Group 2, of the Civil
Air Patrol (CAP), Conducted a Night Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX) January
27-28, 2018 at the Watsonville airport.
By Lt Col Juan
Tinnirello, photography as listed.
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| Watsonville and all its lights. Photo by 2d Lt Alexei Roudnev |
Fifteen cadets and
thirty-one seniors, members of CAP, the Auxiliary to the U. S. Air Force,
convened at Watsonville Airport to participate in an unusual night exercise.
Unusual, because most of our training exercises take place during the day. However, since most missions assigned by the
U.S. Air Force start late in the day, searches are frequently completed in the
dark, so training for this is vital for ensuring the safety of our missions.
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| Cadets
talking before the mission started. Photo by Lt Col Tinnirello |
Obtaining an emergency
services (ES) rating for many different specialties requires participation in
two training exercises. New cadets as well as senior members that have been
training in the classroom had the opportunity to fulfill their first practical
training participation or complete their second one. Also, there was an opportunity for seasoned
members to sharpen their skills and to serve as mentors for the trainees.
The Incident Command
Post (ICP) opened at 14:00 hrs. under the leadership of Maj Steven DeFord.
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| The general briefing in progress. Photo by Lt Col Tinnirello |
The Staff included:
- Capt Roger Bass, Air Operations Branch Director (AOBD).
- Maj Kathy Brown, Finance/Admin Section Chief (FASC).
- 1st Lt Bill Ettingoff, Operations Section Chief (OSC).
- Capt George Gadd, Logistic Section Chief (LSC).
- Capt James Warmkessel, Communication Unit leader (CUL).
- Capt Jordan Hayes, Urban Directional Finding (UDF) training class.
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| Another view during the general briefing. Photo by Lt Col Tinnirello |
There were four aircraft
that completed five sorties. Also, there
were two vehicles that took the cadets and seniors out into the very cool night
to make visual contact with the aircraft. There was one ground team and one Urban Direction Finding (UDF) team. Both completed their assignments
to find the simulated Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) and or make visual
contact with the aircraft that was also searching for the ELT.
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| Capt
Hayes explaining how to assemble the Little L-Per (name given by the manufacturer). Photo by 2d Lt Roudnev
|
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| Capt Hayes showing the UDF class how to use the Little L-Per. Photo by 2d Lt Roudnev |
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| The radio room during a quiet moment. Photo by 2d Lt Roudnev |
Many base personnel
provided support to the whole operation, including Mission Radio Operators
(MRO), Mission Staff Assistant (MSA) and others that provided the food, drinks,
etc. to keep the participants nourished and ready to go.
It was an excellent
opportunity for CAP members to improve their skills and complete training ES
ratings.
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| 1st Lt Eric Choate (L) conversing with Capt Jordan Hayes (R). Photo by Lt Col Tinnirello |
The visibility was
excellent, the wind mild and everything worked out great. The exercise was completed by 01:15 hrs.
local and the ICP closed a couple hours later.
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En route to Watsonville looking from around Sunol, towards the West.
Photo by Lt Col Tinnirello
|
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| Another team in the communication room. Photo by Lt Col Tinnirello |
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Capt Hayes demonstrating
how to interpret the information received by the Little L-Per.
Photo by 2d Lt Roudnev
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