T HE B EACON

V OLUME 1, ISSUE 2 D ECEMBER 2010

22 ND SAR S QUADRON B URLINGTON , N ORTH C AROLINA

SPOTLIGHTING THE CIVIL AIR PATROL BURLINGTON, N.C. COMPOSITE SQUADRON

‘W I F I W ARRIORS ’ A PPEAR ON THE S MALL S CREEN

BURLINGTON – Despite their hard work and
intense preparation, the Burlington Composite
Squadron’s cyber-defense team did not qualify
for the national competition in Orlando, Fla.,
but they did appear on television screens across
North Carolina.
Cable news channel News 14 Carolina first
aired a story titled “Video Game Trains Students
in Cyber Security” Dec. 13. Reporter Tracey
Early showed the “WiFi Warriors” in action and
interviewed team coach Lt. Neal Gay, C/Lt.
Col. Will Buslinger, and C/Staff Sgt. Joshua
Jordan.
To access the full story and video, visit the
Burlington Squadron’s Podcast site at http://
burlcapcast.net or News 14’s website at
triad.news14.com, and click on the “Connect a Cadet Lt. Col. Will Buslinger prepares for his interview with Time War-
Million Minds” link. ner Cable’s News 14 Carolina. (Carey Cox photo)

I NSIDE T HIS I SSUE OF

D OUBLE D EUCES C OMPLETE FEMA
POD T RAINING
BY: Lt. Col. Donald A. Beckett, NC Wing Disaster
Relief Officer
BURLINGTON – An inaugural Points of Dis-
tribution course was taught by officials from the
N.C. Division of Emergency Management Nov.
20 at N.C. Wing Headquarters.
C/Lt. Col. Will Buslinger, 1st Lt. Kathy
Dalton and 2nd. Lt. Andrea Andrews, all of the
Burlington Composite Squadron, successfully
completed the training, which included both
T HE B EACON :
W HAT I S A P OD?………....2
B EACON T O T URN
classroom, and practical instruction. Q UARTERLY IN 2011………2
According to Glen Wisbey, logistics opera- W HEN THE W EATHER
tions branch manager for the N.C. Division of O UTSIDE IS
Emergency Management, the Civil Air Patrol F RIGHTFUL ....................3
forms an integral part in the plan to staff PODs
across the State of North Carolina, providing U PCOMING E VENTS …….…4
vital commodities such as water and food to the
general public following a disaster.
Please see “Double Deuces Complete” on
page 2
 P AGE 2 T HE B EACON

What Is a POD? D OUBLE D EUCES C OMPLETE

continued from page 1
Three Burlington Composite squadron members trained to
assist with PODs last month. But what exactly are PODs? In fact, the Civil Air Patrol is the first tier resource to be called
This box offers a description of these valuable resources. upon when a request comes in for a POD. It is the assistance of volun-
teer organizations such as the Civil Air Patrol that help make PODs
• A POD is a location set up by a county to distribute life available to those who need them most.
sustaining supplies to its citizens during a large scale or
catastrophic incident. “Counties recognize that during and immediately after catastro-
phic incidents such as floods, earthquakes and hurricanes they may not
• PODs are only used when central services such as power have enough personnel to run POD sites,” Wisbey said. “In order to
and water are out for a long period of time and stores are assist the counties in commodity distribution, the Division is teaming
not open. Life sustaining supplies include emergency meals with state agencies as well as non-profit and faith-based organizations
ready to eat (MRE), bottled water, and depending on the to develop trained and deployable POD teams that can go into an
incident may include ice and/or tarps to help protect affected area and work for the locals when requested.”
homes with roof damage. A POD operates like a drive-
through line at a fast food restaurant. Citizens drive “Our intent is to help build local capabilities in cooperation with
through a lane, stop at a point, and are given a set amount the county emergency management agencies. We want to thank the
of supplies. Civil Air Patrol for offering their services to the counties, and ulti-
• PODs can also distribute commodities in high urban set- mately the citizens of North Carolina.”
tings or other locales where citizens do not have access to a
vehicle and will either use mass-transit services or walk to
a nearby POD site. Federal guidelines recommend distrib-
uting two meals per person per day and one gallon of wa-
ter per person per day.
• POD sites are the end-point in the logistics distribution
system. The Division of Emergency Management stores
enough food and water to sustain 50,000 people for one
day in two warehouses, acquires additional commodities
from contracted vendors, and can solicit support from
both FEMA and surrounding states through the Emergency
Management Assistance Compact.
• Counties have pre-planned POD sites throughout the state
based on topographical information, population densities,
and the potential vulnerability to particular hazards. As an B EACON TO T URN Q UARTERLY
incident occurs, they will open POD sites as needed.
• Each county has a commodity distribution plan to assist
IN 2011
emergency personnel in the distribution of life sustaining BY: 2nd Lt. Leigh Ann Whittle, Assistant Public Affairs Officer
resources. A single POD site can distribute enough food
and water to up to 20,000 citizens per day dependent upon
BURLINGTON — Your new source for squadron news, The Bea-
the site layout. Counties monitor what is being distributed
con, will change to a quarterly format in 2011, offering the Public
and order additional commodities to restock the PODs
Affairs staff the opportunity to provide you with more news and excit-
daily. The intent is to be scalable so that at the end of the
ing features.
disaster little to no commodities remain, eliminating waste
of tax payer money. The timetable schedule is only the beginning of the Public Affairs
• CAP is the second group trained this year in POD opera- staff’s plans for the new year, plans that include exciting new pro-
tions by the Division, the first being the N.C. Baptist Men. grams designed to inform current members and recruit new members
to the Burlington Composite Squadron. We are currently the second-
• The POD Operations class is four hours in length seg- largest squadron in the state, and our sights are set firmly on becoming
mented into a two hour classroom presentation and discus- the largest squadron.
sion, followed by a two hour hands on practical.
Until the next newsletter is released around March, you can ac-
• Non-profit and faith-based organizations wishing to receive
cess all the latest Double Deuces news via our podcast, “The 22nd v.
POD operations training should contact their county
2.0” at http://burlcapcast.net or link to it via our squadron website
emergency management office.
at http://www.doubledeuces.org.
Thanks to Lt. Col. Don Beckett for this information.
T HE B EACON P AGE 3

W HEN THE W EATHER O UTSIDE IS F RIGHTFUL ...

LEFT: Hypothermia occurs Reprinted from the Nov. 2010 “Safety Beacon,” the official safety
when the extremities are newsletter of the Civil Air Patrol
excessively cold (blue). Winter weather can provide a challenge for pilots, which has led
(NOAA image) to the FAA issuing advisories and circulars about winter flying.
Recent snowfall and blustery conditions here in Alamance
County reminds folks on the ground that we need to be particu-
larly careful in harsh winter conditions.
If we are engaged in a search and rescue mission, it is easy
to become focused on the task at hand and ignore our body’s
warning signs. This article provides a brief reminder of what
our bodies can and cannot tolerate in cold weather.
Exposure to cold can cause frostbite or hypothermia and
become life-threatening. Infants and elderly people are most
susceptible. What constitutes extreme cold varies in different
parts of the country. In the South, near freezing temperatures
are considered extreme cold. Freezing temperatures can cause
severe damage to citrus fruit crops and other vegetation. Pipes
may freeze and burst in homes that are poorly insulated or with-
out heat. In the North, extreme cold means temperatures well
below zero.
Wind Chill is not the actual temperature but rather how
RIGHT: Improperly wind and cold feel on exposed skin. As the wind increases, heat
warming the body will is carried away from the body at an accelerated rate, driving
drive cold blood from the down the body temperature. Animals are also affected by wind
extremities to the heart, chill; however, cars, plants and other objects are not.
leading to heart failure.
(NOAA image) Frostbite is damage to body tissue caused by extreme cold.
A wind chill of -20° Fahrenheit (F) will cause frostbite in just 30
minutes. Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and a white or pale
appearance in extremities, such as fingers, toes, ear lobes or the
tip of the nose. If symptoms are detected, get medical help im-
mediately! If you must wait for help, slowly re-warm affected
areas. However, if the person is also showing signs of hypother-
T HE B EACON mia, warm the body core before the extremities.
Hypothermia is a condition brought on when the body
is a publication of
temperature drops to less than 95°F. It can kill. For those who
the Civil Air Patrol Burlington Composite Squadron MER- survive, there are likely to be lasting kidney, liver and pancreas
NC-022 “Double Deuces” problems. Warning signs include uncontrollable shivering,
memory loss, disorientation, incoherence, slurred speech,
and is produced under the direction of
drowsiness and apparent exhaustion. Take the person’s tem-
Col. Roy Douglass, Commander, North Carolina Wing perature. If below 95°F, seek medical care immediately!
Capt. Andy Wiggs, Commander, Burlington Composite Squadron If Medical care is not available, warm the person slowly,
starting with the body core. Warming the arms and legs first
Public Affairs Staff drives cold blood toward the heart and can lead to heart failure.
2nd Lt. Carey Cox, Public Affairs Officer If necessary, use your body heat to help. Get the person into dry
clothing and wrap in a warm blanket covering the head and
2nd Lt. Andrea Andrews, Assistant Public Affairs Officer neck. Do not give the person alcohol, drugs, coffee or any hot
The BEACON Editor beverage or food. Warm broth is the first food to offer.
2nd Lt. Leigh Ann Whittle, Assistant Public Affairs Officer
P AGE 4 T HE B EACON

Upcoming Events
Tuesday, Dec. 14 Squadron Christmas Party

Saturday, Dec. 18 Table Top SAREX, NC Wing HQ

(Maj. Andy Wiggs, POC)

Tuesday, Dec. 21 No meeting

Monday, Dec. 27—Friday, Dec. 31 Winter Encampment, Justice Academy West

(Joseph Weinflash, POC)

Tuesday, Dec. 28 No meeting

Tuesday, Jan. 4 6:30 p.m. Cadet Squadron Meeting

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