March 2002

THE NEWSLETTER OF MAINE WING, CIVIL AIR PATROL, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AUXILIARY

Maine Wing, CAP Guests of Maine Air National Guard

Col. Craig Treadwell and Col. James
Linker of Maine Wing CAP converse
with Lieutenant General Ronald C.
Marcotte, USAF Vice Commander,
Air Mobility Command.
Maine Wing Civil Air Patrol at Din-
ing Out as guests of the Maine Air
National Guard. The 265 Combat
Communications Squadron and the
243 Engineering Installation Squad-
ron of the Maine Air National Guard
invited members of Maine Wing, Civil
Air Patrol to join them at their Dining-
Out in Portland, Maine on Saturday
February 2nd, 2002. They extended
special recognition of the Civil Air Pa-
trol by inviting Cadet James Connors
to join their honor guard and post the
Civil Air Patrol colors alongside those
of the USAF and Air National Guard.
Other honors included a toast to the
National Commander, CAP, among
the initial toasts of the evening by the
President of the Mess. M/SGT Ed-
ward Vajda, USAF (aka LTC Edward
Vajda, Maine Wing, CAP) played the
role of Mr. Brewmiester .Dressed in
face shield and lab coat, he pre-
pared a devilishly foaming grog
bowl whose less alarming ingredi-
ents included kitty litter, prune juice,
and Maine’s “acquired taste” soft
drink, Moxie. LTC Vajda has pre-
pared the grog many times for the
Maine Wing CAP Dining-Out held
each fall. The evening followed the
set procedure of “points-of-order”
being raised by members of the
mess and the Mess President me-
Cadet A1C Connors with AF honor guard
tering out numerous trips to the
grog bowl. One Civil Air Patrol guest
noted: “ Its good to know that our
CAP Dining-Out’s use the same
script and generate equal camara-
derie.” Lieutenant General Ronald
C. Marcotte, USAF, Vice Com-
mander, Air Mobility Command,
Scott AFB, was the Special Guest
of Honor and Speaker. Other rank-
ing military guests included Briga-
dier General John Libby, Deputy
Adjutant General of the Great State
of Maine and Brigadier General John
Bubar, Commander, Maine Air Na-
tional Guard. Representing Maine
Wing, Civil Air Patrol were Col
James Linker, Commander, Maine
Wing; Col Craig Treadwell, former
Maine Wing Commander; LTC
Sheryl Treadwell, Director of Cadet
Programs Development; Capt. Chris-
topher Hayden, Commander, Cum-
berland County Composite Squad-
ron; 2Lt Paul Connors, Public Affairs
Officer, Cumberland County Com-
posite Squadron and Cadet A1C,
James Connors.
Capt Chris Hayden, Maine Wing
Photos By LTC Edward Vajda, Maine Wing
Maine Wing well represented at Dining out Ball
Participation
Makes you
A
Better
Member

1
 IN THE NEWS Closely Held Mission Completed team with SAR/ICP at the State Po-
Congratulations to Brooke Renzullo by Cumberland County Composite lice barracks on the Maine turnpike in
who was promoted from Tactical Squadron
Flight Officer to First Lieutenant at
our meeting on 1/31/02. Brooke also
received her EMT credentials from a
long hard training course at the Uni-
versity of Maine at Machias and will
be sporting an EMT patch. She has
only one more step to be certified as
a scuba rescuer. Congrats!
Maj Jim Raymond, Machias Composite
TAPS
Lt Col Michael Walko, Jr. served well
and faithfully on NER staff for many
years. Those who knew him will be
saddened by his passing in Decem-
ber. Our condolences to his family.
Former Maine Wing Commander,
Col. Richard T. Davis has passed
away. He commanded Maine Wing
for nearly 7 years, from March
1970 until December 1976.
Maine Wing Over
Wing Commander
Col James F. Linker
Vice Commander
Capt Mitch Sammons
Newsletter Editor
Lt Dennis Murray
Headquarters
Maine Wing, Civil Air Patrol
PO Box 5006
Augusta Maine, 04332-5006
Editorial Office: 207/767-1874
Headquarters: 207/626-7830
The Maine Wing Over is an unofficial newsletter
published quarterly in the interest of members of the
Maine Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. Any opinions
either expressed or inferred by the writers herein are
their own and are not to be considered official ex-
pression by the Civil Air Patrol or the Department of
the Air Force.
Portland.
The historic and closely held search Capt. Chris Hayden, Lt.’s Andrea
mission on Saturday, December 8th, Hayden, Rick Machado, Paul Con-
in Portland that included certain nors and David Genest and Capt
members of Cumberland County Ralph Gamache found themselves
Composite Squadron CAP can now both ‘dumpster diving’ as well as per-
be reported. forming traditional line searches in
the thick and hilly woods surrounding
If you saw the news on WMTW (and the Smiling Hill Farm area of Scar-
WCSH) on Saturday you would have borough. Assisting them from CCCS
seen the Cumberland County Squad- HQ via radio was Lt. Mark Sullivan.
ron CAP team working in the crime
area alongside the Maine Warden While a police helicopter and plane
Service and State and local police. were used through out the day,
They were there as members of a CAP’s participation was limited to as-
combined search team that success- sisting in the ground team search.
fully found the body Amy St. Laurent Although at the last minute as the
late Saturday afternoon. (This news light started to fade, CAP aviation re-
story was repeated throughout Sun- sources were requested to photo-
day.) Police had been searching for graph the crime scene. However the
Amy St. Laurent, a 25 year old fe- fading light won out over the crew's
male missing since October 21st, for ability to launch. All teams were
many weeks without a great deal of called back to the ICP at 3:30 pm af-
success. ter the discovery of the shallow
grave.
The Warden Service had been fol-
lowing the local search and recom- One of the volunteer teams with SAR
mended deployment of qualified dogs had discovered the shallow
search & rescue teams from across grave off Route 22 west of the Port-
the state to assist local authorities. land Jetport. This was apparently an
This recommendation resulted in a area that had been searched by po-
massive search Saturday involving lice only a few days prior. An autopsy
the Maine Warden Service, State on the Sunday confirmed everyone's
and local Police and volunteer suspicions that they had found Amy
searchers from various Maine Asso- St. Laurent.
ciation Search & Rescue (MASAR)
affiliates including Maine Wing The Warden Service was very
CAP. This was an experiment initi- pleased with the volunteer efforts on
ated by the Maine Warden Service Saturday and is hopeful the use of
and as such they have dubbed it a MASAR and CAP resources will be
historic event that proved the suc- employed in the future should state
cess of this combined search team. and local police authorities face simi-
lar situations.
Members of the Cumberland County
Composite Squadron (NERME058) Lt Paul Connors
contributed over 60 hours of ground ME058/PA
pauljconnors@hotmail.com
search time on Saturday as part of
team #9. There were 10 teams in
the field yesterday searching 17 sus-
pected areas; each one included a
state police officer and a state war-
den who coordinated the search
2
 aine Wing Cadets and Seniors at Stobie Seaplane Base on Moosehead Lake, Maine move a Cessna 182 seaplane from the water ramp to land parking. Maine Wing
Maine Wing
has supported the International Pilots association
To Receive
One
New Van
I was recently notified that CAP/EX
has authorized CAP/LG to execute the
vehicle buy that had previously been
postponed. As you might imagine, a
great deal of "horse trading" has been
going on among Region Commanders
to try and get the greatest number of
vehicles for our respective
Regions. All in all, Northeast Region
did pretty well. As it now stands, the
buy will be let for bid next month, with
deliveries staggered throughout the
May - June time frame. These vehi-
cles will be purchased with a 7-year,
100,000 mile full warranty, which
should save Wings a substantial
amount in maintenance costs over the
life of the vehicle. Currently, we have
140 vehicles in Northeast Region, dis-
tributed as follows:
NER 2
CT WG 13
MA WG 16
ME WG 15
NH WG 11
NJ WG 14
NY WG 18
PA WG 30
RI WG 9
VT WG 12
With the help of CAP/LG, I have deter-
mined the following Wings will be get-
ting vehicles. In some cases, Wings
will also be giving up vehicles that
have gone past their useful life. The
list is as follows: CT WG will be getting
one 12 passenger van to replace CT
06005. (Net gain = 0; new total = 13)
MA WG will be getting one 12 passen-
ger van. (Net gain = 1; new total = 17)
ME WG will be getting one 12 passen-
ger van. (Net gain = 1; new total = 16)
NY WG will be getting three 12 pas-
senger vans, one to replace NY
31001. (Net gain = 2; new total = 20)
PA WG will be getting 4X4 pickup to
replace PA 37674 (for glider program).
(Net gain = 0; new total = 30) NER will
be getting
two
Fly-in for 7 passenger
the past
seven years. Photo Courtesy of MikeOn
one to replace NER 91003. (Net gain
= 1; new total = 3) The total is 9 new
vehicles for the Region, with 4 old
vans being turned in, for a net gain of
5 for the Region, bringing our total up
to 145.
Northeast Region has a better ratio
of vans to members than most other
Regions, so we are lucky to be able
to have a net gain in vehicles.
My distribution plan is based on the
number of total members a Wing
has, as well as the percentage of Ca-
dets to Senior members and the
square miles covered by the Wing. I
also took into account the number of
actual missions AFRCC assigned to
a Wing during FY '01. I know this is
not what many of you wished, but I
have to place the vehicles where
they will benefit the greatest number
of CAP members within the Region,
as well as Cadet transport and mis-
sion requirements.
Wing Commanders have the final
say as to where in their Wings they
wish these new vehicles to go.
Please don't pester Duane about the
number of vehicles we got, or how
many your Wing will or will not get.
That decision was mine and mine
alone, and National has no say in
allocation of vehicles beyond the to-
tal coming to a particular Region. If
you have any problems or com-
plaints about this allocation, please
contact me directly.
RICHARD A. GREENHUT, Col,
CAP Commander -- Northeast Re-
gion
CLC Course
Graduates
3
vans,
Lange,January 26th and 27th,
this
Moosehead Messenger.
year’s first CLC Course was held in
Augusta, Maine for those senior
members who have
completed the SLS.
The Corporate Learn-
ing Course is designed
to further senior’s edu-
cation about how the
Corporate CAP func-
tions. As always, our Wing Com-
mander Col Jim Linker presented
our Welcome and Introductions and
assisting, him on this mission as
well as taking charge of the course
was Capt Mitch Sammons. The first
day consisted of courses on CAP-
USAF/ State Directors, presented
by Chief Porter, Aerospace Educa-
tion, presented
by LTC Christie,
Jr., Inspector
General, pre-
sented by LTC
Schaffer, Cadet
Programs, pre-
sented by Col Treadwell, Drug De-
mand Reduction, presented by 1Lt
Hunter, Legal, presented by LTC
Broder and Safety, presented by
Col Linker. At the end of a full day,
the attendees went their separate
ways to get some much needed
dinner and sleep. The following day
we started classes with Emergency
Services, presented by 2Lt Merrie
Knightly, Counterdrug, presented
by Maj Crowley, Flight Operations,
presented by Col Linker, Member
Services & Administration, pre-
sented by 1Lt Wayne McKinney,
Logistics, presented by LTC
Grover, Communications, pre-
sented by Maj. Pellerin, Finance,
presented by Maj Quinn. Because
we were running late we also had
short presentations for Training,
presented by 1Lt Greer and Mar-
keting & Public Relations, pre-
sented by Capt Chris Hayden. At-
tendees and graduates of the 2002
CLC Course were, 1Lt Mary East-
man, Capt Josh Broder, 1Lt Andrea
Hayden, Capt Richard Doughty, 2Lt
(Continued on page 5)
 Downeast Patrol
Composite Squadron
At our meeting, February 11th, the
Downeast Patrol Squadron pro-
moted c/SSgt Dana Maddocks to his
current rank. The award was pre-
sented by LtCol Ken Goldstein. Visit-
ing our meeting and witnessing the
promotion were LtCol Lindon
Christie and Maj Larry Woods of
Maine Wing and Commander Dick
Butters of the Trenton, Maine Ameri-
can Legion Post 207. Additionally,
Commander Butters presented
American Legion Certificates of Ap-
preciation for participation in the
American Legion "Table for One"
ceremony. Over the last Year, the
Downeast Patrol Squadron cadets
have presented the "Table for One"
ceremony at least eight (8) times at
various locations around the State of
Maine; including the Maine State
American Legion Convention at
which they were commended for an
outstanding" performance by the
National Commander of the Ameri-
can Legion! In fact, the Downeast
Patrol Cadet Squadron has earned a
very good reputation for performing
the "Table for One" ceremony and
we continue to receive requests from
other American Legion posts to pro-
vide this service to them as well.
LtCol Kenneth Goldstein
W a l t e r
Anderson
served 50
years in
CAP and
will be
missed by
all of us.
Our prayers go out to his family and
friends on the lost of a great member.
Bangor-Brewer especially will miss him.
Walter
Are You Mission Ready?
Be Prepared!
Waterville Composite Scenes from the funeral of
Squadron Walter Anderson
Photos by 1Lt Merrie Knightly
On Friday, January 25, 2002, repre-
sentatives from Waterville Composite
Squadron went to talk to a 6th grade
class at Benton Elementary School
in Benton Maine.
The two cadets, C/CMSgt Erik Bel-
landi, and C/Amn Miles Noonan,
along with Squadron Commander,
Captain Mitch Sammons, talked
about the opportunities of being a
cadet in the Civil Air Patrol.
The experience at Lt. Col. Walter
With a discussion style presentation, Anderson’s funeral was new for
the students of Mrs. Walder's class some people. Performing the mili-
responded very well, and expressed tary honors, and working with an
their interest in the Civil Air Patrol Air Force Honor Guard doing the
cadet program. The entire presenta- gun salutes, was part of something
tion lasted 40 minutes. that, whether it was new or not,
made participants honored to be in
This presentation was the second such an event, especially since we
such opportunity for the Waterville were honoring one of our own.
Composite Squadron to meet area Right before vehicles arrived, ca-
students and to tell them about the dets lined up on the sides of the
Civil Air Patrol. Another presentation path the hearse was going to drive
is scheduled for February 23rd at the through. As the hearse drove by,
Frankfurt, Maine, school where al- the cadets saluted. The casket,
most an entire day will be spent dis- draped in an American flag, was
cussing C.A.P. and aerospace sub- carried over to the gravesite. After
jects with the students. the pastor said a few words, mili-
tary honors started. The Air Force
C/Amn Miles Noonan and Navy Honor Guard performed
Waterville Composite Squadron a twenty-one-gun salute; seven
Public Affairs gunmen fired their M-16s three
times. As the sound of shots died
down a lone trumpeter sounded
taps. As the cadets saluted, mem-
bers of the Air Force and Navy
Bangor-Brewer Composite Honor Guards folded the American
Squadron flag and presented it to Lt. Col.
Walter Anderson’s family. As this
Our squadron is mourning the loss of
(Continued on page 5)
three of its members. LTC Walter
Anderson, LTC Lee Winter and LTC
Don Strout. Our Prayers are with the
families. Recent promotions include C/
SSgt Hicks and Webber promoted to C/
TSgt, C/SSgt Knightly and Taylor to C/
TSgt, C/A1C Curley to C/SrA, C/Amn
Gomes to C/A1C and C/Amn Crump to
C/A1C. Congratulations to all cadets
and to the Cadet Commander C/MSgt
Thompson for receiving his Goddard.
4
 Machias Valley St Croix Composite (Continued from page 3) CLC Course
Composite Squadron Squadron Peter Kleskovic, SM Michael
McCray, 2Lt Merrie Knightly, 2Lt
Kenneth Knightly, 1Lt Dennis
During the last quarter, the St Croix Murray, 2Lt Judy
Well, they finally did it. Major Jim Composite Squadron has been busy
Greenlaw and Major Jim Raymond Murray, Capt Don-
with learning about the updates on ald Godfrey, 2Lt
made it to the top. It is over 900 feet CPR & First Aid training. All cadets
from Musquash Lake to Musquash Paul Connors, 1Lt
and senior members did very well in Richard Machado,
summit. There are several antenna adapting to the new procedures. One
towers there and several equipment Capt Chris Hay-
entire meeting was dedicated to learn- den, Capt Brian Carter, 1Lt Cindy
shelters to
accompany Greer, 1Lt Richard Hunter, LTC Rich
them. The Grover, 2Lt Mona Grover, Capt
wing was in- Jerry Carlyle, 1Lt Louis Eastman,
terested in is 1Lt Jean Boynton, 1Lt Wayne
a small 8x8 McKinney and Capt Ralph Ga-
wood con- mache. Capt Mitch Sammons did an
struction with Styrofoam insulation. excellent job by putting together this
Not exactly weather tight. They ac- course and for having speakers
quired the combination and finally got available to fill in for educators who
in. There are three repeaters housed at the last minute could not attend. I
ing about this important subject. In our strongly recommend to each senior
in the shelter. K1HHC amateur voice, monthly newsletter “Sierra Charlie”,
K1HHC amateur digi and ME1601 member to attend the CLC if given
a quiz is presented to educate our ca- the chance to do so. You will learn
CAP digi. The tower is claimed to be dets and keep them up-to-date. In
under the control of the International more than you can get on the
February, the squadron had the first squadron level and this course helps
Amateur Radio Club and under the ever “Winter Survival” weekend. The
custodianship of Harland Hitchins of to bring you “the big picture.” - Editor
cadet and seniors arrived at the
Princeton. Princeton Airport after dark and made
shelters out of the materials available (Continued from page 7)CAP In Races
Machias Valley and St Croix Compos- in the woods where the camp was set to work in the shop to complement
ite Squadrons up. Classes were held on a variety of the 2001 team. The No. 46 Civil Air
held a joint subjects pertaining to winter survival Patrol Chevrolet will make its debut
holiday party and off they went to sleep outside with run Feb. 16 in the Daytona 300 at
at the winter temperatures dropping to 5 degrees Daytona International Speedway in
quarters of above zero. All survived and ate Florida. (Courtesy of Air Education
the Machias MREs the next morning for breakfast. and Training Command News Ser-
Squadron. All Cadets stated they enjoyed the week- vice)
cadets and end and additional training they re-
seniors enjoyed the food and social ceived.
aspects of the party. 2Lt Judy Murray, PAO, ME076
(Continued from page 4)Walter Anderson
was being done, one of Bangor/
First Lieutenant Wayne Merritt, Com- Brewer Squadron’s aircraft flew
mander of the Machias Valley Com- Sundown Composite over, dipping its wings. Afterwards,
First Lieuten- promotes Second
posite Squadron,
ant Wayne Squadron as people were leaving, Mrs. Ander-
Lieutenant Elaine Merritt to First Lieu- son thanked cadets. This experi-
Merritt, Com-serves as the adminis-
tenant. Elaine
mander of the Pinetree Senior Squadron ence was a good one for cadets
trative officer and testing officer of the who were involved. The Air Force
Machias
squadron.Valley
C o m p os ite Honor Guard was very helpful in let-
Cumberland County ting the cadets know what they were
Squadron, pro-
motes Second Composite Squadron to be doing while military honors
Lieutenant Elaine Merritt to First Lieu- were given. It is something that will
tenant. Elaine serves as the administra- Augusta-Gardiner Composite not soon be forgotten, the honor of
tive officer and testing officer of the Squadron paying tribute to one of our mem-
squadron. bers. By C/TSgt Scott Knightly.

5

CONCORD, N.C. (AFPN) -- The
Civil Air Patrol announced Jan. 15
a multiyear agreement as the pri-
mary sponsor of the NASCAR
Busch Series No. 46 Lewis Mo-
torsports Chevrolet.
By signing on as primary sponsor,
CAP officials hope to increase aware-
ness of their three primary missions:
cadet programs, aerospace educa-
tion, and emergency services. CAP is
the official civilian auxiliary of the Air
Force. "The NASCAR Busch Series
offers the Civil Air Patrol an afford-
able and effective marketing platform
that will provide the vehicle to inform
and educate the general public about
CAP," said Brig. Gen. Richard Bowl-
ing, CAP national commander. "The
enormous reach of the sport will en-
able us to introduce our 60 year old
organization to millions of people
over a short period of time," he said.
"This will provide the impetus neces-
sary to effectively augment and ad-
vance CAP missions." CAP found a
perfect fit with driver Ashton Lewis Jr.
and the family-owned team of Lewis
Motorsports, CAP officials said.
"Once the Civil Air Patrol recognized
the marketing potential available to
us through primary sponsorship in
the NASCAR Busch series, it be-
came necessary to find the right
team -- or the right fit -- for CAP,"
Bowling said. "We were not inter-
ested in just any team. Other than the
obvious criteria -- a driver with the
ability to win races -- there were other
requirements that had to be met if we
were to enter into this arena. "The
Lewis Motorsports Team fit the bill for
(Continued on page 7)
The Civil Air Patrol is often
the first to find those who
are lost or in distress
By Tech. Sgt. John B. Dendy IV, Photos
by Tech. Sgt. John Lasky. Reproduced by
special permission from Jerry R. Stringer-
Editor, Airman Magazine
The master pilot and his untested
Civil Air Patrol search party orbited
the Alaskan bush between Anchor-
age and Mount McKinley. All eyes
were on the ground, looking for evi-
dence of aircraft wreckage. Two
hours into their sector, full of bears,
leafy brown plains and brisk Memo-
rial Day air traffic, the team spied
the speck of a wreck from 1,500
feet. The search team honed their
skills in this aerial confidence
course. Someday members might
fly an actual emergency mission
over Alaska, sometimes called the
inland aerial search capital of Amer-
ica. Airmanship, courage, vigilance
and sacrifice pervade Alaska, the
sprawling land where many citizens
own private airplanes. And where
one-third of the CAP’s forces never
served in the military. No problem.
They’re serving humanity with their
civic duty today. The Civil Air Patrol
is the official Air Force auxiliary, a
nonprofit and federally chartered
corporation of nearly 60,000 people
age 12 and up. Their storied and
aggressive start was in 1941. As a
flying “Neighborhood watch with
bombs,” they were on patrol against
Nazi subs and other menaces to
national defense a week before
Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Since that dark time, the United
States’ need for this volunteer
group has increased, although the
mission has changed.
Floats and skis
The Alaska Civil Air Patrol flies 31
6
corporate fixed-wing search planes,
some in stock trim. Others are cus-
tom-outfitted with floats or skis. Each
hauls a crew of three, four or six on
air hunts. Searchers find crash sites
and radio their findings to a dis-
patcher. Then other agencies pick up
the survivors. In Alaska that process
amounts to about 100 “saves” yearly.
A commercially rated pilot flies the
aircrew within an assigned inland
search grid. A “scanner” crewmem-
ber, which sits in the rear seat of the
single engine aircraft, looks for
wreckage and other air traffic. In the
right front seat an “observer” primar-
ily navigates and picks up distress
signals. The CAP, for example, can
have several search aircraft teams
orbiting Alaska’s sprawling land
mass. Their senior members work
closely with the Alaska Rescue Coor-
dination Center at
Camp Denali on fort
Richardson. This in-
teragency organiza-
tion responds to
about 400 rescue
calls each year. The
center is also the
CAP’s mission-based
planning staff in Alaska. While a
team at camp Denali does much of
the flight following, planning and di-
recting, the CAP focuses its missions
for the center’s time sensitive
searches. Such a support structure is
particularly helpful during costly, and
o f t e n o v e r l a p p i n g , m u l t i - day
searches that require several rescue
craft. “This is unlike other wings. The
amount of saves they do is probably
double or triple what the ‘lower 48’
does,” said Lt. Col. Randy Mathis,
the Civil Air Patrol-Air Force Pacific
Liaison Region commander at Beal
Air Force Base, California. Credit for
all lives saved in Alaska is about
equally divided among Civil Air Pa-
trol, Air Guard, Army guard and mu-
nicipal forces he said.
Special arsenal
Seventy-five feet of wood planking
squeaked and swayed with friendly
(Continued on page 7)
(Continued from page 6)
familiarity under the weight of Bob
Brouillette’s brown Wellington
boots. Shock waves in the water
underneath the dock obscured an
upside-down view of what could be
called the wettest U.S. government
airfield, The Alaska Civil Air Patrol’s
floatplane base and maintenance
facility at Lake Hood in Anchorage.
Brouillette flies and manages the
CAP facility that maintains 31 air-
craft and five gliders. His staff in -
cludes three full-time mechanics.
He learned about CAP when he
retired from the Air Force in 1970.
“I was always interested in making
civilians proud of the military,” he
said. “This fulfills that requirement.”
Two of the patrol’s floatplanes are
always ready for duty for Alaska’s
many lakes and 17,500 miles of
inland waterways, even during win-
ter. This includes the state’s 28,000
miles of glaciers. Aircraft from
Alaska’s state law enforcement and
National Guard are also in the
search chain. But- logistically and
financially- the Civil Air Patrol is the
area’s first search force.
Growth from within
Across town in Anchorage is the
bright blue-and-white Polaris Civil
Air Patrol compound at Merrill
Field. CAP leaders tweak the curi-
osity of 12 young cadets.
Cadets don’t fly searches, but
many do learn to refuel and fly air-
craft--and discourage drug use
among peers. These are forms of
“cadet education,” said Capt.
Stanley Bolling, the Reserve’s indi-
vidual mobilization augmentee to
squadrons in Alaska. Bolling is a
native of the state and a former ac-
tive-duty air weapons instructor. He
teaches technology, aerospace and
math at Anchorage’s Bartlett High,
subject areas that help him moti-
vate cadets who attend school.
Just 25 air miles from Merrill Field
stands a flight-meeting center
where members practice aerospace
education. The town, airport and
auxiliary derive their natural name-
Birchwood- from the surrounding
trees. Exuberant cadets marshal
$250,000 aircraft at Birchwood, with
senior members shadowing them.
Their spirit and curiosity make
those fictitious youths from “Lord of
the Flies” seem like wimpy wanna-
bes. One clear motivating factor for
cadets remains encased. It’s a Ger-
man-made glider so advanced the
U.S. Test Pilot School at Edwards
Air force Base, Calif., leases one as
the TG-9. On this three-day holiday
weekend, cadets at Birchwood
raised their voices in unanimous
support of the glider flights being
rolled into the patrol’s cadets and
aviation education charters.
“Everybody was out of their seats,
going ‘Yes!’ there’s a glider coming
down,” said Cadet Naythan Han-
sen, an excited visitor from Kenai,
Alaska. The charismatic glider of-
fers quality airtime at a sliver of the
fixed wing flying hour expense. It’s
one big way the leaders motivate
cadets. There are rewards for the
patrol’s senior members, too. They
can rotate through the core emer-
gency leadership positions at Birch-
wood, from the office radio commu-
7
nications, or on search parties. For-
tunately, the intensive aerial drills in
clear summer weather were not in-
terrupted by any calls to real, dire
action. But more than a few senior
members had ears trained to res-
cue radio bands for field calls that
could have turned into riveting, all-
out holiday search calls. Bethany
Morgan of Anchorage listened and
labored. As a volunteer she’s ready
on the invisible edge members
maintain between ‘practice” and
“real world” at Birchwood. Although
she works full time, Morgan has
been on three searches, once over
the exotic grand spine of the lower
Alaska-Canada frontier. “When
we’re on exercises, we search for a
target, and it’s a scientific mindset.
But an actual search is different,”
she explained. “You’re searching
for a life.”
Saving others is at the core of
CAP service.
(Continued from page 6) CAP in the Races
us," he said. "They are a family-
owned and managed team. CAP is
a family-oriented membership or-
ganization. We have many mem-
bers where the entire family partici-
pates in CAP missions -- some
even go back to the grandparents
who joined during World War II."
Ashton Lewis Jr. will pilot the No.
46 Civil Air Patrol Chevrolet, while
his brother Charlie Lewis will call
the shots as crew chief. "We have
worked for years to get to this
point, and to have our first sponsor
be the Civil Air Patrol is more than I
could have ever asked for," Ashton
said. "The Civil Air Patrol is new to
the sport and we want to make
their first year very memorable, and
that is my major focus for the 2002
season.” "Last year we ran in the
front with teams that have 20 or 30
guys at their shop," he said. "Lewis
Motorsports had eight guys total,
including the team owner, my fa-
ther." The sponsorship will allow
the team to hire additional people
(Continued on page 5)
 Who is the Safety Officer?
CAP's recent accident record has been
good. By far, the majority of the crashes
that have occurred have been during
landings with C-182's and our glider-
towing Maule with the big 235 engine.
Both have heavy engines. Their noses
want to drop when the power is pulled
back close to the ground. When that hap-
pens, non-proficient pilots often end up
making multiple landings when only one
was intended. This bouncing, sometimes
known as porpoising or Pilot Induced Os-
cillations (PIO), is embarrassing and hard
on the hardware at best, but can quickly
turn nasty as the a/c gains more energy
in each succeeding bounce and becomes
more nose-down in attitude. On the air-
craft we fly this leads to bent props,
crushed landing gear, smashed cowlings,
engine tear-downs, and because of the
vectors of force in this attitude, bent fire-
walls --significant damage, in other words.
So, what kind of CAP members would
flub up a landing with PIO's? 1) A FL.
Wing member bringing a CAP a/c into
Fun-n-Sun....splashed in front of the
crowd, stopping the air show action, and
rendering CAP no longer the best kept
secret at that gathering; 2) A CAP mem-
ber and Marine F/A 18 driver, (crosswinds
on a light a/c helped him lose it); 3) the
director of CAP's national glider encam p-
ment, to name a few. We're not neces-
sarily talking about a group of low-time
pilots here, folks. That's why, if you were
designing training, you'd go to where
there is demonstrated weakness first.
Practicing good landings is important.
PIO's cause crashes. Learn to control
PIO's. Crashes will be avoided. Many
people said, The Pilot in Command (PIC)
is the cause of almost all crashes. We're
talking bent metal crashes here, (that
shouldn't confuse anyone). Well, PIC is a
good answer, but not the right answer. It
doesn't go to the question of how you
train for safety. If "(A) The PIC" was the
answer, then the only solution would be
to ground the pilots. Training should
change behavior to achieve a desired
result. To do that you have to determine
what behavior is behind the problem, and
then effect a change that eliminates the
problem. While saying "the PIC is at
fault" is a truism, it is also a cop-out. To a
great extent, CAP culture is a problem
here. How many times have you heard
someone (like me) say "Everybody is a
Safety Officer." We all say it. I think it's
emblazoned somewhere on the CAP
coat of arms. We know what is intended
by the little ditty, but the real effect of
saying "Everybody is a Safety Officer" is
that "Nobody is the safety officer".
Blasphemy! Lightning from Maxwell....I
don't care. Sometimes the old catch
phrases just don't get the job done. In life,
if everyone's responsible, nobody is re-
sponsible. Only one person attempted
"PLA" as the answer. He qualified it by
saying, if PLA stood for Pilot's Lax Atti-
tudes, that would be his choice. It doesn't
stand for that. It was supposed to stand
for Palestine Liberation Organization, but
I spelled it wrong. Take some time this
week to practice landings (if you are a
pilot). Control the flair. If you bounce, use
a little power to ease it back on, or else,
fly off and get back in the pattern. Don't
give those fools in the parked cars out-
side the fence along the runway anything
to talk about.
Col. James Linker, Maine Wing Com-
mander, CAP
Encampment is just
around the corner.
For all first year ca-
dets, the wall awaits
you. For returning ca-
dets, let’s get ready to
have some fun this
summer. –Editor

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