CTWG: SARSAT Update

Just a reminder that as of 2/1/2009, the SARSAT system will no longer
Process ELT's on 121.5 MHz

Lt. Col. Matthew J. Valleau
Vice Commander - Project Management
Director of Engineering
Connecticut Wing Civil Air Patrol

MORALE: The Side Benefits of Volunteerism

Ahhh, the side benefits’…..

NEWSMAX.COM
Volunteering can boost mental health; it’s a great way to stay connected socially; and those social connections help buffer stress and get a person through hard times. Women tend to be more adept at maintaining social ties, and volunteer activities can further strengthen a woman’s social network. Also, volunteering can provide a sense of purpose and vitality, key elements in helping stave off the depression that sometimes accompanies aging and isolation.
To realize the health benefits of volunteering, a commitment of 40 to 100 hours a year is needed, studies have shown. That equates to a couple of hours a week.

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SAFETY: Incredible Controlled Landing - Hudson River Miracle

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

NEW YORK (AP) - A US Airways plane crashed into the frigid Hudson River on Thursday afternoon after striking a bird that disabled two engines, sending 150 on board scrambling onto rescue boats, authorities say. No deaths or serious injuries were immediately reported.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown says the US Airways Flight 1549 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport enroute to Charlotte, N.C., when the crash occurred in the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.

Brown says the plane, an Airbus 320, appears to have hit one or more birds.

A law enforcement official said that authorities are not aware of any deaths and that the passengers do not appear to be seriously injured. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the rescue was still under way.

The plane was submerged in the icy waters up to the windows. Rescue crews had opened the door and were pulling passengers in yellow life vests from the plane. Several boats surrounded the plane, which appeared to be slowly sinking.

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OSINT: Joint Forces report warns Mexico could destabilize

EL PASO - Mexico is one of two countries that "bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse," according to a report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command on worldwide security threats.

The command's "Joint Operating Environment (JOE 2008)" report, which contains projections of global threats and potential next wars, puts Pakistan on the same level as Mexico. "In terms of worse-case scenarios for the Joint Force and indeed the world, two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.

"The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and pressure by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone."

The Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., is a Defense Department combat command that includes different military service branches, active and reserves. One of its roles is to transform the military's capabilities.

In the report's foreword, Marine Gen. J.N. Mattis, the Joint Forces commander, said "Predictions about the future are always risky. ...

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OSINT: Incoming Vet Affairs Chief has a tough job

Retired four-star Gen. Eric K. Shinseki is facing a daunting task as the probable next head of the Veterans Affairs Department -- getting soldiers returning from the field into the workforce in a very weak employment environment.

Nearly 900,000 troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they could have a hard time finding or keeping a job. Many have been in and out of the workforce because of multiple deployments, and others face the prospect of being deployed overseas again.

"The unemployment rate among veterans is high and dramatically increasing," said Paul Rieckhoff, an Iraq war veteran and head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, which President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has consulted informally. "We need to hear about job creation, and how we are going to get veterans out and to work."

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USAF: The Year in Photos

The USAF has created a photo slide show covering 2008. It's well worth the look. HERE...

USAF: The Soft Side of Air Power

USAF Major John Bellflower, writes of the soft war side of the future Air Force over at Small Wars Journal - The Soft Side of Air Power. Here is the link to the full PDF article.

To enlarge the photo, just left click on it. To view an associated article at the new Air Force Live blog go here...

"As we begin to contemplate this next phase in the war on terror, which will likely call for heavy involvement in Africa, we should heed the words of Lieutenant General Stephen Lorenz, who counsels airmen to “challenge accepted paradigms to propose new ways of fighting from air, space, and cyberspace.” To that end, we should be mindful of the fact that kinetic effects are not always the most desired effects when intervening in F3 states. Indeed, if the Air Force seeks to play a more meaningful role in any post-Iraq engagement, it must look for novel ways of contributing to the global counterinsurgency fight. It must, as former Air Force Secretary Michael W. Wynne indicated, “offer the nation a flexible mix of capabilities that allow it to act in a world of growing strategic uncertainty.”

CAP: CAP may provide assistance to Maine Forestry Service

While, no one likes budget cuts; CAP may be able to help out the Maine Forestry Industry. If you have to cut back, you could do a whole lot worse than engaging CAP as a force multiplier...

AUGUSTA, Maine — Representatives of Maine’s forestry and wood products industries urged state lawmakers on Wednesday to protect funding for programs that they claim are critical to ensuring the state’s forests are managed sustainably.

Speakers also expressed concerns about DOC proposals to rely more heavily on the Civil Air Patrol, private pilots and other volunteers to spot and report forest fires as well as proposed cutbacks at the Land Use Regulation Commission.

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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.

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SAR: New USAF GSAR Vehicle

Staff Sgt. John Cooke tests the maneuverability of an all-terrain vehicle equipped with a rubber track conversion system Jan. 6 at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D. The rubber tracks should improve snow rescue capabilities. He is with the 28th Security Forces Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Marc I. Lane)

SAFETY: F15C Mishap

Some annimation of the November 2007 F15C incident when a F-15C aircraft broke in two during a training flight over Missouri.

The pilot, Maj. Stephen Stilwell, barely had time to eject from the front half of the F-15. His left shoulder was dislocated and his left arm shattered as the cockpit blew apart.

An investigation concluded that a defective aluminum beam in the frame cracked, causing the $42 million jet to disintegrate in the air. There was no pilot error.

Now, about buying some more new air frames...


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USAF: New Class A Uniform?

These are the two final Class A entries. The open gouge is; there might be a decision by August. Then again maybe not... Ouside comments have included; "likely having to shave twice per day", "that ole' Salvation Army look" and the "Star Trek like US on the collar"... still it wouldnt be a "Bus Driver" suit...

Aerospace: X-2 Technology

According to Doug Shidler, VP for Sikorsky's Army Programs office, it was only recently -- and with the help of new technology flight tested on the Army's Rascal (rotorcraft aircrew systems concept airborne laboratory) UH-60 tech demonstrator -- was the company able to incorporate mature systems that didn't make the X2 so unstable it couldn't fly for very long.

"There's a lot of technology that we're applying that we learned on the Comanche program and that we're learning on the [Blackhawk] upgrade program that we're applying right now," Shidler said. "It will demonstrate a lot of different things that we had difficulties with in the '70s and '80s. ... What we've done is apply a lot of the technologies that we've learned developing and embodied in our platforms today and to go ahead and develop this new platform."

More here...

OSINT: SUNDAY SITREP

This weeks world wide SITREP, in no particular order…

ISRAEL: Israeli troops, militants battle in Gaza suburb

SYRIA: Syria deals with Gaza, eyeing own peace

EGYPT: Israel says Egypt should have Gaza border role

SAUDI ARABIA: Dun and Bradstreet, in association with National Commercial Bank, launches Saudi Arabia's first Business Optimism Index

CHINA: China's Middle East special envoy to visit Egypt, Palestine, Israel

RUSSIA: Ukraine, Russia and EU sign deal to get gas flowing

EUROPE: Thousands in Europe protest Gaza violence

FRANCE: France and Indonesia disappointed by rebuffal of UN resolution in Gaza

POLAND: Dell moves production from Ireland to Poland

GREAT BRITAIN: UFO-destroyed wind turbine' sent to Germany for forensic analysis (Editors note: This was just too good not to include in the SITREP)

SPAIN: Ruling Socialists Hold Small Lead in Spain

US: Obama Calls for 'Grand Bargain' on Economy: 'Everybody's Going to Have to Give'

CANADA: Obama's first foreign trip as president: Canada

MEXICO: Kidnapping Expert Kidnapped In Mexico

BRAZIL: Brazil bank buys 50 pct stake in Votorantim unit

VENEZUELA: Chavez Threatens to Expel U.S. Embassy Personnel in Caracas

CUBA: Is Obama factor behind flurry of Cuba trips?

SOMALIA: Five Somali pirates drown as they squabble over their $3million ransom

Aerospace: Worlds first flying car ready for test flight

If it survives its first test flight, the Terrafugia Transition, which can transform itself from a two-seater road car to a plane in 15 seconds, is expected to land in showrooms in about 18 months’ time.

Its manufacturer says it is easy to keep and run since it uses normal unleaded fuel and will fit into a garage.

Carl Dietrich, who runs the Massachusetts-based Terrafugia, said: “This is the first really integrated design where the wings fold up automatically and all the parts are in one vehicle.”

The Transition, developed by former Nasa engineers, is powered by the same 100bhp engine on the ground and in the air.

Terrafugia claims it will be able to fly up to 500 miles on a single tank of petrol at a cruising speed of 115mph. Up to now, however, it has been tested only on roads at up to 90mph.

Dietrich said he had already received 40 orders, despite an expected retail price of $200,000 (£132,000).

More here...

Public Affairs: One more for the Cadets - Hawk Mountain