Asheville Squadron - Jul 2010

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G a z e t t eVol.2 Issue 15 Semper Gumby May-July 2010

Gumby Squadron has three

national awards in eight years

the gumby

Historian of the Year latest title as

By 1st Lt. Clint Parker

Winning national awards is

getting to be a habit with the

Gumby Squadron as 1st

Lt. Joe Myers wins the CAPs National

Historian of the Year Award

Myers has received a letter from Civil

Air Patrol (CAP) National Commander

Major General Amy Courter inform-

ing him that he has been chosen as

the National Historian of the Year for

2010.

Myers said that he was humbled,

after receiving the news. Given thequality of work done by other histori-

ans and the squadron itself, its hum-

bling, said Myers.

The genesis of the honor started

when Myers was nominated for Histo-

rian of the Year by his squadron com-

mander, Major Joseph Weinash. He

[Myers] continues to amaze us with

his dedication and devotion to a jobthat most would ignore. His love for

the CAP of the past is as great as his

commitment to the present and future,

Weinash wrote as part of his nomina-

tion.

Myers was a cadet with the CAP

when he was a teenager and rejoined

in the mid-80s as a senior member

in Florida. He has now been with the

Asheville Squadron for about three

years. He is scheduled to receive his

award in September at the national

conference in San Diego, California.

Myers lives in Weaverville with hisfamily.

Myers awards, along with Major Joe

Weinashs award as Safety Ofcer of

the Year in 2003 and Chaplain Foden

won for National Chaplain of the Year in

2002 must put the squadron in a pretty

elite company for national awards in

such a short period of time.

1st Lt. Joe Myers continues the Gumby Squadronsnational winning tradition as he becomes the thirdsquadron member to win a national title in eight years.

Biltmore compass

course challenges

CAP ground teams

Those that participated in the compass course.


Most forks are familiar with the Biltmore

House & Garden and the nice manicuredlawns and grounds, but CAP members

from the Gumby Squadron learned a different side to

the estate on Saturday, June 12 when they took on

the compass course that is included on part of the

estate.

The morning started about 9 am at the entrance to

the course off Brevard Road. The compass course is

situated in some thick woods and hilly terrain. That

day was also extremely humid and it didnt take long

for maps and papers with compass points to become

saturated with water. Teams spent about two and a

half hours nding points.


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CAPs Cadet Ken at local airfare


It was a hot June day

for the Gumby Squad-

ron as they took part

in the Hendersonville Air-

fair along with the CAP

aircraft, 99CP. Cadet

Ken (aka Cadet Ste-phen Greene) was a big

hit as he was on loan

from national and Senior

member William Wallace

showed fair goers around

the plane and introduced

them to the CAP organi-

zation. Lt. Nancy Greene

was on hand for the Drug

Demand Reductions and

others members manned

the CAP display.


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Cadets experience AE DayBy 1st Lt. James Matthews

Ten Cadets from the Asheville CompositeSquadron gathered at the AshevilleRegional Airport for an Aerospace

Education Day, 29 May, 2010. The day was flled

with testing, a presentation of Lt. Ralph PattersonsHigh Altitude Gumby Aerial Reconnaissanceprogram, and Orientation Flights, piloted by Capt.Arnie Andresen and Lt. Col. Matthew Urbanek.

The highlight of the day occurred when friendsof Maj. Butch Phillips arrived with some excitingshow pieces. Zach Woods and Eddie Hawkins, ofthe HeliHeads remote control helicopter ying club,arrived with a pair of remote control helicoptersand aircraft. The mini-choppers, powered by 2.5horse power engines fueled by nitro-methane werebriey own, displaying remarkable agility andimpossible acrobaticmaneuvers.

The AE Day endedon a high note afterfve frst O-ightswere conducted andan exciting display ofaerospace science inaction.


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Cadets attend phase 1 training

By 1Lt. Nancy Greene

Mephedrone, or 4-methyl-

methcathinone, MCAT

for short-an acronym

that prompted the British press

to call it meow meow, has only

recently landed in the United States.

Chemically, mephedrone is similar in

effect to khat, a shrub whose leaves

are chewed by Somali terrorists to

achieve an amphetamine-like high

before they head into battle. But as

drugs go, mephedrone is a lover,

not a ghter. The power energizes,

though not as ercely as cocaine,

and the adrenaline jolt is topped withthe warm and fuzzies of an Ecstasy

trip.

Though Israel shut down

Neorganics, the company that

produced mephedrone, in 2009, the

drug had already begun sprouting

on the Internet, sold by copycat

manufacturers in China and India.

In 2008, Australian and Cambodian

drug agents had seized and burned

1,278 barrels of sassafras oil, the base

ingredient of MDMA, or Ecstasy, in

Cambodias Cardamom mountains.

This caused a shortage of the drug

in Europe and Australia, were its use

is rampant. Mephehedrone becamea trendy replacement.

Mephedrone is being marketed

as plant food. At the federal level,

mephedrone enjoys a quasi-legal

status. Technically, users can be

charged with possessing or selling it

under the 1986 Analog Act. But even

the DEA says such cases would

be difcult to prosecute, because

authorities must prove that the drug

is intended for human consumption.

Mephedrones immediate after-

effects vary. People who use large

quantities can get vasculitis and

vasoconstriction, a tightening ofblood vessels, which explains the

blue knees and feet in some over

indulgers. No one knows how

addictive the drug is, but users

report the urge to re-dose regularly.

And since mephedrone has a similar

prole to methamphetamine, it is

possible that it could cause the same

psychosocial problems with long-

term use. Mephedrone users report

that it stimulates the body, typically

causing heightened awareness,

excitement, alertness, lowered

inhibitions and talkativeness. The

Northwest Public Health Observatory

reports that the timing of the onset ofeffects can vary depending on how

the drug was taken and whether

the user has eaten food recently.

Typically noticeable effects are likely

to persist for two to three hours

after being taken orally, but there is

usually a one to four-hour period of

insomnia after this.

Important advice for parents when

talking to their children openly about

the risks of drugs, especially legal

highs:

You can never know what you are

taking in any drug, so the effects can

be very unpredictable and potentiallylife threatening.

Just because the drugs are legal

to possess doesnt mean they are

safe.

Legal highs can contain a range

of potentially dangerous chemicals,

and their chemical makeup changes

all the time. This means you can

never be 100% certain of what you

have bought, and what the effects

may be.

Sources:

Nhs.uk

Details Magazine August 2010

Cadet Phase One DDR Participants gather for a group photo at Lt. Col. Augurs Farm.

By 1Lt. Nancy Greene

F

rom 16 -18 July, the

Asheville Squadron

conducted a Cadet

Phase One training at

Lt. Col. Rich Augurs

Farm in Barnardsville. A

Drug Demand Reduction

presentation was included

as part of the training

curriculum. Discussion

topics included Alcohol,

Tobacco, and Marijuana.

Prior to the cadets arrival,

a wicked, electrical

storm knocked out all the

cable and TV lines. In true

Asheville Squadron form,

the participants gumbyd

up and what was plannedto be a 30 minute time slot

ended up being an hour

and 30 minutes.

The cadets where very

attentive, and asked

great questions on all the

related topics. In the end

the sun was shining and

DDR overcame several

obstacles to get the

message of safety and

healthy living across.

There are better things to

do than Drugs!

MEPHEDRONE MEOW-MEOW THE LATEST DESIGNER DRUG

Asheville Squadron - Jul 2010

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