Cadet Maj. Timothy Ku (far left in photo) of the Iowa Wing’s 41st Iowa Composite Squadron.

North Carolina Members Tour HondaJet Facility

Asheville Composite Squadron members toured the HondaJet research facility and assembly center in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Aug. 16 in a follow-up to HondaJet’s earlier visit to the squadron’s Asheville Regional Airport base to display the company’s latest model.

During the Asheville visit, HondaJet provided tours of the aircraft and a detailed discussion by pilots and staff with the 17 cadets and four adult members, who were accompanied by six family members.

NHQ News

U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Now on Airforce.com

After two years of effort, airforce.com now displays the U.S. Air Force auxiliary on the homepage with the other Total Force partners — active duty, Guard, and Reserve.

This high-profile, public-facing Air Force website attracts an average of 1.3 million visitors per month, meaning visibility on the site will likely provide the single greatest return on investment Civil Air Patrol has ever known. 

Get Your CAP Donations Doubled for Free

We know you love Civil Air Patrol, so why not maximize your impact? Many companies will double or even triple your support to CAP.

Make a donation today and then search our easy online tool to see if your employer has a matching gift/volunteer hours grant program.

Capture CAP Awards Competition Under Way

The Marketing and Communications team has launched a photo contest for September. Entries can be submitted to us at this link.

The contest is open to every CAP member, not just public affairs officers. The Marketing and Communications team is launching a new competition to find the best photos taken and videos produced by any CAP member, including cadets.

The goal is to support MAC’s needs for photographs and videos for a variety of marketing programs and products.

Submissions for the Capture CAP Awards competition will be accepted from Sept. 1-30 via an online portal, which opened Sept. 1.

All work submitted for consideration for an award must have been completed from Sept. 1, 2022-Aug. 31. Photos will be judged in five categories: community service, education, activities, fleet, and technology. Videos may cover any relevant topic and will be judged in two categories: video shorts (one minute or less) and three-minute videos.

This Week's Top Headlines

“Kids, Teens in West Virginia Take On First Flight with Civil Air Patrol Program”

-MSN.com

“Air Buds”

-CDApress.com

“Civil Air Patrol Picks Montrose (Colo.) for Mountain Flying Clinic, Honing Pilot Skills”

-MontrosePress.com

“Adding to the Ranks: With School Back in Session, Bennington's Civil Air Patrol Starts Recruiting Drive”

-BenningtonBanner.com

“Wiseman Aviation Instructor Earns Second Master Accreditation”

-AZDailySun.com

Tweet of the Week @Civil Air Patrol

Insta Reel of the Week #Civil Air Patrol

For more information, go to Operation Pulse Lift's new webpage on GoCivilAirPatrol.com. There you will find the latest Blood Donation Center schedules, instructions on how to set up a BDC, and other mission information.