Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

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A Cadet Perspective – Colorado Wing Encampment 2012

C/1st Lt Josh Salvato
Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

Colorado Wing Encampment 2012, Echo Flight – photo courtesty of http://coloradowingcap.org

This summer I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend and staff the Colorado Wing 2012 Summer Encampment. In March I was chosen to become a Flight Commander, and was selected for ECHO Flight.As a staff member, I was required to come to the encampment early to attend a training exercise. For 4 days the staff, both senior members and cadets, trained to become better leaders and to standardize the practices that would be taught to the basic cadets.

Following the staff training we inducted a new year of basic cadets. Over the course of the next few days we started to train and shape the cadets to become the future leaders that they can all become. However, on the third day of encampment, a local wildfire (The Waldo Canyon Fire) spread too close to the United States Air Force Academy Prep School, where the encampment was held, and we were forced to evacuate. All of the cadets were ordered to pack, both their belongings and the belongings of the cadets who were away from the school, and the entire encampment was transported to Peterson Air Force Base.

During the evacuation the cadets were required to use teamwork and leadership to pull together and overcome a real world disaster scenario. Once evacuated, the encampment was forced to a close early, which isn’t the best situation to be in. All things considered, I think the evacuation caused the cadets to rise up and become better leaders, fulfilling the mission of all basic encampments in half the time.

It was an experience that no one involved in is likely to forget. I look forward to being able to attend a Colorado Wing Encampment in the future and would recommend both staffing and attending encampments to all cadets.

Written by Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

August 23, 2012 at 10:01 am

Posted in IACAP - Cadets, IACAP - Special Activities

A Cadet Perspective – Nebraska Wing Encampment 2012

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C/MSgt Luke Hohenberger
Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

Delta Flight Honor Cadet C/MSgt Luke Hohenberger poses with his family following the encampment graduation ceremony.It’s not every day that you have the privilege to fly in a Black Hawk Helicopter at top speed 30 feet above the ground. Well, I did at the 2012 Nebraska Summer Encampment, held at Camp Ashland. It was amazing!

The Black Hawk was the highlight of my week. Believe it or not, we got up to 15 cadets, two pilots, and one navigator in the Black Hawk. Once we got off the ground we got up to 200 mph. Then all of a sudden the pilot drops the nose of the helicopter down to the ground and turns hard. I felt like I was slowly being pushed down into my seat. We were flying about 30 ft above the ground going up to speeds around 300 mph. We also flew over the Platte River very low and fast. The flight lasted a short, but thrilling 15 minutes.

I found out that repelling is harder than it looks. We got to repel off a 120 feet tower by ourselves. It was insane! Once you got to the top of the tower you could feel the tower sway back and forth with the wind. When repelling, you feel like you are free falling and then all of a sudden you slam right back into the wall.

We also had color guard classes. We learned the drill movements for a riflemen and a flag holder in a color guard flight.

Then came the shooting range. We shot shotguns and rifles. At the shotgun station we got to shoot skeet. At the rifle station we got to shoot in a NRA competition.

We also got to go to the Air and Space Museum. At the museum we saw military warplanes, jets, and helicopters. I got to ride in a flight simulator at the museum, and I spoke with a B-52 pilot who worked at the museum. We got to meet a SR-71 Blackbird pilot who told us about the difficulties of becoming a SR-71 pilot. He also said that if you spaced off for one minute in the SR-71 you would be 70 miles off target.

We had the honor in meeting two Tuskegee Airmen from World War 2. These two pilots are from the Omaha area they contributed in the making of the movie, Red Tails. They talked about how hard it was to serve as a black man in a white mans Army.

We also covered military etiquette in dining, to prepare us for our banquet the last night of encampment. After a short and sweet graduation ceremony we met up with family and headed out.

Written by Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

July 9, 2012 at 4:12 pm

Posted in IACAP - Cadets, IACAP - Special Activities

Civil Air Patrol’s Nebraska Wing Holds Annual Training at Camp Ashland

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Weeklong training prepares cadets to be future leaders

Delta Flight Honor Cadet C/MSgt Luke Hohenberger poses with his family following the encampment graduation ceremony.

Camp Ashland, NE – More than 70 Civil Air Patrol members from Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri attended this year’s Nebraska Wing Encampment, a weeklong activity that provides cadets training on the basic fundamentals of Civil Air Patrol. This year’s encampment was held 24-30 June, at Camp Ashland, Nebraska.

Encampments are held by Civil Air Patrol to give cadets a better understanding of Civil Air Patrol and U.S. Air Force, as well as to instill a strong foundation of leadership, followership, and teamwork in those attending. Encampments are one of the most popular and worthwhile activities available to cadets. They challenge cadets to develop self-discipline and teamwork while broadening their understanding of aerospace, aerospace careers, and U.S. Air Force fundamentals.

Activities at this year’s encampment included rappelling, marksman shooting, a visit to the Strategic Air and Space Museum, and an orientation ride in Nebraska National Guard Blackhawk helicopters. Guest speakers included two former Tuskegee Airman. These pilots served as some of the first African American pilots in World War Two. Other speakers included a former Air Force SR-71 squadron commanders, current Air Force active duty members, members of the Heartland Organization of Rocketry, and a local K-9 search dog team.

The training weekend provided further definition of the flight and squadron command positions as well as a staff discussion about individual expectations of this year’s encampment. Staff members attended various classes throughout the weekend including hazing prevention, basic medical, chain of command, and train the trainer. In addition to all of this, the cadet staff worked on basic drill and were evaluated on the quality of their uniforms with uniform inspections conducted by the cadet staff standards and evaluation team.

Awards for the week were as follows:

Lt Col Michael A. Thomas Encampment Staff Leadership Awards:

Senior: 1st Lt Todd A. Edgell
Cadet: Cadet Beverly C. Nichols

Encampment Most Improved Cadet:

Cadet Hannah M. Compton

Flight Honor Cadets:

Alpha Flight: Cadet Austin M. Gloe
Bravo Flight: Cadet Jaime E. Sargent
Charlie Flight: Cadet Melissa L. Krebs
Delta Flight: Cadet Luke J. Hohenberger

Encampment Honor Cadet:

Cadet Rebecca F. Jeffrey

For information about the Nebraska Wing of CAP, visit http://www.nebraskacivilairpatrol.org/.

Written by Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

July 6, 2012 at 8:49 am

Posted in IACAP - Cadets, IACAP - Special Activities, IACAP - Training

Red Oak Flight Breakfast a Success Despite Early Storms

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FO Samantha Salvato
Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

On Sunday May 6,2012, the annual Red Oak Fly-in and breakfast was held at the Red Oak Airport, and of course the 003^rd Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron was on hand. Participating along side Red Oak’s own Civil Air Patrol (CAP) squadron was the Des Moines Cadet Squadron and the Des Moines Senior Squadron.

As the members were getting ready to head over to the airport early that morning the sky turned black, the wind picked up, and the rain started to fall. At that point in time, no one was sure if this fly-in was even going to happen, but that didn’t stop everyone from making final adjustments to their uniforms and packing up their gear.

Captain Jason Erikson, commander of the Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron, directed the members to the hanger where they would eventually set up a Drug Demand Reduction (DDR) presentation.

Thankfully, by the time the Fly–in started, the sky had cleared and the rain had stopped. The planes were brought out, breakfast was made, and the people came.

A lot of visitors stopped by the CAP table. Some were interested in what CAP does, but most were interested in the alcohol goggles used to simulate drunkeness in an educational attempt to keep kids away from alcohol. Kids and even adults had a ball with them, thanks to Cadet Sponsor members Teresa Hohenberger and Stacey Bean.

Kids also enjoyed making paper airplanes for the paper airplane competition, which had quite a turn out. With the help of Capt Jason Erickson and Cadet Sponsor Theresa Hohenberger, the kids made some really great planes, and had a blast competing against each other.

The Red Oak National Guard made an appearance bringing some of their vehicles for the crowed to check out. Helicopter and powered aircraft orientation flights were offered to the public and the annual ping pong ball drop was a sight to behold.

Despite Mother Nature’s unsettling start to the morning’s proceedings, the event was a success and the day turned out to be a fun morning for all who made it out to the airport.

Written by Southwest Iowa Composite Squadron

May 20, 2012 at 11:52 am

Posted in IACAP - Aerospace Education, IACAP - Cadets, IACAP - Drug Demand Reduction, IACAP - Emergency Services, IACAP - Squadron Events