CAP: Why join CAP?

CAP: The job

CAP: Scientist and past CAP Cadet to interview for Astronaut job

When Sian Proctor was a teenager, she found that her eyesight and the loss of her beloved father thwarted the 20/20 vision she had for life: to become an astronaut.

So, who could have guessed that two decades later, this geology faculty member of South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, would be invited to interview for an astronaut position with NASA?

"I am humbled by the opportunity to make it come true," she said.

NASA will interview her for three days this month at the Johnson Space Center. Only 10 to 15 of the 120 final candidates will be selected for the two-year training period to become an astronaut.

Proctor, 38, was born on Guam where her father worked at the NASA tracking station during the Gemini and Apollo missions. After Apollo 13, the family moved back to the United States.

At age 16, Proctor's then-poor vision required her to get glasses. Her father died a few years later, deepening Proctor's belief that she would never be able to fulfill her dream.

"My life was all laid out, or so I thought," she said. "I wanted so much to follow in my father's footsteps. Growing up, I was good at math and science, I was in the Civil Air Patrol, and I wanted to go to the Air Force Academy. My ultimate goal was to fly F-16s and end my career as an astronaut exploring space. NASA had always been a part of my life."

Then Proctor got glasses and her father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Flying for the military was no longer an option. Neither was NASA. Both required 20/20 vision. More here...

CTWG: CT Website Allows Budget Comments

Governor Rell Announces New Web Site
Allows Taxpayers to Review & weigh in on budget

As a CAP member & a Connecticut taxpayer, are there any suggestions or ideas that you could share that could help reduce state spending – adding efficiency without sacrificing public service?

Go to the below URL and choose the BUDGET FORUM link.

Tell government what CAP can do for them!

http://www.ct.gov/governorrell/site/default.asp

CTWG: Encampment 2009

Ahhhh, to be a newbie again... Credit to every cadet that attended! Give em' around 60-90 days more of drill instruction and the very ground will thunder when they pass in review.

Photos from Lt Col Paul Rowen.

CTWG: Encampment 2009

The photos from the 2009 CTWG Encampment at Camp Rell, are starting to roll in. These from Lt Col Paul Rowen.

USAF: Last Call to Re-join

The Air Force is about to close down the voluntary Retired Rated Officer Recall Program and the voluntary Rated Officer Limited Period Recall Program.

Officers recalled under these programs will be used in a myriad of positions to include intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (UAS/RC-12), rated staff and other rated requirements. Officers will be recalled for periods between 24 and 48 months depending upon the requirement. Officers recalled under these programs will not be eligible to receive aviator continuation pay. Also, by volunteering for recall, officers will be eligible for deployment.

The application period for these programs runs through Dec. 31, 2009.

The following guidelines apply specifically to the Retired Rated Officer Recall Program:
-- Retired regular and reserve officers in the grades of lieutenant colonel and below are eligible to apply
-- Applicants must be under age 60 to apply
-- Officers retired via a Selective Early Retirement Board are eligible
-- Officers permanently retired for a physical disability are ineligible
More here...

USAF: New Fitness Program

Air Force Personnel Center Public Affairs

8/21/2009 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- Approval of the new Air Force fitness instruction in the coming weeks will bring about some of the most significant changes to the Air Force fitness program in the last five years.

Those changes, which take effect Jan. 1, 2010, shift a greater responsibility of maintaining physical fitness 365 days a year to all Airmen.

In June, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz announced changes to the service's fitness program following an audit that identified inconsistencies in fitness testing that failed to create a culture of fitness required to meet the warfighting demands on today's Airmen. More here...

SAR: Budget Woes Across CT

State Budget Impasse Affecting Emergency Chopper

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The program director for the Life Star emergency medical helicopters says if Connecticut's budget impasse continues, the program could be scaled back and one of its two helicopters eliminated.

Dr. Kenneth Robinson says Life Star, which is operated by Hartford Hospital and serves hospitals across Connecticut, has not received about four months worth of subsidy payments from the state, totaling about $464,000.

The hospital is currently covering the gap.

The $7.5 million Life Star program typically receives about $1.4 million a year from the state. Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who has been running the state by executive order because there isn't a budget in place, did not fund Life Star for July and August.

Robinson says the state also didn't make payments for May or June.

USAF: The transition cometh

The Air Force will train more pilots to fly unmanned aerial systems from ground operations centers this year than pilots to fly fighter or bomber aircraft, Gen. Stephen R. Lorenz, the commander of Air Education and Training Command, told an audience Friday.

Lorentz's remark illustrates the major transformation occurring within that service. In a Pentagon session last month, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Will Fraser told reporters that the unmanned systems are "delivering game-changing capabilities today, and ones that I'm confident will continue to be invaluable in the future."

At that July 23 briefing, Air Force officers spelled out the growth of what they call the "ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] transformation" of their service.

Today, the Air Force is flying both Predators and the more capable Reapers over Iraq and Afghanistan in 35 simultaneous orbits, each of which is a combat mission that keeps an aircraft aloft 24 hours a day. The target is to have 50 orbits by 2011.
More here...

USAF: The Most Decorated Aircraft In History

August 19, 2009: Last year, the U.S. Air Force retired the last six (of 72 built) MH-53J “Pave Low” helicopters it used for supporting special (now SOCOM) operations. The MH-53s had served in this capacity since the 1960s. During that time, the aircrew of these aircraft had earned a record 140 Silver Stars for valor (and a commensurate number of other awards). Despite heavy use, in often hazardous missions, the crews had suffered only 41 major accidents, costing 87 lives. Never have so few aircraft collected so many decorations.

The U.S. Air Force component of SOCOM in now receiving CV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft to replace the retired MH-53Js. Thankyou Sikorsky!
More here...

USAF: The Band 23 - August, Manchester CT

Sunday 23 August.

The United States Air Force Band will close out the 2009 summer season with a free concert at the Manchester, CT Band Shell on the grounds of Manchester Community College.

The United States Air Force Band is a U.S. military band consisting of 177 active-duty members of the Air Force. It is considered to be the Air Force's premier musical organization and is based at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. Within the band there are six performing ensembles: The Concert Band, Singing Sergeants, Airmen of Note, Air Force Strings, Ceremonial Brass and Max Impact. Collectively, these musical groups perform a wide spectrum of styles, including classical, jazz, popular, patriotic and ceremonial music.

More on the band here...

Aero: Vintage Flights Opportunity

Just passing this on out of Stratford:

The Collings Foundation is returning to Three Wing on September 8 for a three day visit, departing on September 10. The aircraft scheduled to appear are a B-17 Flying Fortress and a B-24 Liberator. If you are interested in enjoying some beautifully restored WW II aircraft, or perhaps flying in one, following is some information:

Rides in each aircraft will be available for $425, which is a tax deductible donation. To reserve a 30 minute Flight Experience slot call Collings direct at 1-800-568-8924.

The aircraft will be open for touring for a donation when not flying.
The aircraft are scheduled to arrive at about 1100 on Tuesday, and will depart Thursday at noon. Please see http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm for photos and more information.

In addition to the aforementioned rides, there are a limited number of slots available to ride the aircraft into Bridgeport. The tax deductible donation is $400, and the ride will depart from Cape May (153nm @ 211 degrees), so it will certainly be longer than 30 minutes, especially if they decide not to fly overwater. Several pilots are planning to volunteer their aircraft so complimentary rides are available from Bridgeport to Cape May. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in a much longer ride for a few dollars less, please have them call Tim at 203.331.3306 ASAP. Space is very limited.

Please note this is a private foundation and is not a CAP or CTWG sanctioned activity.

CTWG Public Affairs Update - August 2009

Late Summer 2009 Highlights

CT Wing Web Site Re-launch!

The CTWG web site has been re-launched (www.ctwg.cap.gov). The sites two major targets are; getting more motivational information to the public and providing quick and accurate information to our members. To this end, there is an up-datable flash program highlighting our ongoing air and ground missions, as well as senior and cadet participation. Additionally, there are a number of useful links including a Connecticut Events Calendar, the Always Vigilant Blog and the CTWG newsletter SAR DOGS. We encourage the squadrons to send in any and all events (with basic information) for inclusion. Photos of squadron events are always welcome.

Note:Many thanks to 2nd Lt Donna Yount the CTWG APAO for doing all that work including learning multiple tools and changing designs. She will continue to support the web site as additional pages are updated.

Middle School Book Cover Pilot Program

Wing has engaged a pilot program for 2009 to provide text book covers to middle and high schools. Presently, the Southington squadron will distribute approximately 1000 covers to four or more area schools. The distribution will be made within the first few days of the new semester. The simply designed covers highlight our basic missions and the theme of community service. Inquiries are directed to the Wing web site (ctwg.cap.gov) where all inquiries require a town and request areas of interest. Wing will send the qualified lead directly to the closest squadron that matches the inquiry.

Wing will have a small number of covers available(at cost)on a first come, first serve basis. Currently, 100 pieces cost approximately $40. This was based on a 2000 piece order.

If additional squadrons are interested, a second run can be ordered if there is enough time to distribute them before school starts. Please contact PA immediately if you are interested. Re-pricing will be based on the overall size of the order and must be negotiated. This option will only be available for a few more days. Appropriate costs will be deducted from the squadron account based on the size of the order.

CTWG Blog, Always Vigilant

The Always Vigilant blog is a public facing chronicle of all our squadron activities. It also serves as an electronic archive of CTWG history. Please send your event announcements as well as text, photo and YouTube content, for inclusion. Comments are always welcome from either seniors or cadets. All comments are moderated. Topics are filterable, such as CAP, CTWG, Cadet, Aero, Current Events, etc. The site is supported by USAF PA and the AFA blogs as well as other world wide Milblogs, this is a great place to get your visual message out to the public. Always Vigilant is accessible through the link on the Wing web site or at www.alwaysvigilant.blogspot.com.

NBC Health and Wellness Fair

NBC Channel 30 is holding a Health and Wellness fair at the Hartford Convention Center, October 17th and 18th from 0830 to 1700. They have asked for 10+ cadets to assist them on both Saturday and Sunday. The exact duties will be defined closer to the event, but we expect the cadets to attend in class B blues (short sleeve, open shirt). This event will likely be televised and represents a great opportunity for immediate media exposure in CT as well as future coverage by NBC. Please be aware, no uniform violations will be tolerated. The project officer is Capt Art Dammers, CTWG PA assisting. Please contact Capt Dammers if your squadron will support this event.

CTWG PA

Aero: 1930's Photo Archive

Visit the archive here...

Cadet: PJOC 2008, 399th Video

This is a re-post from 2008, cause its good.

The above PJOC 2008 (Pararescue Orientation Course) video was produced by the Cadets of the 399th Composite Squadron, Danbury CT. Thanks to C/1Lt Ryan Chapman and C/2Lt Peter Foschi.

CTWG: Outstanding Staff Member at NESA Incident Command Staff System School

CTWG's, Northwest Hills Composite Squadron is proud to announce that Lt Col Paul F Rowen was honored on 11 July, 2009 as Outstanding Staff Member for 2009 NESA Incident Command Staff System school at Camp Atterbury Indiana.

Aero: C 130 Deck Trials

DoHS: The disabled disaster plan

Disaster plans leave disabled behind

Report finds little progress since Katrina
By Audrey Hudson (Contact) | Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Four years after Hurricane Katrina exposed major deficiencies in the capacity of governments to evacuate and care for the disabled during a natural disaster, America's most vulnerable citizens are barely considered in most emergency plans, according to a report being issued Wednesday by the National Council on Disability.
The report says huge gaps exist in those emergency plans despite an executive order issued by President Bush in 2004 urging federal and local governments, as well as private organizations, to consider the unique needs of the disabled when planning rescues and preparing to provide emergency shelter.
The 500-page report also criticized government disaster planners for failing to seek input about the needs of the disabled from the community and its advocacy groups. Among other problems the report cited were issues involving service dogs, relocation in trailers and mobile homes, the effectiveness of various warning systems and different transportation needs.

USAF: SERE School

The USAF SERE School for rating.
WARNING this is real survival not TV survival. IF your sqeemish - this is not for you.
Episode 1

Aero: Airventure 2009

CAP: SAR Advanced Training

New Jersey Wing, Civil Air Patrol in sponsoring an Inland SAR Planning Course presented by the National Search and Rescue School on 21 to 25 Sep 09; registration deadline is 14 Aug.

The class is offered tuition-free to US citizens involved directly in SAR. However, each student or their organization is responsible for all personal expenses, travel, lodging, meals, etc. See http://www.uscg.mil/tcyorktown/Ops/SAR/Inland/default.asp for application procedures.

Class location:
National Guard Aviation Facility
152 Scotch Rd (at the RR overpass)
Ewing NJ 08628

The Inland SAR planning class is not for beginners. It is an advanced course for experienced on-scene decision makers, planners, operations leaders, and direct support staff members. It presents mathematically based search planning tools with solid theoretical underpinnings, along with some allied topics, focused on improving overall SAR response and success.

Richard Olszewski, Lt. Col, CAP
NJ Wing, Director of Operations