the PA Snapshot – January 2012

Click here for the innaugural release of the PA Snapshot!  Each month we’ll feature tips for writing and photos to help you become a better public affairs officer as well as interesting and helpful links.

The Safety Beacon – February 2011 – NOW Available!

The Safety Beacon, CAP’s Safety Newsletter, is now available for all CAP members to read. Please pass it along.

2011 Quality Cadet Unit Award Winners Announced – Congratulations to 2 Iowa Squadrons!

‎207 units earned the title “Quality Cadet Unit” for 2011, up from 118 units in 2010! A total of 60 units were repeat winners, appearing on both the 2010 and 2011 winners’ lists. The updated criteria to earn the 2012 award will be posted by February 3. View the list of winners at http://www.capmembers.com/qcua.

 

**Congratulations go out to Iowa’s own 007 Northwest Iowa Composite Squadron and 078 East Iowa Cadet Squadron on a job VERY WELL DONE last year!  You all should be proud of yourselves!

The Spaatz Association Dinner

The 10^th  Annual Dinner of Your Spaatz Association is just over a month away and there is still seating available.  Not only are we recognizing our 10^th Annual Dinner, we are also celebrating Civil Air Patrols 70^th Anniversary.  Our Keynote speaker is none other than the Air Force Chief of Staff, General Norton A. Schwartz.  Below is a statement about sponsoring a cadet if you cannot attend yourself.  We would like you to give some thought about this and think of whom you could sponsor who would benefit the most.

If you cannot personally attend we ask you to consider sponsoring a deserving cadet.  These cadets are our future leaders.  Our dinner allows a unique opportunity to begin networking towards that future.

Please click here to see the flyer and registration form.  You may also sign up on line at www.winterdinner.org.

Come and join us!

Your Spaatz Association

NCR Staff College 2012 – Registration Information

If you are looking for the perfect start to the summer of 2012, then it’s time to think about attending the 2012 North Central Region Staff College!

The NCR Staff College will be held at Offutt AFB, NE in Omaha NE from 3-8 June 2012.  If you are working on completion of Level IV in the Professional Development Program or just want to work on your leadership and management skills, then Staff College is for you.

During the week of Staff College you will be in seminar groups with your peers and work together on different activities involving communication skills, as well as focus on leadership styles and management skills.  We also throw in fun with a field trip to satisfy you airplane nuts!

There is outstanding billeting available on base for a reasonable rate.  The rooms come furnished with microwaves, refrigerators and coffee pots. There are also ample dining options on base as well as a multitude of places to eat near the base.

We start the week out getting together Sunday evening June 3 about 5PM for supper and social time and will end the week about noon Friday, June 8 with a graduation and farewell and get you on your way home!

DATES:  3-8 JUNE 2012
LOCATION:  OFFUTT AFB, NE  OMAHA, NE
REGISTRATION FEE: $90 per person   (Registration fee includes:  supplies, books, polo shirt, social on first evening and banquet.)
BANQUET ONLY:  $25  per guest

Please fill out a CAPF 17 and email or send to:

Col. Mary F. Donley, CAP
NCR Staff College, Director
5510 S. Lewis Ave.
Sioux Falls, SD   57108
mfdonley@gmail.com

REGISTRATION DEADLINE:  MAY 15, 2012

No refunds after May 15, 2012 unless approved by NCR Staff College Director.  Online registration available with credit card.  You may also register and pay by check.  Send to Col. Mary Donley at address above.  Please include Polo Shirt size on CAPF 17.

NCR Cadet Competition 2012 – Registration is NOW Open!

Registration is now open for the NCR Cadet Competition.  This year the competition will be held at Camp Ripley, near Little Falls, MN, April 13-15, 2012.

As there wasn’t a IA Wing cadet competition this year, squadron’s interested in participating in this year’s competition should contact me (Capt Brian Mishmash) ASAP for eligibility. Wing Commander approval is required to compete.

If your squadron is interested in participating next year, this would be a great opportunity to see it in action from the stands versus learning the “in’s and out’s” under the pressure of competition. If members are interested in attending this year’s competition as spectators to learn more about the annual cadet competition, please have them contact me. No billeting at Camp Ripley is currently available for spectators. If you want breakfast and lunch, cost will be $10. Note payment and registration in advance is required if you wish observe. Deadline – 15 Mar (same as team registration). Wing Commander approval is also required to participate as a spectator.

Guidance for the annual competition can be found in M52-4, http://ncsas.com/index.cfm/national_cadet_competition?show=career_fair&careerFairID=20

Some logistical information regarding this years NCR competition:
The registration fees:
$130.00 for a color guard team – registration deadline March 10; fee due by March 15
$230.00 for a drill team – registration deadline Feb 15; fee due by March 15

Fees cover competition expenses plus provide Saturday breakfast and lunch to teams and escorts. Registration is non-refundable after March 20. Fees do not include billeting, meals (other than those previously mentioned) or fuel.

Escort requirements: must have two (2) escorts per team. Regulations do not require male/female escorts but the ROE for National Cadet Competition does. The competition will run strictly by current NCC regulations, to include the most recent ROE. This includes Safety, ORM and RST requirements.
See: http://ncsas.com/index.cfm/national_cadet_competition?show=career_fair&careerFairID=20

They are planning to use Learn To Lead and Aerospace Dimensions 2nd Ed for the 2012 competition. The Panel Quiz will be Round Robin so that every team competes against every team one time.

Camp Ripley requires safety vests or reflective arm bands on everyone from dusk to sunrise. These will not be provided by organizers or Camp Ripley.

NCR Flight Academy 2012

Subject: NCR Flight Academy 2012

From:  Lt Col Roger Brogren
Director, NCR Glider Operations
NCR Flight Academy Commander, Pro Temp
31 DEC 2011

Interim update about the 2012 NCR Flight Academy for all members of North Central Region.

Distribution: All Wing/DC’s — please distribute to your local units.

General: Note that Application time has been extended through 31 January, 2012.

Tuition and some changes:

After several rounds we have finally come to an agreement about the academy tuition and a couple of changes. Flying is an expensive undertaking and in order to keep the tuition reasonable we had no choice but to make some cuts. The major change is that we have cut one day from our past 8 day schedule and that means that the Academy will start on Saturday 14 July, 2012. This will result in a slightly lower number of flights, but we still intend to fly no less than what they do at the National Flight Academies.

The Tuition for this years NCR Flight Academy will be $1,200 for both the Power and the Glider Academies.

— We encourage all recipients to forward this information as wide as possible!
— There is still space left for a few lucky cadets!
— CAPF 31’s should be processed as per directives in each Wing and forwarded to the address below.
— Cancellations will be accepted until 31 May, 2012.
— First half of Tuition payment is due 31 January, 2012
— Final Tuition payment is due 31 May, 2012.

Prelinary and completed applications and tuition should be sent to
Major Kim Brogren/NCR/DP
87 Quail Street
Mahtomedi, MN 55115

Lt Col Roger Brogren
NCR/DOG

CAP’s George Boyd one of Tuskegee airmen, like those featured in current ‘Red Tails’ movie

KANSAS — The current movie, “Red Tails,” tells the story of the Tuskegee airmen, a group of pilots in World War II. They were unique because of the color of their skin and the obstacles they faced simply getting into combat. You could argue they fought on two fronts: against the Germans and Japanese in the war and against racism at home. George Boyd, 86, of Wichita knows the story far better than most.  He lived it.  Boyd, now a Civil Air Patrol colonel, tells his Tuskegee airmen story in this feature article on msnbc.com.

A Cadet Perspective – Kansas Winter Encampment 2011

C/Amn Luke Lewandowski
Northwest Iowa Composite Squadron

My name is C/Amn Luke Lewandowski. I attended the 2011 KSTG Winter Encampment. It lasted from December 26, 2011 to January 2, 2012.

On day one, I checked in at Starbase at approximately 14:30 hours. At 17:15 hours we had dinner at the St. John’s Military School. At 18:45 hours we went to the Auditorium for a welcome briefing, safety briefing, and a class on military customs and courtesies. Lights out was at 21:30 hours.

On day two we had an early morning jog to PT at 06:30 hours and ate breakfast at 07:45 hours. We had a class about what the Air Force and CAP have in common before we ate lunch at 11:45 hours. We had classes on a variety of Air Force and CAP topics until dinner.

On day three my group went to Topeka, Kansas to get ferried around in a KC-135. While we were in the air, we saw the air refueling of a B-2 Stealth Bomber. It was pretty cool. We had sack lunches.

On day four we had classes on Aerospace, Air National Guard career opportunities, USAF careers, and rifle safety.

On day five we had a tour of the St. Johns Military School, shot fifty Savage Mark 2 rounds, and competed in an obstacle course. The weather cooperated to help make the obstacle course a big success.

On day six we had group leadership classes.

On day seven we had the drill competition and participated in the ‘’MOON BASE ALPHA’’ group exercise.

On day 8 we were graduated and signed out.

I really learned a lot at the Encampment and look forward to participating in many other activities.

A Cadet Perspective – Region Cadet Leadership School 2011

C/CMSgt Jacob Lewandowski
Northwest Iowa Composite Squadron

My name is Jacob Lewandowski. I recently participated in the North Central Region Cadet Leadership School of 2011-2012. The school was held at the Kansas National Guard Joint Regional Training Center in Salina, Kansas. This school is a requirement for the Eaker Award. The school ran from 26 December 2011 to 2 January 2012.

After in-processing, RCLS cadets met in a conference room where we would spend most of the next week. We were told that each day we would be expected to turn in a daily reflection which included the following: three things we learned, two questions we had that the training did not answer, and one subject that we would like to learn more about.

The major lesson that I learned the first day is that the drill manual is always right. There are many false ideas about certain drill maneuvers, but they can all be reassured or corrected just by checking the manual.

The second day was a day of classes and guest speakers. We learned from Chaplain Chaverin that there are no failures, only experiments, which are tools to learn from.

Day three meant black hawk rides, KC-135 rides, and used the weapon simulators. In classes, we learned the importance of delegation; but not laziness.

The fourth day of RCLS was picture day. All the flights lined up and said “cheese”. That day, the main lesson that I learned was to be careful not to oversell Civil Air Patrol to new, would-be cadets. We need to make sure that people understand how much work Civil Air Patrol is before we convince them to join because we want to earn the recruiter’s ribbon.

On day five, we toured the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas. Everyone learned a lot, and we were able to tour Dwight’s boyhood home as well.

Memos, memos, and more memos. Day six was a crash course for anyone (including myself) who did not know how to make memos. We also had a very interesting class on diversity.

On the last full day of RCLS, we learned a little about the new Civil Air Patrol Robotics Program. Cadets also practiced working on a press release. An hour of nervous head-aches later, we all realized just how hard it was not to go off on rabbit trails with the press leading the way.

The day we left was busy with clean-up, graduation ceremony, and out-processing. We will all miss each other. Like my fellow RCLS cadet C/2d Lt Schwanke told me at the beginning of the week, “By the time this is over, we’re going to be family.” I knew he was right, but at the same time, we were all glad that it was time to go home.

I highly recommend RCLS to any cadet. I had a really great time and learned a lot!

Thank you to everyone who helped to make it possible.