Above: U.S. Congressman James Oberstar presents the Amelia Earnhardt Award to C/Capt. Kristin Young.

Right: Dale Klapmeier, co-founder of Cirrus Aircraft, explains how and why they first developed the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System.

Volunteers Needed!
To provide emergency services, the Civil Air Patrol needs personnel to help in areas such as:
Date(s) 1/27 3/4 4/164/18

Squadron Wrap-up
Event Awards Banquet (See article on pg. 7) Squadron Change of Command April Encampment Preparatory School (EPS) CIAmn Young attended EPS at Camp Ripley, CICapt Young and Capt. Freseman served as staff to help prepare the new cadets for upcoming encampment. (See photo page 5) Cirrus Aircraft Tour A handful of senior members took a tour of the Cirrus Aircraft facility, (See photo on pg. 5) Wing Conference (See article on pg. 6) SAR Eval Although our squadron was unable to provide an aircrew for Saturday; Lt Col Bischoff and Capt. Lawler flew to Mankato on Sun morning to teach ES qualifications to aircrews. May Encampment Preparatory School (EPS) CIAmn McDonell attended EPS at Camp Ripley, Capt. Freseman was the EPS Commander (see photo page 5). National Check Pilot Standardization Course The annual MNWG's NCPSC was held at the Viking Squadron hangar. Maj Gary Lemasters, Lt Col Bischoff and Capt. Lawler attended the course. Memorial Day Parade Lt Col Bischoff and cadets represented our squadron in this years Memorial Day Parade in West Duluth. CAF Open House AFA Awards (See article on pg 4)

Administration, Communications, Education, Logistics, Organization, Public Relations, Search Teams, and many more
No experience necessary, we will train you! We also have a need for professionally trained members in the medical, legal, and clergy fields, as well as private pilots.

4/22

For more information email: pat.lawler@mncap.org

4/30 - 5/2 5/16 - 5/18

Our Newest Members

Senior Members
Mitch Pitoscia Aaron Wedge
5/29 5/21 - 5/23

Duluth Composite Squadron Contact Information

Squadron Commander Pat Lawler pat.lawler@mncap.org Deputy Commander for Seniors Derek Olson olsoncap@gmail.com Deputy Commander for Cadets Brian Freseman bjf_55@hotmail.com Cadet Commander Outgoing (7/8/10) C/Maj Kristin Young spiky.chickens91@gmail.com Incoming (7/8/10) C/CMSgt Jacob Jones jones.camaross@gmail.com Public Affairs Officer Amy Houde amy.houde@gmail.com

5/31

6/9 6/12

Upcoming Events
Date(s) 7/5 - 7/12 7/8 7/10 - 7/17 7/17 - 7/18 7/23 - 7/25 8/14 8/20 - 8/22 Event Canadian Border Zone Mapping Exercise Cadet Change of Command/Awards Ceremony MNWG Encampment Duluth Airshow Group One SAREX Hosted in Duluth Minnesota Twins Trip Group Two SAREX (Flying Cloud)

www.duluth.mncap.org

Commanders Corner
With this being the inaugural issue of the squadron newsletter, it is a great opportunity for me to say a few words about the recent Change of Command. On Thursday March 4th, 2010 at a ceremony presided over by the Group One Commander, Keith Bischoff, I was given the distinct honor of becoming the Commander of the Duluth Composite Squadron. Enough cannot be said for my predecessor, Maj. Ken Wallace, who when asked to take over a squadron that was struggling to barely keep its head above water, did so without hesitation and within three years not only turned the squadron around, but with his leadership made it one of the most effective squadrons in the MN Wing. However, Maj. Wallace didnt do it unilaterally; he was only able to do what he did because of the squadrons volunteers that routinely put the needs of the community ahead of their own. In 2009 alone, these dedicated members served their community and country by performing in excess of 8,000 hours of unpaid volunteer service. In addition to running the squadron, developing our youth, fund-raising, and conducting training classes they participated in eight major search-and -rescue training exercises and multiple emergency missions; which included, deploying an aircraft and aircrew to Grand Forks, ND for three days to conduct low-level aerial photography of flood stricken properties; as well as an aircraft and aircrew to Beltrami Country, MN to assess flood damage. More recently, this past November, the Duluth Composite squadron provided an aircraft

by Pat Lawler

and personnel every single day for four days to aid in the search for Andrew Lindberg, the missing Lakeville, MN pilot. Although the days were extremely long, cold and uncomfortable, there were always an abundance of volunteers devoted to finding that missing airman. It is a great honor to be the commander of a group of volunteers that are willing to serve their community in so many different ways. Developing our youth into the leaders of tomorrow, providing aerospace education to our local citizens and being on call 24-hours a day to search for a missing aircraft, provide support during a natural disaster or help out a family that is displaced by a fire. My future goals for the squadron are for it to
(Continued on page 6)

CAP Members Fly Critical Missions in Gulf Oil Spill Response from Volunteer Magazine
Members from the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida wings are launching daily aerial damage assessment flights from their station in the Mobile Convention Center, one of several incident command posts set up for the Gulf Coast oil spill response. In addition to the CAP volunteers, hundreds of other disaster assistance personnel are participating in Deepwater Horizon Response, an operation coordinated by the unified command made up of representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard; BP; the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Florida; the Environmental Protection Agency; and the Department of the Interior. The unified command is working with agencies such as NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and CAP to provide data to the different groups working to clean up the spill. coastline from Louisiana to Florida and taking digital images of the oil containment barriers and adjacent land area near the shoreline. In 13 days of flying missions, 26 volunteers have expended 2,128 man-hours making 73 flights in 12 CAP aircraft, for a total of 197 hours in the air over the waters along the Gulf Coast. On an average day, the aircrews take from 2,400 to 3,600 digital images. The images represent critical information that planners are using to help determine their response to the spill, which began April 20 following an explosion at the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

New Furniture!

Whether it is performing duties as an aircrew member, mission base or support staff, the opportunity to serve with Civil Air Patrol in response to this incident is an honor, said Maj. Keith Riddle, inspector general for the Mississippi CAPs critical missions in support of Deepwater Wing. Horizon Response have included flying VIPs over Maj. John Neil, the initial CAP incident coastal waters to get a look at the integrity of oil commander at the Mobile command post, spent containment barriers, transporting vital mission nine days away from his civilian job to serve. If I equipment, collecting data and flying coastline did not have to make a living, I would continue to photo reconnaissance missions. serve as the IC until the mission is completed, he The most important task the CAP aircrews said. perform is making daily flights over 700 miles of

If you havent been in the squadrons headquarters in the past few months, you are in for quite a shock. Our building received a much needed furniture upgrade this past March from items provided by the 148th FW. Many squadron volunteers came together during non-meeting times to throw out the old and make room for the new, which includes many new desk units, chairs, filing cabinets, whiteboards, bookshelves, tables, a podium, and even a small couch. It is still a work in progress and day by day we are getting a little more organized. Although the furniture may be classified as nearly-new, it is all in excellent condition and is a vast improvement over the many archaic pieces of furniture that it replaced. The squadron is greatly appreciative for the Duluth Air National Guard base to have provided such a generous donation of items to the unit. 3

AFAs Keith Bischoff Scholarship Award presented to Duluth CAP Cadets by Pat Lawler
Six Duluth Composite Squadron cadets received the newly formed Keith M. Bischoff Scholarship Award from the Richard I Bong Chapter of the Air Force Association (A FA) at their quarterly awards banquet on June 12th, 2010 held at the Commemorative Air Force hangar and museum located on the Duluth Airport. C/SMSgt Jones, C/SSgt. Carlson, C/SrA Mlinar, C/Amn McDonell, and C/Amn Young were all formally presented with checks in the amount of one half of their tuition cost to attend this year's summer encampment. Also receiving the award was Cadet Commander C/Maj Young. Several of the cadets also performed as the color guard for the evening's ceremonies and staffed a recruiting booth along with senior members Maj. Culbert, Capt. Freseman and Lt. Pitoscia.

Volunteer Spotlight
Maj. Gary Lemasters
The Civil Air Patrol is made up of many members that can be only be labeled as "ubervolunteers", and our first ever member being highlighted is one of those volunteers. Gary has actively served in the Minnesota Civil Air Patrol for 23 years, as well as many other volunteer organizations including the Experimental Aircraft Association, Lions Club, and Air Force Association providing our area with hundreds of hours of community service each year. Along with being a Search and Rescue (SAR) mission pilot, he is also a certified flight instructor conducting numerous hours of flight instruction annually to our cadets and senior members. Gary has also earned the FAAs Gold Seal Flight Instructor Certificate. During the countless SAR missions that Gary has been involved with, he has been awarded three Find Ribbons and a Life Saving Ribbon. Along with flying, Gary currently serves the Duluth Composite Squadron as both the Finance and Operations Officers. He has also served the squadron as the Deputy Commander for Seniors and the Administrative Officer. Gary spent much of his childhood in the Los Angeles, CA area but moved to Proctor in 1971 with his family where he graduated from high school. He currently resides in Cloquet, MN and is the father of four grown children (3 boys and 1 girl). He is employed by St Louis County as a Heavy Equipment Operator and also works as a freelance Certified Flight Instructor. After high school Gary attended UMD's Advanced Aviation program and since then has accumulated over 4,500 flight hours. Gary is also an avid outdoorsman that enjoys both hunting and fishing. He enjoys competitive shooting

Pictured left to right C/Arm McDonell, C/Maj Young, C/SMSgt Jones and C/Amn Young. (Not pictured C/SSgt Carlson and C/ SrA Mlinar).

Minnesota Civil Air Patrol (CAP), where he has served in multiple capacities throughout his many years in the organization and is currently assigned as the Group One Commander overseeing five Northern Minnesota CAP Squadrons. According to In addition to being one of the founding the AF A chapter president, Carol Wolosz, it is their members of the local AFA chapter, the scholarship's desire to make this an annual award for the cadets namesake, Keith M. Bischoff, is an active member in of the Duluth Composite Squadron. many other volunteer organizations including the

Duluth CAP Cadet Graduates from USAFA

by Pat Lawler

Former Duluth Composite Squadron Cadet Althea Johnston successfully completed the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) in Colorado Springs, CO this past May. Althea graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geospatial Science with a minor in Spanish. She had USAFA assignments in Tokyo, Portugal, Czech Republic, and an exchange semester at the Spanish Air Force Academy. Altheas Academy leadership roles included becoming a glider instructor pilot trainer, USAFA Airfield Flight Commander, Ring Dance Coordinator, as well as various positions within her squadron. Althea served with the Duluth Squadron from 2003 to 2005 where she earned the General Billy Mitchell Award attaining the rank of Cadet Second Lieutenant. In addition to her position as Cadet Aerospace Officer, Althea was very active in the CAPs Emergency Services and flying programs. While a cadet, Althea also earned her private pilots license with CAP flight instructor Major Gary Lemasters. 4

The CAP Mission Statement

Altheas plans for the summer are to spend time with her family, travel, which includes flying a small airplane to Alaska, and various construction projects. Althea will begin Undergraduate Pilot Training in Columbus, Mississippi in the fall.

To serve America by developing our Nations youth; accomplishing local, state and national emergency and humanitarian missions; and educating our citizens on the impact of aviation and space.

Photo Gallery

Group One Commander Lt Col Keith Bischoff (left) and MN Wing Commander Col Tom Theis (middle) greet U.S. Congressman James Oberstar during the Duluth squadrons annual awards banquet held January 27th at the Proctor Blackwoods.

Above: C/Amn Young arriving at the April EPS. Right: C/Amn McDonell receives his completion certificate from EPS Commander Capt. Brian Freseman during the May school.

Pictured below from left to right: C/SMSgt Jones, C/CMSgt Vondy, C/2d Lt Vondy, and C/SSgt Carlson prepare to lead the 2010 Memorial Day parade in West Duluth. Right: C/SrA Mlinar and C/A1C Semaan join the ranks to begin the march

Pictured above left to right: Senior Members Pat Lawler, Matt Werner, Derek Olson, Jaime Bird, and Keith Bischoff with Cirrus representative Gary Black in front of The Jet during a tour of the Cirrus facility on April 22nd.

Pictured left to right: C/Maj Young, C/CMSgt Jones and C/A1C Young after their recent promotion on June 17th.

1Lt Derek Olson (Right) being promoted by Squadron Commander Pat Lawler ion March 25th

Father and son members, SM Jay Jones and C/CMSgt Jones at the Fathers Day fly-in pancake breakfast hosted by the Grand Rapids Squadron.

Local Businesses that Support our Squadron!

Squadron to Host Training Exercise

Approximately one dozen red white and blue aircraft and numerous volunteers are scheduled to descend upon the Duluth Airport on July 24th to conduct simulated emergency missions all over the Northland. Training will include searching for objects such as crashed aircraft, missing hunters, and even stranded boaters. In addition, they will practice homeland security and disaster relief flights conducting aerial reconnaissance and photography of prepositioned targets. In support of this event, Cirrus Aircraft is providing the space for aircraft parking and the squadrons base of operations where the entire

by Pat Lawler

Commanders Corner
(Continued from page 3)

exercise will be coordinated and managed. The operation is designed to emulate an actual emergency situation providing real world scenarios to hone the skills of the members. In addition to the Duluth Composite Squadrons volunteers, there are more than 1,200 Civil Air Patrol Members statewide in Minnesota that are on call 24-hours a day ready to respond at a moments notice; not to mention the nearly 60,000 nationwide. Rest assured, if a large disaster were to occur near Duluth, we could literally have scores of volunteers helping out in a matter of hours.

become more embedded with the surrounding area, to give more assistance in times of need and to provide more community service. To accomplish these goals the squadron needs to increase its awareness in the public view and to grow in numbers of volunteers. I look forward to serving the members of this squadron in this capacity over the next few years and again I truly appreciate the opportunity to be a part of an organization with so many who give back tirelessly to their community.

Esko Brothers Earn the General Billy Mitchell Award by Amy Houde
Cadet Second Lieutenants Marshall and Chandler Vondy of Esko have both earned the prestigious General Billy Mitchell award. The formal ceremony will take place July 8, 2010 at Monaco Air. The Mitchell awards will be presented to the cadets by the MN Group One Commander, Lt. Col Keith Bischoff. Receiving this award marks the end of the enlisted phase of the cadet program and the beginning of the Cadet Officer phase. Marshall has been involved with the CAP for three years and is currently the Deputy Cadet Commander for the Duluth Composite Squadron of the CAP. Marshall has completed the CAP basic encampment and graduated from the level two and three courses of the MN CAP Ground Team Academy. Last year, he attended the FAA Aviation Career Education Camp. During his three years with the Duluth Composite Squadron, Marshall has served as an element leader, Flight Sergeant and First Sergeant. Marshall plans on attending Grace College in Winona Lake, IN this fall and joining the Air Force Reserves as security personnel.

Wing Conference
by Derek Olson

C/2d Lt Chandler (left) and C/2d Lt Marshall (right) Vondy.

Minnesota Leadership Academys Basic Officer Course last fall. During a recent Group Two Search and Rescue Exercise he served as both a Flight Line Marshaller and a Ground Team Member. Chandlers plan after high school is to attend medical school through the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve. Additionally, Lewis Vondy, Marshall and Chandlers father, received many achievements in the Civil Air Patrol as well, including the coveted Mitchell award.

The 2010 Minnesota Wing Conference was held on April 30 May 2nd at Sugar Lake Lodge near Grand Rapids. For many Seniors and Cadets, this was the first wing conference we attended and it certainly wont be the last. The opening ceremony included several keynote speakers as well as updates from the staff at Wing. In addition to meeting many other members face-to-face for the first time, there were several break out sessions that members could choose to attend. Many of these sessions focused on areas that our members specialize in such as recruiting, operations, safety, logistics, just to name a few. These were very informative on keeping us up to date on upcoming changes and improvements that will be made going forward. On Saturday night, there was the formal banquet followed by a dance. Again, this was a great opportunity for us to visit with individuals from all over Minnesota Wing that we havent had the chance to meet with. For any members who have not yet attended a Wing Conference, I would highly recommend doing so. This was my first, and I plan on being at them on an annual basis from now on. The knowledge you gain over a weekend like this is invaluable.

The award honors the late General Billy Mitchell, former Deputy Chief of the Army Air Service and military aviation visionary. Since Chandler, a Cadet Flight Commander for the 1964, Civil Air Patrol cadets have had the chance Duluth Squadron, has also been a part of the CAP to earn this exceptional award by passing a series of leadership, aerospace and physical fitness cadet program for three years. He has also tests. In addition, cadets must attend moral served as the Cadet Admin Officer and Flight leadership training and complete a military style Sergeant. He accompanied his brother to Wing encampment. On average, only 15% of Civil Air Encampment in 2008 and has attended the MN Patrol cadets will ever attain this achievement. Ground Team Academy. He completed the 6

Congressman Oberstar Keynotes Squadrons Annual Awards banquet

Approximately 80 members and guests attended the Annual Awards Banquet of the Duluth Composite Squadron of the Minnesota CAP on January 28, 2010 at Blackwoods, Proctor, MN. The event featured U.S. House of Representatives James Oberstar as the keynote speaker along with Cirrus Design co-Founder, Mr. Dale Klapmeier. The annual dinner recognizes and celebrates the thousands of hours of volunteer service that the members of the Duluth Composite Squadron provide to their community. The banquet is also a time for the squadron to honor those in the community who through both financial and in-kind donations greatly support the squadron. Congressman Oberstar shared his perspective and commitment to general aviation legislation and the critical service provided by the CAP to the general aviation community. He also gave a firsthand experience of the recent Haitian earthquake tragedy.

by Ken Wallace

Klapmeier has many fond memories and strong loyalties to the mission of the CAP. CAP member awards included: Air Force Sergeants Associations Certificate of Recognition presented by Mr. Mark Wasserbuaer to C/SMSgt Jacob Jones.

Air Force Associations Certificate of

Recognition presented by Ms Carol Wolosz to C/Capt. Kristin Young.

Civil Air Patrols Amelia Earhardt Award presented by Congressman Oberstar to C/ Capt Kristen Young. Commanders Commendation presented by Maj Ken Wallace to Lt. John Feth for his outstanding leadership and service to the squadron as Deputy Commander for Cadets. In addition to the CAP member Awards, both Monaco Air Duluth and the Duluth Airport Authority were recognized for their generous support of the Duluth Composite Squadron and the MN CAP. Accepting the Community Awards for each were Don Monaco, CEO of Monaco Air Duluth and Brian Grefe, Operations Manager for the Duluth Airport Authority (himself a former CAP cadet).

U.S. Congressman James Oberstar presents the Keynote address for the squadrons annual awards banquet.

Mr. Klapmeier shared several light-hearted and anecdotal experiences from the development and headquartered in Duluth and has grown to be the leading producer of general aviation aircraft testing that occurred in the process of registering worldwide. Being a former CAP cadet, Mr. the uniquely designed aircraft that is

Duluth Squadron Plans Canadian Border Zone Testing

by Pat Lawler

Mr. Mark Wasserbauer (left) presents C/SMSgt Jacob Jones (right) with a Citation from the Air Force Sergeants Association.

The Duluth Squadron in conjunction with CAP squadrons located in Grand Rapids and Walker will conduct communications testing within the Canadian Border Zone from July 5th 12th. The Canadian Figure 1: The Canadian Border Zone is the area north of Line A to the Canadian Border. Border Zone (depicted in figure 1) is an area identified where certain radio will include a mobile airborne repeater preposition transmissions may interfere with Canadian radio outside of the border zone at an altitude of approximately frequencies . The CAP is restricted from transmitting on 10,000. Other aircraft will fly simulated search missions the majority of their emergency services frequencies at different locations inside of the restricted area within the zone. Those communications that are allowed attempting to communicate with base stations located in in zone are limited to maximum altitude and power Walker, Grand Rapids and Duluth via the airborne output. repeater. The objective of this testing is to determine how the Procedures for communicating within the Canadian CAP can effectively communicate within the border zone Border Zone and communications coverage map of the in the event of an actual emergency situation without area will be published and disseminated for use in actual violating the communications constraints. The process and training missions. 7

Picture right, Maj. Ken Wallace presents Monaco Air CEO, Don Monaco with Squadron Appreciation Award.

For more information on joining the Civil Air Patrol Email: pat.lawler@mncap.org