Cadet joining the United States Marine Corp

Written by Janice Lewandowski, Capt

Members of the NCR-IA-007 recently took time during their squadron meeting to recognize C/1st Lt Isaac Wachholz for his years in the Northwest Iowa Composite Squadron as he will be leaving for United States Marine Corps Training on 8 September 2014. Isaac has been an active member of the Iowa Civil Air Patrol (the auxiliary of the United States Air Force) since 2008, achieving the rank of 1st Lieutenant . He has served as Cadet Commander, Color Guard member, and Cadet Advisory Council member. In 2013 Isaac completed his first glider solo. Isaac has been a role model to cadets in his emergency services and leadership duties. Isaac will be greatly missed at the squadron meetings as well as Wing/Region events.

Although the NCR-IA-007 is a small squadron, several members have used the training from their Civil Air Patrol experiences to serve our country:

Chandler Horak-USMC
Brett Lewandowski-USAF
Felix Knutson- USAF Academy
John Johnson- USMC- Officer Candidate School
Isaac Wachholz- USMC
Adam Wachholz- Political Director- Steve King campaign. Adam is in the application process for the Army Officer Candidate School.

Picture of C/1st Lt Isaac Wachholz; Picture taken by Cindi Wachholz

CAP Redirects Focus as Search Continues for Missing Vintage Plane in Alabama

Sept. 19, 2014

CAP Redirects Focus as Search Continues for Missing Vintage Plane in Alabama

ABBEVILLE, Ala. – Civil Air Patrol’s Alabama Wing is shifting its focus to the ground as the search for a missing 1942 Piper Cub with two men aboard enters its third day in southeast Alabama near the Georgia state line.

By combining CAP cell phone forensics with witness accounts of the vintage plane’s flight, searchers are concentrating on a 1-square-mile area in Henry County along the Chattahoochee River about 2 miles south of the Walter F. George Dam, said Maj. Harvey Yarborough, who served as CAP’s incident commander for the search Thursday.

“It’s a very micro-focused search at this point,” he said. “It’s going to be a beautiful day; we should have great search weather.”

He described the targeted terrain as open fields interspersed with pine thickets.

The vintage Piper J3C-65, a drab military observation aircraft, was reported missing Tuesday after failing to return to Headland, Alabama, after a leisure flight to Eufaula, Alabama, about 40 miles away. The pilot and his passenger took off in the two-seater at 10 a.m. and had been expected back at 2 p.m. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center asked the Alabama Wing to participate in the search after local authorities requested assistance.

Maj. Justin Ogden, a CAP cell phone expert, helped narrow the search area Thursday to a 40-square-mile area by analyzing cellular signals from the plane. Those signals ceased about 11 a.m. Central time, Ogden said.

Four ground teams – two each from the Alabama and Georgia wings – will be searching today, as well as three CAP planes from Alabama and two from Georgia, Yarborough said.

The ground teams have “a priority track they’re going to walk, and they’re going to knock door-to-door” in search of witnesses who haven’t yet come forward, he said.

“The pilot appeared to be flying over the river,” Yarborough said. “They ground teams will be looking for a possible place he could have landed if he had trouble.”

He said the pilot never indicated any problems before his and his co-pilot’s cellphones went silent.

CAP ground team members are highly trained, Yarborough said. They train for a year before participating in actual missions, focusing not only on search techniques and detection and interpretation of visual clues but also on investigative interviewing of witnesses.

Maj. David Hester, the Alabama Wing’s assistant director of communications, began serving as CAP incident commander for the mission today.

As of Thursday, the Alabama Wing had made 11 flights in search of the Piper Cub and the two men. In addition, about 25 CAP members have been involved in the mission at that time.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 60,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 70 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. Performing missions for America for over 70 years, CAP will receive the Congressional Gold Medal in the coming months in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com, www.capvolunteernow.com and www.capgoldmedal.com for more information.

Contact info: Julie DeBardelaben – jdebardelaben@capnhq.gov – 334-953-7748, ext. 250; 334-549-2224 (mobile)
Steve Cox – scox@capnhq.gov – 334-953-7748, ext. 251; 334-296-5881 (mobile)

 

Caption:

Four ground teams and three CAP airplanes are searching a 1-square-mile

area of interest today.   First responders are operating from this

incident command post in Abbeville, Alabama.

CAP Cell Phone Forensics Narrows Search for Vintage Plane Missing in Alabama

Sept. 18, 2014

CAP Cell Phone Forensics Narrows Search for Vintage Plane Missing in Alabama

ABBEVILLE, Ala. – Civil Air Patrol’s Alabama Wing is continuing to search for a 1942 Piper Cub aircraft reported missing Tuesday. The search is focused on a 40-square-mile area on the eastern side of Henry County, Alabama — a search grid identified through CAP’S cell phone forensics.

“We have data from two cell phones on board, and that’s the biggest clue that is shaping the search right now,” said Maj. Justin Ogden, head of CAP’s cell phone forensics team.

“The data provides really good information about the location,” Ogden said. “All data suddenly stops just before 11 a.m. Central.”

The vintage olive drab military observation plane, with two men aboard, was reported missing Tuesday after failing to return to Headland, Alabama, after a leisure flight to Eufaula, some 40 miles away. The Piper J3C-65, which left Headland about 10 a.m. Tuesday, failed to return as scheduled about 2 p.m.

At the tip of the search grid are two bodies of water – the Chattahoochee River and Lake Eufaula. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division has photographed structures at the bottoms of both locations, and those side scan sonar images are under review, said Maj. Harvey Yarborough, mission incident commander and the Alabama Wing’s emergency services director.

Radar records have not provided any definitive clues about the Piper, and while an emergency locator transmitter was on board, no signal has been received, Yarborough said.

Since the search began Tuesday evening, the Alabama Wing has made 11 flights. Yarborough described the visual searches as “intricate.”

On the ground, the wing has also conducted door-to-door follow-ups of leads provided by the public. To date, 25 CAP members have contributed to the search efforts.

Numerous other agencies and first responders, including the Alabama Emergency Management Agency, the Dale and Henry County sheriffs’ offices and Georgia state troopers, are also participating in the search.

Ogden and his fellow CAP cell phone forensics expert, Col. Brian Ready of the Arizona Wing, have been involved in more than 500 searches since 2006. In December they helped guide searchers to a family of six stranded in subzero temperatures in the snow in Nevada.
Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 60,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 70 lives annually. Its unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 24,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. Performing missions for America for over 70 years, CAP will receive the Congressional Gold Medal in the coming months in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com, www.capvolunteernow.com and www.capgoldmedal.com for more information.

Contact info: Julie DeBardelaben – jdebardelaben@capnhq.gov – 334-953-7748, ext. 250; 334-549-2224 (mobile)
Steve Cox – scox@capnhq.gov – 334-953-7748, ext. 251; 334-296-5881 (mobile)

Photo Caption:

Primary (green) and secondary (yellow) search areas are shown based on cell phone forensics for a group of missing hikers in Colorado earlier this year. The hikers were found alive and well at the “Find Location.”

We Were there

http://dekraus.com/2011/we-were-there/

FROM OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

Governor Terry E. Branstad « Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Contact: Governor’s Office 515-281-5211

 

Gov. Branstad orders flags at half-staff Thursday to honor those who perished in the 9/11 terrorist attacks

 

(DES MOINES) – Gov. Terry Branstad today ordered all flags in the state to be flown at half-staff from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, September 11, 2014, to honor those who perished in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Flags will be flown at half-staff on the state Capitol building and on flag displays in the Capitol complex, and upon all public buildings, grounds, and facilities throughout the state. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Safety Officer of the Year

2014 Annual Award Winners

Safety Officer of the Year
Major George A. Cobley, Iowa Wing
Maj Cobley has a lengthy history of experience as a Safety Officer —for the North Central Region, the Iowa Wing, the Cedar Rapids Senior Squadron and, most recently, the Cedar Rapids Composite Squadron. He reaches out to members with a monthly e-brief, which he compiles by hand to make sure it is relevant to the time of year and to its readers. He trained the Squadron’s first Cadet Safety Officer, helped train his replacement and completed all safety surveys in a timely manner. He has paid particular attention to safety standards for Squadron pilots, ensuring hangars are striped and even hanging a ball from the hangar ceiling to encourage pilots to look up while moving the plane. His skills as a Safety Officer and Check Pilot have made him a critical team member for the Squadron’s success.