31 JANUARY 2012
Indiana and Ohio Wing aircrews will take to the skies Thursday, three days before the Super Bowl, as part of the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region-1st Air Force’s exercise preparing fighters to protect the airspace around Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the football championship game.
The NORAD air defense exercise is set for 7 p.m.-9 p.m. to allow interagency partners to practice airspace violation procedures. The exercise consists of a series of training flights conducted in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, Customs and Border Protection and CONR’s Western Air Defense Sector, along with CAP.
Two Civil Air Parol aircrews will be involved, with an Ohio Wing plane serving as an intercept target for a Customs and Border Protection aircraft and an Indiana Wing plane flying “highbird,” handling communications from the ground and other aircraft.
1 DECEMBER 2011
INDIANAPOLIS— Today the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, the Civil Air Patrol, observes 70 years of vigilant service to Indiana and the nation.
CAP, an all-volunteer service of more than 61,000 members, was founded 70 years ago on Dec. 1, 1941, less than a week before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor led to America’s involvement in World War II. Known at the time as the Coastal Patrol, members soon proved their worth by conducting aerial missions at the request of the Office of Civilian Defense, displaying heroism that discouraged and eventually stopped deadly German U-boat attacks on supply ships leaving American ports headed to support the Allied war effort.
The “subchasers” flew at great personal risk. In all, 90 CAP planes were forced to ditch at sea. Of the 59 CAP pilots killed during World War II, 26 were lost while on Coastal Patrol duty and seven others were seriously injured while carrying out the missions. Their wartime service was highly unusual because they were civilian volunteers flying combat missions in their own aircraft at a time when the military could not adequately respond the U-boat threat. The military decided to arm the aircraft soon after the patrols began and, all told, they sank or damaged two or more submarines, attacking 57.
Legislation has been introduced and is pending in both houses of the U.S. Congress, H.R. 719 and S. 418, that would award CAP a Congressional Gold Medal for its World War II service. It will be a diminished victory, however, if none of the World War II-era CAP members are alive to see this law’s passage.
“These members from our earliest days as an organization helped save lives and preserve our nation’s freedom,” said Maj. Gen. Chuck Carr, CAP’s national commander. “They were truly unsung heroes of the war, using their small private aircraft to search for enemy submarines close to America’s shores, towing targets for military practice, transporting critical supplies within the country and conducting general airborne reconnaissance. They provided selfless service, without fanfare, in defense of their homeland.”
Time, instead of a German submarine, is now the enemy of the roughly 60,000 CAP volunteers from World War II. Only a few hundred of them are still alive today. It is unknown if there are veteran volunteers from, or who now reside in Indiana.
“Each week, each month, others are lost,” said Carr. “We want to make sure those who remain, and those who have passed, are rightly honored for their great service to America.”
Anyone with information on CAP members who served the organization during World War II is encouraged to upload their information into the World War II Congressional Gold Medal database at www.capmembers.com/goldmedal.
To support CAP’s Congressional Gold Medal legislation, contact federal legislators, both senators and representatives, and ask them to cosponsor H.R. 719 and S. 418. In both houses, two-thirds of the membership must sponsor a bill before it can be brought up for a vote. Sample letters and other details, including a list of current cosponsors, are available at www.capmembers.com/goldmedal.
7 NOVEMBER 2011
Take time to thank members of YOUR team by participating in our 2012 Annual Awards Program. Last year, Indiana Wing won five national awards because someone like you took the time to write up a fellow volunteer and recognize their work!
22 OCTOBER 2011
Sierra, Cody and Margaret volunteer their time, giving back to their communities.
By Lt. Lindsay Shipps, Public Affairs Officer
Each day members of Indiana's Air Force Auxiliary take time out of their busy schedules to better our Hoosier state. Pilot John Webber, a development engineer from Indianapolis, is spending his Saturday treating cadets to Orientation Flights thanks to our Congressionally chartered cadet programs mission. Lt. Webber hops into one of Civil Air Patrol's gleaming Cessna aircraft with the goal of motivating cadets to fly regularly. It is because of the flying program that CAP is able to accomplish goals in leadership, fitness, and character.
Cadet Capt. Sierra Parsons, a high school junior and Amelia Earhart Award recipient, recently helped bring a contingent of Civil Air Patrol cadets from the Evansville area to Indiana's Statehouse where the group was given a tour by State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, an Indiana Wing legislative squadron member. Treasurer Mourdock thanked the group for their efforts in assisting Evansville with their widespread flooding in April and took the group to meet Governor Mitch Daniels. Traveling to the Statehouse gives cadets and adult CAP members an opportunity to engage in a civic dialogue to educate Indiana's decision-makers about our job performing missions for America.
Cody Gordon is a 19 year old Civil Air Patrol member from Bedford, Indiana. He currently attends Vincennes University pursuing a degree in Homeland Security and Public Safety. Cody retains the rank of Technical Flight Officer and works for the Monroe County Squadron as their Assistant Public Affairs Officer and Drug Demand Reduction Officer. Cody is a musical person who finds inspiration in historical figures such as Winston Churchill and King George VI. Even though Cody is in Vincennes for school he still finds time to give back to the squadron, working with colleagues via email and Facebook to keep the squadron visible in the public eye.
Mission Pilot Margaret Doig is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Mathematics at Indiana University in Bloomington and serves as the Wing Maintenance Officer. She works closely with Brian Sandys, a FedEx pilot who functions as our Wing Director of Operations to ensure the safety and compliance of all our aircraft in Indiana. Capt. Doig's work shows Hoosier taxpayers that Civil Air Patrol takes every effort to steward their assets in the safest, most responsible and most economically viable fashion. Margaret routinely hops into a Civil Air Patrol van in the middle of the night, like many of our trained volunteers, to chase down a sounding Emergency Locator Transmitter for the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Our work assists the Air Force in search and rescue, saving more than fifty lives this fiscal year.
John, Sierra, Cody, Margaret and Brian are joined by 1300 other volunteers throughout Indiana. Each of them gives back to their community each day, providing America with trained professionals to help look for missing aircraft, mission persons; assist with disaster recovery, aerial photography and reconnaissance; helping to move Indiana forward by raising a generation of community-invested young people. On behalf of each volunteer in Indiana, join us. We need you. You can be a part of America's best kept secret.
Email us, message us on Facebookor Twitter, flag us down at an event. We can't wait to meet you!
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