Alabama Wing - Jul 2009

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July 2009 Citizen Serving Communities: Above and Beyond 1

ALABAMA WING

CIVIL AIR PATROL

NEWSLETTER JULY 2009

Col. Mike Oakman Lt. Col. Dave Boswell

Commander Vice‐Commander

FLY A TEACHER AND MAKE ADIFFERENCE

As the night became day, all wasquiet at the airport on April 18, 2009.Occasionally, the quiet was broken by anairplane starting up, taxiing and taking off.Soon, other sounds were heard at the

Bessemer Airport (KEKY). There were thesounds of CAP members, including cadets,arriving and preparing for a busy day.

The building housing the BessemerComposite Squadron was opened andpreparations were underway for a morningof CAP's Fly A Teacher program. Coffeewas brewing, cadet flight line marshallerswere preparing for arrival. Soon, the firstCAP planes began arriving and wereparked.

First one, then two, then the others

began arriving after calling to 1st Lt DaleChambers on the radio that they wereinbound. Soon the ramp near theBessemer Squadron building was nearlyfilled with Cessna 172's and Cessna 182'sincluding Garman 1000 equipped Cessna182's from Pell City and Birmingham.

Contents

Fly A Teacher

SER Cadet of the Year 4

Chaplain Information 6

Multiday, Multiagency Simulation 6

Berlin Airlift Remembered 7

Capt. Lynn Toney Award 11

Teacher, ROTC, JROTC Flying 12

Space Camp Teachers Fly 13

Boaz Pell City Cadets at Air Show 16

SAREVAL 16

Tuscaloosa Air Show 17

Public Affairs 18




Photo by 1st Lt. Rick Kilgore

There was great support from manyof the Alabama Wing squadrons. The pilotsincluded Michele Basso, MontgomerySquadron (AL032), Andrew Boyer,Huntsville Squadron (AL119), Ed Barnes,Tuscaloosa Squadron (AL024), MarkGurganus, Tuscaloosa Squadron (AL0 24),Carlton Foster, Huntsville (AL055), JimCorey, Birmingham Squadron (AL090),Gary Ernest, Clanton Squadron (AL119),Jim Harris, Central Alabama Squadron(AL132), and Donnie Todd, Pell CitySquadron (AL118).

The cadet marshallers, from both theBessemer Squadron and Squadron 90 atthe Birmingham Airport, as part of theirtraining as marshallers, were making surethat every plane taxied safely to theirdesignated spot and safely shut down. Thepilots finished the shut down checklist,secured the airplanes and walked to theCAP building.

While this was happening, at about8:30, cars began driving up and seventeenexcited teachers from the Shelby CountySchool system, led by Dr. Charlotte Draperwalked from the cars to the building, lookingaround at the planes and activity on the

ramp.The CAP facility at Bessemer was

perfect for this program. There was a roomfor the radio communication, a commonarea, and separate rooms for the teachersand the pilots. After everyone arrived andgot settled, we all went outside to the flagpole for the flag raising, pledge, and a

prayer. The cadets did a great job on theflag raising. The teachers saw how to do itright.

Afterward, while the pilots weregetting settled down for the morning briefingby Capt Ladde Mayer, the maintenance

officer of the Central Alabama SeniorSquadron, the teachers sat in the otherroom. They were welcomed by Lt. Col.Austin Landry, commander of the CentralAlabama Senior Squadron, 1st Lt. DaleChambers, commander of the BessemerSquadron, Maj. Silvano Weuschner,coordinator of the Alabama Wing's Fly theTeacher and Lt. Col. David Boswell, theAlabama Wing Vice Commander.

The teachers were told what toexpect. They were told that each pilot

would take two teachers and would fly toanother airport and the teacher in the rightseat would move to the back seat and theteacher in the back seat would move to thefront right seat and the plane would return toBessemer. Lt. Col. Landry explained theimportance of weight and balance and theconcept of the weight and balance envelopeand the overall meaning of "pushing theenvelope." The teachers were told thatCapt. Gary Wright, Logistics Officer of theCentral Alabama Senior Squadron would

discretely ask each teacher for their weightin order to make the calculation of weightand balance for their flight.

As part of the overall pilot briefingsgoing on next door, the teachers wereassigned to each pilot. In order not toovercrowd one airport for the switching ofseats for the teachers, the pilots agreed onwhich airports each flight would land beforecoming back to Bessemer.

Back in the room with the teachers,1 Lt. Rick Kilgore, the Training Officer for

the Central Alabama Squadron, was givinga presentation on the history, heritage,structure and purpose of the Civil Air Patroland the Fly the Teacher program.

The excitement for the upcomingadventure and learning opportunity wasbuilding as the teachers learned more aboutwhat was in store for them over the nextseveral hours.




Then the time arrived for the firstflights. The pilots came to the room with theteachers and called out the names of theteachers that would fly with them. As theywalked out to the aircraft on the ramp, theteachers were introduced to the

components of the airplane and were givena demonstrated preflight and were toldabout the different parts of the plane andwere familiarized with the variousinstruments and radios. The teachers werebelted in, listened to what was going on withtheir headsets and were ready to go. Manywere excited, some were apprehensive, butall were looking forward to the flight.

The first plane's rotating beacon wasturned on, signaling to the cadetmarshallers that the plane was ready to

start engine. The marshaller signaled thathe or she was also ready. The pilot shouted"clear" and the propeller started turning.The excitement grew. The plane slowlymoved forward and marshallers carefullyguided the pilot through the line of planes tothe taxiway. In the other planes, pilots andteachers were going through the sameroutine: the shout of "clear," propellersturning and slow taxiing to the taxiway.

Soon, all the planes were airborne,each following shortly after the other down

the runway, into the air. After this, it wasreminiscent of a World War II movie. All theairplanes were gone, the ramp was againquiet and the ground crews slowly went intothe building to wait for the return of theaircraft. All that one could do now is wait.

However, not all the teachers wereable to go on the first flights. A few wouldhave to wait their turn until the planes andpilots returned from the first flight. Duringthis time, Capt Ladde Mayer led adiscussion on the principles of aeronautics,

the basics-gravity, lift, thrust, and drag. Healso led the teachers in how to make a veryunusual paper airplane shaped like a circlethat actually flew. Now, that is somethingthey could take back to the classroom!

About mid morning, the worrybegan. The weather radar showed a line ofweather moving in from the west and wehad teachers in the air and some waiting to

go. We watched that weather very carefullyensuring that everything continued to besafe. Soon, it began to drizzle at Bessemer.We got lucky, there were no storms and wehad only light rain. Soon, the rain stopped.Not long after that, the first of the planes

called on the radio that they were inbound,returning from a, hopefully, educational andenjoyable flight. As each plane landed andtaxied into their parking space, Capt. GaryWright was waiting for the engine shutdownand the pilot and teachers to come out ofthe plane. Capt. Wright was there to haveeach pilot sign the First Flight Certificateand present it to the teachers. Also therewas 1 Lt. Kilgore, who doubled that day asour official photographer.

Photo by 1 Lt. Rick Kilgore

Each pilot/teacher "crew" had theirpost flight picture taken. There were ear toear grins everywhere. It was now time forthe remaining teachers to embark on theireducational adventure. The same routine ofpreflight, explanation of airplane parts,aircraft instruments, beacon on, start, taxiand take off. It was again quiet on the rampand the waiting began for this group offlights to return.

While this group of teachers was inthe air, Capt Mayer made the samepresentation on aeronautics as was givenearlier for the other group and this groupwas introduced to the round paper airplane.This entire effort took a lot of preparationand planning. In addition to the seniormembers mentioned by name earlier, the




efforts and planning included Maj. SilvanoWueschner, Wing AEO, wing coordinator ofFly A Teacher; Maj. John Neil, the WingOperations Officer, who scheduled theairplanes: the senior members of theBessemer Squadron; Dr. Charlotte Draper,

Assistant Superintendent of Instruction forthe Shelby County School System and,most importantly, the pilots who made this agreat day for the teachers.

We received immediate positivecomments on the day of the flights.However, the comments made by emailreally drove home that the time and effortwere important and worthwhile. Some ofthe email received by Lt Col Landryincluded:

"Just wanted to forward these

comments from one of our teachers. It trulydid make a difference. Thanks again"

"Just wanted to thank you again forallowing the Shelby County teachers theopportunity to fly! I am still on a high fromthe experience and can't wait to telleveryone about it at school tomorrow. I willdefinitely encourage other teachers toparticipate in the "Fly the Teacher" program"

"I cannot remember the names of allthe officer, pilots, cadets, etc. who met withus yesterday, but please let them know how

much it meant to see their enthusiasm andwillingness to spend their Saturday with abunch of educators!"

"...I am a cancer survivor. Afterhaving cancer, you say things like, 'I want toLIVE my life!' Well, this ranks way up thereon the 'LIVING' list!"

All the press releases, newspaperstories, TV clips, public serviceannouncements about what we do cannotresult in the kind of impact that was theresult of this Fly the Teacher effort. We, as

individuals, and collectively can make adifference. We did on a cloudy Saturday inApril at the Bessemer, Alabama airport.

Lt. Col. Austin Landry, Commander Central Alabama Senior Squadron

C/Lt Col Aaron HanesWing and SER Cadet of the Year

Aaron Hanes joined the Civil AirPatrol at the age of 13 as a member of theKeesler/Ocean Springs CompositeSquadron. He quickly made his presence asa leader known rising to the position ofFlight Sergeant. As flight sergeant, he wasan integral part of the formation anddevelopment of the “Dragon Flight” trainingprogram for newly recruited cadets. All ofthis was accomplished before he receivedhis Wright Brothers Award.

As a young cadet, Col. Hanesdeployed with, the now renamed, Col. BertaA. Edge Composite Squadron to SouthFlorida, to assist with the disaster reliefefforts after Hurricane Charley. Col. Hanesdistinguished himself in the area ofcommunications. He served as thecommunications section of the Punta GordaMission Base. He also assisted in locating,disarming, and documenting over onehundred ELTs.

As an NCO, Aaron competed as amember of the Mississippi Wing Drill Team.He was one of the youngest members onthe team but still distinguished himself asone of the stand out performers and leading

NCOs of the team. He also assisted in thetraining of his squadron’s Wing ChampionColor Guard that same year. He performedin many Color Guard presentations in allpositions on the Guard including the firstannual Wreaths Across America at theBiloxi National Cemetery in Biloxi, MS.

As Cadet Commander of SER-MS-048, Aaron was at the forefront of therebuilding of the squadron after thedevastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. Hespearheaded the recruiting and training of

new cadets. Without his untiring devotion,the cadet squadron of MS048 would haveslid into oblivion.

Throughout his cadet career, C/Lt.Col Aaron Hanes has distinguished himselfat every level of the cadet chain-of-command at Wing and RegionEncampments. As an NCO, he served as




the cadet NCOIC of Administration and asCommunications Officer. As a cadet officer,he has served as a Squadron Commanderand Logistics Officer.

Cadet Hanes has attended manyNational Cadet Special Activities including

COS, PJOC, APJOC, and Civic LeadershipAcademy. At the Pararescue JumperOrientation Course he learned how to pushhimself to the limit and beyond. At theAdvanced Pararescue Jumper OrientationCourse he learned to lead under the stressof simulated combat. As a new cadet officer,Col. Hanes attended Cadet Officers Schoolat Maxwell Air Force Base, where he honedmany of the leadership traits that define himas a senior cadet officer. He learned how tostep back and look at all angles of a

situation and pick the best method formitigating the situation. He has passed thelessons learned at these activities on to thecadets of his squadron and wing. Later thisyear, he will be representing CAP and theUnited States by participating in theInternational Air Cadet Exchange when hetravels to the Netherlands, where he hopesto learn how to interact on the internationalstage the way he has on the national level.

Wayne Fisk, CMSgt, USAF (ret.) air forcepararescueman and C/Lt. Col. Hanes

Most recently, Col. Hanes has beenthe driving force behind the forming of thecadet squadron of the Baldwin CountyComposite Squadron. He has jumped inwith both feet and been an excellent

example of what it means to be a cadet inthe Civil Air Patrol. He has steadily grownthe squadron from one cadet to a squadronof eight cadet members and eightperspective cadets. He is currentlydesigning a comprehensive training syllabusto train cadets in all aspects of the Civil AirPatrol.

Aaron’s accomplishments have notbeen limited to Civil Air Patrol. He is anofficer in the BCHEA Toastmasters Club.He has distinguished himself in forensics

winning the NCFCA Region 7 Team PolicyDebate Tournament. This year he ismentoring a younger forensics student inthe art of debate. He is also assisting hisdebate coach in teaching debate in his localdebate club. He distinguished himself as atemporary employee of Columbia SouthernUniversity when they relocated to their newcampus and has been asked back onmultiple occasions since then. He willgraduate from His Providence Academy inMay where he has maintained a 4.0 GPA

through all four years of High School. Heplans on doing one year of service beforeattending college.

C/Lt. Col. Aaron Hanes is anoutstanding cadet that embodies the CAPCore Values. He is an excellent exampleand a model cadet. He has twice beenawarded Wing Cadet of the Year honors(MS ’08, AL and SER ’09). In 2006, he wasawarded Mississippi Wing’s Col. Berta A.Edge Communicator of the Year. He hasbeen recognized for his service by having

been awarded two CommandersCommendations (one region and one wing)and an Achievement Award for his serviceat the Florida Wing Summer Encampmentby the Florida Wing Commander. He hasbeen recognized for his service inEmergency Services and Disaster Reliefwith the Find Ribbon (two bronze devices)the Air Search and Rescue Ribbon and the




Disaster Relief Ribbon (with “V” device). Hehas the Cadet Community Service Ribbonfor over 1500 hours of service. He holdstechnician ratings in Communications andEmergency Services. He is a rated GroundTeam Leader. Andrew Hanes, 1LT, CAP Deputy Commander (Cadets)SER-AL-112

Chaplain Information

The Spring 2009 edition ofour Chaplain Corps Newsletter is nowavailable. Please use the following link toaccess the current edition:

http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/cap_national_hq/chaplain_corps/chaplain_newsletter.cfm

Our newsletter is released quarterly. Anemail, including the link for access, willbe sent to all Chaplain Corps Personnel.Email addresses are compiled usinginformation in eService. Therefore, pleaseverify the accuracy of your information ineServices to ensure continued receipt.

Chaplain Corps Operating Procedure2009-001

6 April 2009

(This CCOP is in effect untilsuspended, amended, or no longerneeded.)

This CCOP provides the guidelines for CAPChaplains who wish to support the military.

MILITARY SUPPORT GUIDELINES

• Criteria mandated by the Air ForceChaplain Corps

• Criteria mandated by the Civil AirPatrol Chaplain Corps

It is signedChaplain Whitwoodard, Col. CAPChief of the Chaplain Corps

Additional information can be obtained fromthe Wing Chaplain, Lt. Col. Hyde.

Lt. Col. Dan Hyde, CAP Alabama Wing Chaplain

Alabama Wing Participates inMultiday, Multiagency Simulation

What started out as a statewideinteroperability mission with the AlabamaState EMA, DHS, and other state andfederal agencies, soon turned into a full dayof missions. The Interoperability Missionwas to simulate a Category 4 – 5 hurricane

impacting the Mobile, Alabama area, andtraveling through the state. The purposewas for the Alabama Wing to practice withmultiple State and Federal EmergencyServices by providing, airbornecommunications, aerial photography andequipment transport.

The Alabama Wing had beenscheduled to fly two aircraft for SDIS and anairborne repeater for the InteroperabilityMission, and fly one aircraft on a Counter

Drug High-bird Mission.The day quickly filled with actual

Emergency Service missions. After severaltornados had touched down throughout thestate the day before, the Alabama Wing wastasked by the Alabama EMA for SDISphotos of the storm damage near Huntsville,Alabama.




While flying on the SDIS mission,several Alabama Wing Aircraft startedreceiving an active ELT in SouthernAlabama. Reports from Atlanta Centersoon started coming in of a report of anaircraft in “Distress”, then later of anairplane crash in southern Alabama. Afterseveral hours of searching, the non-distressELT was located at Fort Rucker ArmyAviation Center, near Dothan, Alabama. Noactual distress aircraft was ever confirmedor found. The "crash" was non-existent.

The Alabama Wing also had anaircraft demonstrate the FMV (Full Motion

Video) for the Alabama State EMA andFEMA agencies. The equipment is beingdesigned and tested by the Alabama Wingfor the Battle Labs at the Redstone RocketArsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

Communications units from theMississippi, Florida and Georgia Wings alsoparticipated via HF-communications Nets,

throughout the day in support of all of themissions.

Major John Neil, Alabama Director ofOperations, and Major David Hester,Alabama Wing Director of Communications,both of the ICs for the missions, stated thatthis day was a practice for the upcomingWing SAR EVAL in June 2009, and wasabout as realistic of a possible hurricanelandfall as you could have, without havingthe real thing happening. Alabama Wingtasks included real events and simulationsand met each task successfully.

Major John P. Neil, CAP Director of Operations Alabama Wing CAP

Photos by Alabama SDIS crews.

Alabama Veterans of the 1948-1949Berlin Airlift Honored at AlabamaGerman Celebration of the “60th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift”, byHarold A. Coghlan

On February 27th

, 2009, theAlabama Veterans of the 1948-1949 BerlinAirlift were celebrated, honored, andawarded special German AmericanFreedom Awards at the beautiful new wingof the Southern Museum of Flight. Thesespecial awards were issued by the GermanGovernment in recognition of Americahaving saved the people of Berlin and




having stopped the Communist aggressionby Russia’s Communist post-World War 2regime of Joseph Stalin. All in all, 19 out ofthe 22 known, living, Alabama resident AirForce veterans of this monumental airliftwere present at the celebration, reception

and dinner.This celebration was put together by

Trish Coghlan, Executive Director of theAlabama Germany Partnership (AGP), withthe help of AGP volunteers and BoardMembers, along with the support of theGovernment of the Federal Republic ofGermany, the German Embassy inWashington, D.C., the Office of the ConsulGeneral of Germany in Atlanta, GA, theOffice of the Honorary Consul of Germanyin Alabama, the United States Air Force, the

Alabama Air National Guard’s 117th AirRefueling Wing, the Alabama Wing of theCivil Air Patrol and United States Air ForceAuxiliary, the Southern Museum of Flight(SMF), and several German and Americancompanies, such as ISE InnomotiveSystems, Inc.,Hofmann Services, FreundDeutch, Magic Express Airlines, Inc, and theJoseph H. Brady Assembly of the Knights ofColumbus.

Dr. Lutz Georgens, the German Consul General

Most people don’t remember how fragileand precarious the peace was in Europeafter World War II, with most WesternEuropean countries having been bombedand demolished and without any significantmilitary forces, with the United Stateshaving a mere fraction of the military and airpower it once had in Europe (1200 aircraft

instead of the 17,000), and with just a fewthousand Army troops confronted byRussia’s 300,000 troops and 33 tankdivisions in East Germany alone, as well asthousands of aircraft stationed in EastGermany and Poland. Basically, Russia had

the military might that if it had wanted toinvade the rest of Western Europe, neitherthe United States nor its Allies had themilitary power to stop them. But then, theAmerican Forces in Occupied Germany hada brave and fearless leader, Army GeneralLucius Clay and USAF Lt Gen Curtis LeMay(the same leader who would later build upthe USAF Strategic Air Command into afearsome nuclear deterrent force). Becausethe West was so weak, Russia felt it couldblockade Berlin and choke off and starve

the city of 2.5 million West Berliners, forcingthe Germans to capitulate and becomeCommunists just to get food. But the WestGermans did not want to becomeCommunists, and Gen. Clay would not letthe Russians win, in one of America’s “finesthours”.

From TrumanLibrary.org

On June 24, 1948, the Russiansclosed off all roads and railroads leading toWest Berlin, blockading the city. Gen. Clay

asked Lt Gen LeMay if the (newlyestablished) Air Force could “haul coal toBerlin”, and LeMay answered “how much doyou want us to haul?” In reality, as much asLeMay wanted to haul the coal andsupplies, the sheer numbers and thecomplexity of the logistics made it an almostimpossible feat. Most of the cargo planes in




Europe were C-47 (DC-3) types that couldhaul 2 tons (4000 Lbs) of cargo, and to heatand feed the 2.5 million Berliners wouldhave required 2,500 C-47 flights a day (forthe 5,000 tons or 10 Million Pounds dailyrequirement)! The first C-47 flight flew into

Templehof, and LeMay soon realized heneeded a bigger plane. That plane was theDouglas C-54 (equivalent to the DC-4airliner), which could carry 10 tons of cargo(20,000 Lbs). At that rate, “only” 500 flightsa day were needed!!! Lt Gen LeMay put AirForce Major General William Tunner incharge of the Berlin Airlift, since Tunner hadrun the airlift over the China-India-Burmaarea in World War II. Gen. Tunner devised away for the airlift to succeed, using twopredesignated corridors going into Berlin,

and one corridor to return back to WestGermany. With the use of the corridors, andwith airplanes assigned pre-set altitudes fortheir routes, and using Ground ControlApproach Radar (GCA), and in great partdue to the “can-do” attitude of the aircrews(their motto was “we’ll make it work”), Gen.Tunner’s Airlift managed to fly all theneeded supplies to feed, clothe, heat andhouse the 2.5 million West Berliners.Everything had to be brought in by air, notonly food and coal, but also paper,

construction equipment, cement, steel andanything else was needed to keep Berlinalive, and alive Berlin stayed!

The American and British aircrewsand ground crews managed to create onegiant air bridge, flying from airbases in WestGermany such as Frankfurt, Wiesbaden,RAF Fassberg and Celle, and going to land

at the Western controlled airfields insideWest Berlin, Tempelhof, Gatow and laterTegel (which was built from scratch andopened on November 5th, 1948). The Airliftoriginally started with small C-47’s, and theAllies grew the Airlift by using four engine

transports, mostly USAF C-54’s but alsodozens of British four engine York cargoplanes (they looked like the Halifax bomber)and even some Shorts Sunderland fourengine floatplanes which used to land in theBerlin river (the floatplanes carried salt andsuffered terrible corrosion problems).

The Berlin Airlift defied all theRussian expectations and sinister attemptsto make it fail, such as when they would turnon false NDB stations with the samefrequencies inside East Germany to fool the

Allied pilots into flying into Russiancontrolled airfields, or when Russian Yak-3and Yak-9 single engine prop fighters wouldfly alongside the Allied crews in the aircorridors to harass them, with one RussianYak crashing intentionally into a Britishcargo plane! Not only did the Berlin Airliftsucceed beyond all expectations, on oneparticular day (16 April 1949), nicknamedthe “Easter Parade”, 1,383 flights wereflown in one day carrying a total of 12,800tons (a whopping 25.6 Million Pounds of

cargo in one day!). The Communist Russiangovernment of Joseph Stalin realized thatneither the American nor British Air Forcescould be defeated or deterred in their Airlift,and neither was the brave and defiant spiritof the West Berliners going to be broken!

On 12 May, 1949, Russia finallygave up on the Berlin blockade and openedup again the railroads and highways thatconnected West Berlin to West Germany viaRussian dominated East Germany terrain.

The Berlin Airlift continued until 30September, 1949, just to be sure, and bythe time it had stopped there were someincredible statistics of bravery andperseverance: 2.3 Million tons of cargo hadbeen airlifted (=4,600,000,000 Lbs or 4.6Billion Pounds of cargo), on 277,569 flightsover 16 months (an average of more than17,300 flights per month, or nearly 600 flight




per day!), feeding 2.5 Million West Berliners,at a cost of 31 US, 39 British and 13German lives and 70 major aircraftaccidents! But however costly in human andeconomic currency, the Berlin Airlift provedto be the key decisive moment in world

history where the West stood up to Russianaggression and refused to cave in, refusedto let a new ally (West Germany) bedominated by Communist Russia, and putthe world on notice that America and it’sAllies were still a force to be reckoned with!After all of these years, and after all of thehumanitarian airlifts that America and it’sAllies have been involved with (Tsunamis,earthquakes, disasters, etc), the Berlin Airliftof 1948-1949 still stands as the GreatestHumanitarian Airlift ever accomplished!

Lt. Col. Coghlan, Col. Wolfgang Samuel, Dr.Lutz Georganz

To celebrate this monumental Airlift,the German Government created awonderful photo exhibit which is on displayat a few selected cities (and here at theSouthern Museum of Flight for the next tendays), and wanted to recognize and awardspecial German American Freedom awardsto as many surviving Berlin Airlift veteransas possible. Trish Coghlan of the AGPworked with the German Embassy to bringthe exhibit to Birmingham and tracked down22 surviving veterans living in Alabama,who were invited to the 60th AnniversaryCelebration at the Southern Museum ofFlight, hosted by Dr. Jim Griffith, Curator ofthe Museum. There were a number of veryinteresting speakers who addressed theveterans, their families and nearly two

hundred other guests. Among the spiritedand engaging speakers were Gerhard Graffrom the AGP, Ms. Debby Dahl representingAlabama Governor Bob Riley,Congressman Spencer Bachus, who spokeof his own uncle who was present having

been a B-17 bomber pilot and later POW inGermany, and who later flew cargo intoBerlin helping his onetime war adversaries.Others were USAF Colonel PolyannaPaddin who teaches at the USAF Air WarCollege in Montgomery after a career ofcombat flying as a cargo pilot herself,Colonel Wolfgang Samuel, USAF(Ret), whowas born in Germany and survived the warand the Berlin blockade to later fly 30 yearsin the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Lutz Georgens,the German Consul General, Bruce Jones,

Honorary German Consul General inAlabama, and Trish Coghlan of theAlabama Germany Partnership.

The 117th Air Refueling Wing(Alabama ANG) provided the Color Guardand impressed all with their polishedpresentation. The Alabama Wing of the CivilAir Patrol/United states Air Force Auxiliary,provided a very sharp looking Honor Guardfor the Airlift veterans composed of 8Cadets (Flight Officer Rebecca Balliet, C/Lt

Charlie Murphy, C/MSgt Joey Kimble,C/SrAmn Thomas Fay, C/A1C DevronSmith from the 117th ANG Squadron andC/A1C Jacob McGowin, C/A1C AndrewMcGowin, and C/TSgt Jessica Ernest fromthe Chilton Squadron). Lt Col HaroldCoghlan, Director of Safety for AlabamaWing stood in for the Wing Commander,Col. Mike Oakman.




Congressman Spencer Bachus with USAFveteran pilot Thomas Moseley

The Anniversary celebration at the SouthernMuseum of Flight was followed by a specialVIP Dinner held at the Southern Museum ofFlight for the 19 Airlift veterans present andtheir families, hosted by the AlabamaGermany Partnership. Many of theseveterans told the author how much they hadenjoyed their “moment in the spotlight”, andhow this was the first time they had beengiven any public recognition for themonumental job they did in conducting theBerlin Airlift! It took 60 years to do it, butthey were very emotional about receiving allthis attention.

As I looked at these older Airmen, Icould not help but feel a great bond withthem and a great debt of gratitude for theirgreat sacrifice on behalf of the Westernworld. The saddest part was to think that ofthe hundreds of Air Force Airlift veteransthat must have been alive and living inAlabama at one time, only 22 weretraceable by Trish Coghlan. We were verylucky that 19 of those 22 veterans were ableto attend the 60th Anniversary Celebration ofthe Berlin Airlift at the Southern Museum ofFlight, and the pictures that accompany thisarticle show their excitement and the greatevent that celebrated Aviation History inAlabama.

Lt. Col Harold A. Coghlan Safety Officer

CAPT Lynn Toney ReceivesAerospace Award

On behalf of Tom Gwaltney, Alabama AirForce Association President, I would like toextend our deepest congratulations to youin being named the 2009 Alabama AFA AETeacher of the Year!!!! This is a well-deserved award for you!

As the Tennessee Valley AFA Chapter AFAAE Teacher of the Year, you wereautomatically placed in the state

competition. You were unanimouslyselected as the winner for the state award!

Receiving the Huntsville Chapter AFA Teacherof the Year Award

I am certain that your principal, Mr. Beck,your assistant superintendent, Dr. Haney,and your superintendent, Mr. Dishman, all

join me in applauding the work you do bothin and out of the classroom to promote

aerospace education to the young peoplewith whom you come in contact each day.The efforts you put forth are clearly definingthe future paths for these students- pathsthat will lead them toward successfulfutures- in whatever career path they eachselect.




The Air Force Association is so verypleased that we have teachers in our statewho are so dedicated to ensuring thatyoung people are prepared---academically,physically, and morally--- to be the futurecitizens of our state. YOU are a stellar

example of that dedication. Thank you foryour work.

Receiving Special Commendation from CAP forLynn's two-year coordination of the CAP

Aerospace Connections in Education (ACE)Program for grades K-6.

I will be working with you and theTennessee Valley Chapter representatives,Rick Driesbach, Chapter President, and

John Phillip, Chapter VP for AE, todetermine a day that we can come andmake a presentation to you while you areamong your students. Please let me knowa couple of days on or after May 15 that wecould do so. Then, we will coordinateamongst ourselves to get this done for you!

We will also plan to formally present theaward to you at our state conference inAugust.

Susan Mallett,Alabama Air Force AssociationVice President, Aerospace Education

Flying Teachers, ROTC Cadets andJROTC Flights in Alabama

Across the state of Alabama duringthe month of April, Civil Air Patrol pilotshave been flying teachers in the Fly a

Teacher Program, ROTC cadets andJROTC cadets. Flights for teachers thisyear have been in Dothan, Shelby 132,Maxwell, Bessemer and Albertville. Pilotsand aircraft have come from across thestate to various airports to support each ofthe programs. JROTC Flights have beenflown in Shelby County 127, Maxwell, andRedstone. ROTC flights were in Mobile,Auburn and Tuscaloosa.

Photo by Capt. Lynn Toney

Coordinated by Maj. SilvanoWueschner, eight Fly A Teacher eventshave been held across the state this spring.Many of them were making a first flight in asmall airplane. Safety, expectations,weather and its effects on flight werediscussed before each pilot and the twoteachers assigned to be the crew left topreflight the aircraft using the checklists

CAP pilots use before each sortie flown.

Teachers flew to a second airport,switched positions in the aircraft andreturned the mission base. During theflight, the pilots explained the controls andthe instruments.




Photo by Capt Jerry Lusk

After the flight, they discussed howthis experience could be used in theclassroom. "I'm going to make aPowerPoint Presentation to show mystudents," one teacher said as she

photographed the airplane she was going tofly in.

CAP provided suggested lessonplans through the aerospace program andthe web site provides much information forthem.

Photo by Capt. Jerry Lusk

During the last six months seventy-nine classroom teachers have viewedAlabama from the air as participants in theFly A Teacher program. Each of the eventswas supported by pilots, staff and squadronvolunteers.

Photo by Capt. Jerry Lusk

JROTC flights and ROTC flightsfollow a very similar outline. JROTCprogram provides orientation flight to the AirForce ROTC program in high schools.Many Air Force JROTC cadets make their

first flight with Civil Air Patrol affording theseyoung people an opportunity to visualizethemselves in the USAF or in an aviationcareer. Forty-four young people have beenable to take advantage of this program

ROTC flights provide college anduniversity Air Force ROTC cadets theopportunity to see what their careers mightinclude if they choose to continue in thecareer path that ROTC provides. Even atthis level, some take their first flight in a Civil

Air Patrol airplane. Forty-five AFROTCcadets have flown with the Alabama Wingfrom November 2008 to April 2009.

CAP volunteers use their skills topresent Civil Air Patrol at its best whenteachers and ROTC and JROTC cadets flywith Civil Air Patrol pilots.

US Space and Rocket Center

Teachers Take to the Skies with CivilAir Patrol’s Fly-a-Teacher Program

Dodging downpours of rain andintermittent low cloud cover, twenty-threeUS Space and Rocket Center (USSRC)educator space camp attendees took to theskies Saturday, June 13, from Madison




County Executive Air Field, in Huntsville,Alabama. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) pilots flewin from all parts of the state to provide theteachers a small aircraft orientation flightexperience.

Photo by 1st Lt. Kim Miller, Redstone PAO

This aviation experience lifted off theteachers’ week-long attendance at “SpaceCamp for Educators.” The teachers camefrom all parts of the country to attend. Thisevent was the first such partnership initiativebetween CAP and the USSRC to providethis added opportunity for space campteachers.

“The purpose of CAP’s Fly-a-

Teacher Program is to introduce teachers tothe aviation experience so they can, in turn,share their new-found aerial excitement andknowledge with their students,” said SilvanoWueschner, the CAP’s Alabama WingDirector of Aerospace Education.

Photo by Maj. P. Mitcham

Teachers were given a pre-flightorientation to the airplane, a chance to tryout the controls in-flight, and the opportunityto take aerial photographs to share withtheir students. CAP Lt Ron Harlan flewthree sets of teachers. “Flying these

teachers brings a special reward in seeingtheir new enthusiasm about aviation. Eachteacher has a unique perspective on howthe experience can be transferred intoclassroom instruction. There is never a dullmoment when teachers are in the air!”


In addition to the orientation airplaneflight, the teachers were also given a day ofaeronautical instruction by CAP NationalHeadquarters staff. Angie St John, National

Headquarters AE Program Manager,explained that the workshop provided theteachers a variety of inquiry-based activitiesto supplement and enrich their corecurriculum in science, technology,engineering and math (STEM).





“The ultimate goal in sharing CAP’s AEmission with teachers is to provide teacherswith aerospace-themed programs andproducts to inspire young people toward

STEM-related careers.” Another hopefuloutcome of the program is the introductionof the CAP cadet program to the teachers’students.

Teachers who are AerospaceEducation Members (AEMs) of CAP are

eligible for the Fly-a-Teacher Program. AEmembership entitles teachers across thenation access to over 20 national academicstandards-based educational products toenhance the K-12 curriculum, as well as anawards program, classroom grants, and

professional development opportunities.For more information about CAP’s AE andFly-a-Teacher Programs, go towww.gocivilairpatrol.com, or [email protected].

Special thanks to all the AL Wingmembers who participated in the event:Lt Col Gene Mitcham, Maj Pat Mitcham,Capt Andy Boyer, 1Lt Kim Miller, Maj

Anthony Beresford, Maj Ray Hara, 1LtHarvey Yarborough, Capt Carlton Foster,1Lt Joe Robbins, and Capt Don Hunnicutt.AL Wing Commander, Col Mike Oakman,Vice Commander, Lt Col David Boswell,and Maj John Neil were not able to fly indue to the weather all around the area, butlent their support in planning the event.

Much appreciation goes to the NHQ teamwho led the AE workshop for the teachers:Angie St John, Susan Mallett, Judy Stone,and Debbie Dahl.

Finally, gratitude is extended toUSSRC staff that assisted in the event:CAP Maj Rhonda Cox, Katrine Balch, andRuth Marie Oliver.

Susan Mallett, Aerospace EducationNational CAP




Boaz and Pell City SquadronsSupport Air Show

Alabama Civil Air Patrol cadetssupported the Spring Bash 2009 air show inAlbertville, AL. Pell City Squadron cadets

joined Boaz Middle School cadetsmonitoring the aircraft on display from 10:00AM until 3:30 PM. Cadets used radiocommunications to keep track ofassignments and schedules. Duringrefueling, cadets formed a line at the safetymarker to keep pedestrians away from thefueling area.

Commander 1st Lt Sonya Erskine,

Boaz Middle School, and 1st Lt. CynthiaBennett, Pell City Squadron, supervised thecadets as they worked near the displayaircraft and when the cadets worked at therecruiting booth.

The Spring Bash 2009 supportedHospice of Marshall County. Civil Air Patrolcadets served their community, theirsquadrons and the Alabama Wing well.

Photos taken by Capt. Lynn Toney, AEO for

BCSS Squadron AL 801.

Alabama Wing Earns "Successful"for SAREVAL

The Alabama Wing Civil Air Patrolearned a grade of “Successful” for thesearch and rescue/disaster relief (SAR/DR)

evaluation at Madison County ExecutiveAirport. In spite of heat index numbersapproaching 100, thirty-seven volunteersfrom across the state signed in and wereassigned air and ground sorties. Eight CAP-USAF personnel graded the mission, asimulation of SAR/DR activities.

1st Lt. Joe Robbins, Lt. Col. Otha Vaughan,Capt. Barry Roberts plan high bird flight

Civil Air Patrol volunteers spent 400 manhours working the different aspects of the

mission, including both air and groundsorties. Additional time was spent inpreparation for the mission.

Tasks during the evaluation included aerialphotography of places in North Alabamawhich could be affected by serious weatherevents. Satellite Digital Imaging System(SDIS) operators photographed areas using




the satellite system as requested byofficials.

Moulton, as seen by SDIS crew

A medical transport task was

included to insure that CAP pilots couldsupport the American Red Cross or othermedical units who might ask for support.Radio communications between groundteams, aircraft and mission base personnelwould be critical during a real event. Missionbase personnel set up HF and VHF radiosto insure that the various CAP componentscould send and receive messages.

Lt.Col. Brad Lynn, Capt. Ande Boyer, Lt. Col.Gene Spruille, and Capt Gary Bishop plan a

sortie.

Operations and planning sectionsworked with the scenario of two overdueaircraft and simulated storm damage toassign missions. By early afternoon allparts of the exercise had beenaccomplished. One practice target was

located in Cullman County by an air sortieand retrieved by a ground team guided in bythe aircraft. The second target was foundwest of Huntsville. Thirty-two air sortieswere briefed and dispatched.

Civil Air Patrol volunteers useexercises such as this become moreproficient in the skills they would use ifneeded by local, state or federal officials.

Photos from Tuscaloosa Air Show




Great day at Tuscaloosa air show fordedicated CAP member. 2nd Lt. MikeEpsman is side by side with Blue Angelpilots Capt.Tom Bunker & Capt.BrianLauber next to an F18 Hornet Fighter Jet.

Photos by Capt Mike Carr. 2nd Lt. Epsmanis under hospice care and still participatedin the activities at the air show.

Public Affairs

Public Affairs Links can be found in the nextcolumn. Every squadron PAO should befamiliar with them. All members withFacebook, MySpace, blogs and so onshould be familiar with the AF Media Guideand be sure that your material is consistentwith the AF guide and follows CAPregulation.

Updated Reference Material Web Links

(2009)

CAP Media Policyhttp://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/cap_national_hq/public_affairs/cap_media_policy/

CAP Public Affairs Program - CAPR 190-1(4 June 2007)http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/R190_001.pdf

CAP Notification Procedures in Case ofDeath, Injury, or Serious Illness - CAPR 35-2 (15 July 1998)http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/u_082203092317.pdf

CAP Emergency Services Training andOperational Missions - CAPR 60-3 (26 May2004)http://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/media/cms/u_082503073358.pdf

CAP PAO Toolkithttp://members.gocivilairpatrol.com/cap_national_hq/public_affairs/cap_pao_toolkit/

“The Air Force New Media guide and video

are now available online. Read about themand find links at Air Force Livehttp://ow.ly/2xOK

The actual guide isat http://www.af.mil/shared/media/document

/AFD-090406-036.pdf”

The next Newsletter will be in October.The deadline for material, pictures,announcements will be September 25,2009.

Alabama Wing - Jul 2009

Documents

Transcript of Alabama Wing - Jul 2009