Flight Log

Pell City Composite Squadron 118Alabama Wing Civil Air Patrol

Volume 1, No. 4 Inside this issue:

November 2010

Commanders Corner
A Break from the Heat It looks like summer is finally releasing its grip on Alabama. The mornings are crisp as the mercury takes its time climbing. There is a definite bite in the air. Fall has arrived. Football Season is here. The trees are changing color. The days are noticeably shorter. We need to take into consideration a few things to make sure that we are safe in our activities. Wear layered clothing. The mornings may be cool, but the afternoons may still be quite warm. Keep a jacket in your auto and in your gear bag. The temperature can fall quickly after dark. Watch the weather. Have a back up plan. Thunderstorms are still a risk. Keep an eye on the temperature due point spread. Fog can develop quickly. Especially after dark. Keep flashlights in your auto and in your gear bag. With the shorter days, a mission may not end until after dark. Remember to pack a red light to preserve your night vision. Maintain your night currency. Brush up on your cross wind landings. Some days may be gusty. Remember to get your home heating system checked for proper operation. Check your automobile belts, hoses and antifreeze before it gets cold. Check your auto and aircraft tire pressures as it gets cooler. With the cooler temperatures the pressure may be lower. Remember to watch out for your pets.

Commanders Corner Calendar of Events Safety Corner CAP Trivia Iron Man
Incident Command Staff School Article

1 2 4 3 3 6

Wing Corner
Emergency Services Cadet Corner PAO Corner

5
12 7 5

Standards and Evaluations Did You Know Promotions and Pictures

8 9 1011

With a little planning we can all enjoy the season and remain safe. Jim Gosnell Commander

The Pell City Composite Squadron's Christmas Meeting Thursday, December 9, 2010 18:00 at the Todd Hanger, Pell City Airport
This will be a combined dinner meeting for all members and a great speaker is scheduled. More details will be available soon.

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Flight Log

CALENDAR OF EVENTSNovember 2010

Sun

Mon
1

Tue
2
Election Day

Wed
3

Thu
4
CADETS PT Avondale Park

Fri
5
W.E.S.S.

Sat
6

7
W.E.S.S.

10
6:00 p.m. Community Center

11

12

13

Cadet Meeting

Happy Birthday, Rebecca Gosnell

14

15

16

17
Cadet Meeting

18

19
IRON MAN

20

6:00 p.m. Community Center

21

22

23

24

25
Happy Thanksgiving!

26

27
NEWSLETTER DEADLINE

NO C.A.P. meetings

Happy Birthday Thomas Grimes

28

29

30
Happy Birthday Chris Iddins and John Randolph

December 1 Cadet Meeting 6:00 p.m. Community Center

NO W.E.S.S. in December

Calendar Information Continued . . .

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November 4P.T. Avondale Park (East of Pell City on Hwy. 78across from the Fire Station) Dress
P.T. gear. After P.T., Cadets will meet at the Recreation Hall for more P.T. and a safety briefing.

November 11Veterans Day Honoring those who have served our country! November 11 DressBlues, A.E. Current Events, Testing, and Leadership. Meet at the Recreation
Hall.

November 18DressBDUs, Drill, CD, and Aerospace

CAP TRIVIA
Last Months WinnersJeannie Scott (Senior Member) and Peter Randolph (Cadet Member)

Last Months Question: In Civil Air Patrol, what is the cadence of quick time? Answer: Quick Time: The rate of marching at 100 to 120 (12 or 24 inches in length) steps per minute. This months question: What phrase has been used by the military since the 1950s for visual searches or inspections. The first cadet and senior member to send in their answer along with where they found the answer (do not use Wikipedia), will win a special prize chosen by the editor. Email your answer to:
BShurbutt@yahoo.com

IRON MAN 2010

Congratulations! Pell City will have a team representing our squadron at the 2010 Iron Man Competition at Auburn University in November. Members of the Pell City Squadron Team include cadets Nathan Bedford, Allison Howard, Nathan Howard, Jessica Lucy, Peter Randolph, and Daniel Smith.

Correction and Apology: Michael and Christian Norwood were mistakenly left out of the August Newsletter for volunteering of their time at the Golf Tournament. Thank you, Michael and Christian for your help! It is greatly appreciated. I apologize for leaving your names out of the August newsletter. If you ever are over looked or not mentioned for something that you should have been noted for, please let me, Beth Shurbutt, know. No one is intentionally over-looked in the newsletter. There are sometimes glitches in communication.

Calendar Information Continued . . .

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Safety
What is Safety? Most of us would agree that it is performing our jobs in a safe manner without injury or mishap. That is basic, of course, but what about situations that may require some risk to perform our jobs? I was in charge of a portion of a large construction project some years ago and the work force was just expanding into what would peak at over 3,000 workers for about three years. Since this event was in the beginnings of our ramp-up to the large effort, there were only a handful of company supervisors available for weekend duty that came upon us about once a month. One of these weekends, on my watch, included work in the specific area of my responsibility and I spent most of my time overseeing those efforts. I was not aware that, in an outlying area, an underground tie-in was being made to a pipeline that was made available to the construction crew only on this weekend. The soil conditions in this area were heavy red clay, which has the attribute of being almost like rock when you dig through it. The subcontractor had made a very steep cut, almost vertical, down to 20 below the surface to the location of the pipe. Normally, this would have been sufficient, but not safe. This day, frequent rains had softened the clay and it caved in on four workers down in the trench. Heroic efforts by all the people that were in the area saved three of them but one was covered so deeply that he perished by the time they reached him. It was a very sad day for everyone on the project but particularly so for those of us on the site at the time. It was not the first time that I witnessed a fatality in my work but it seemed to me that this was the first time that I had been so close to the loss of a life. The fatality triggered a renewed effort toward doing our work in safe manner. Procedures, which in most cases, were already in place were re-emphasized and new precautions were implemented. But, most importantly, we all had a realization of how each of us, in our everyday activities, can affect the safety of our fellow workers and ourselves. The project was completed with over 3 million safe man-hours of work. I still have the safe award certificate and, as proud as I am that no one else suffered a severe injury during the following years, it is bittersweet when I remember that weekend. CAP endeavors do not always present the same pressures a paying job would, but the effects of wanting to do the mission well can be just as, or even more, pressing in an effort to get the best results. A little bit of stepping back, assessing the risks, and how to overcome them (ORM) will go a long way to getting us back on the right track. In our CAP activities, we are called upon to help others in their hour of need. It is a noble calling and not everyone in our society chooses to answer it. But never let us forget that in order to keep on responding to the needs of others, we must do our jobs in a manner that will get us home safe. Rest assured that CAP, from the local safety officer and squadron commander to the national commander, has the safe performance of your duties foremost in their minds. You must too! Stay Safe!

Ronald Harlan, Safety Officer

REMINDER: Read the newsletter and receive a Safety Briefing Credit.

Please email Ron Harlan at reh1685@aol.com

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From Your P.A. O. Officer . . .

For those of you who are wondering, PAO stands for Public Affairs Officer, and thats the specialty track Im working toward. One of my jobs is photographing special events such as promotions and awards. You may find the archives of my photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethshurbutt/ Feel free to download any of the photos that youd like. If you have any issues with you or your cadets photo being published, please let me know as soon as possible. I would like to start publishing promotions and awards in your local newspaper but will need your permission to do this. A photo and media release form will be sent home with all cadets within the next several weeks. Please make sure that a parent or guardian complete the form and return it to me. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at: LTooney@cableone.net or BShurbutt@yahoo.com Beth Shurbutt Here is a listing of the deadline dates for upcoming newsletters:

CORE VALUES OF CIVIL AIR PATROL

Integrity Volunteer Service Excellence Respect

Civil Air Patrol www.gocivilairpatrol.com

November 27 (Decembers Newsletter) December 28 (Januarys Newsletter)

Alabama Wing www.alwg.cap.gov

A SPECIAL THANKS GOES TO ALL OUR CAP SENIORS WHO ARE VETERANS! THANK YOU FOR SERVING OUR COUNTRY THEN AND FOR YOUR CONTINUING SERVICE TO CAP!

Look for us on the Web: www.pellcitycap.org

ALWG Incident Command Staff School I

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Iron Man www.areyouanironman. com

Incident Command Staff School

Last weekend, Cadet Scott and I participated in the Incident Command Staff School (ICSS) at the Bessemer Airport. On Saturday, with about 10 different instructors, we went thru several modules of information relating to the inner workings of an actual mission. Some modules were very practical while others were informative in nature. Topics included staff positions, WMIRS, search planning, mission financing and legalities, communications, paperwork, and CISM. I was amazed at just how much goes on during a mission to search for someone before air crews and ground teams even begin their searches. Information must be gathered from family, friends, airports, and other agencies. Securing resources, filling out paperwork, checking weather forecasts, and making numerous phone calls are just some of the activities that go on before the first plane takes off. On Sunday, we were given a scenario of a missing aircraft. We were told what our positions would be for the day then we were briefed with the information we had about our pilot. Information was vague at first so we all got to work trying to fill in the details so that we could find our missing aircraft. I was one of the Mission Staff Assistants (MSA) and Cadet Scott was the Mission Radio Operator (MRO). As the Mission Base Staff Task Guide states, the MSA's responsibilities are to provide support to the staff members. This includes understanding the basic functions of the staff positions. A daunting task at first. Under the IC, the staff positions fell underneath four general categories. They were Operations, Planning, Logistics and Finance. Some of the more specific tasks are to collect sign in information, prepare reports, post status information and keep it all updated, and properly handle those coming to Mission Base including family, friends, dignitaries and other visitors. The MSA must also insure that all personnel are properly qualified and that all resources get signed into the mission. During the scenario, I called the surrounding squadrons and asked if they could put together air crews and ground teams for me. I managed to get 5 air crews and 2 ground teams for our mission. {Hey, I wonder why Pell City didn't have a ground team available?) Then it was off to the Communications area to make sure everyone could adequately communicate with Mission Base. Throughout the day, I listened to each group as they were planning their next move and how they were implementing that plan. I delivered air and ground communications to those handling Operations. Discussions of flight routes, cell phone forensics, where to send the ground teams, and even dealing with family friends arriving at the airport demanding information were part of the days activities. The missing aircraft was finally found but our poor pilot met a sad demise. He made some mistakes and so did we. A lot goes into a search. Wise decisions, quick thinking, careful listening and familiarity from practice will enhance any true search mission, no doubt. That is why Cadet Scott and I will be returning to the GTE next weekend to practice and prepare for the next mission. I had a great time and learned a lot about the search and rescue part of CAP thru this training.. As I contemplate the seriousness of a real mission and real people needing to be found, Im in awe of what goes on behind the scenes to accomplish that task. It takes an adequately trained team from the IC to the newest cadet on the ground team. I encourage cadets to learn this side of the CAP program. Work on those qualifications to become part of an awesome national resource. 1Lt Jeannie Scott

WESS Dates

January 1416 February 18-20 March 25-27 April 29 - May 1

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Cadets Corner . . .

Cadets Corner
By Capt. Cindy Bennett

The Cadet Oath

I pledge that I will serve faithfully in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program and that I will attend meetings regularly, participate actively in unit activities, obey my officers, wear my uniform properly, and advance my education and training rapidly to prepare myself to be of service to my community, state, and nation.

October has come and gone. My how time flies. The first weekend of October brought a group of Pell City cadets and senior members attending WESS. The topics of this weekend were foundational in scope and included pace count, compass training, advanced map reading, and how to use the direction finding equipment. We had cadets in both the basic and the advanced school and cadets and senior members also in staff positions. There are three rules at WESS: Be Safe, Do what you are told and do it with a good attitude and Have fun. Lets continue to follow the rules and have good experiences as the cycle continues. October also brings with it changes of scenery, usually because the seasons are changing. We also had a change of scenery in the cadets meeting place. Because of the condition of the roof and ceiling at the community center rain was leaking in the parts of the community center we were meeting. There was also water standing in portions of the kitchen area we used for senior staff, which was a safety issue as the stove and refrigerator are still plugged in! Now we are meeting at the recreation center next door. Thanks to everybody that made the move possible. If you missed it there are pictures posted on SM Beth Shurbutts flicker pages. Our Iron Man team has been practicing at the weekly meetings and there are now only three weeks left before the competition at Auburn. Good luck to all the participants. Also the cadets that are competing in the Cyber Patriot competition have been busy preparing and the first rounds of the competition are over, now we are just waiting to see how well they did. There are so many activities that CAP Special Activities for 2011 will be posted on Nov 1 on the web site www.gocivilairpatrol.com. Be sure to look this list over, note the deadlines of the activity you may be interested in as well as any prerequisites and sign up for something, you will be glad you did! Now for the trivia question this month. Last month we had two cadets that answered the trivia question correctly, but this month there will be only one chosen. Here are the rules: 1. Answer the question correctly 2. EMAIL your answer to cbennett50@bellsouth.net . The first correct answer emailed to the correct address will be the winner. This months trivia question is: Name the crew of the November 1, 2010 shuttle launch and its affiliation with CAP.

Helpful web sites:

www.pellcitycap.org www.capnhq.gov www.gocivilairpatrol.com www.cadetstuff.org www.alabamaftx.com www.areyouanironman.com

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Standards / Evaluations Corner . . .

The Kennedy
During my last form 5 one of our Wing check pilots used a technique to put the aircraft into an unusual attitude. He called the technique The Kennedy because it simulates what is believed to be the cause of the accident which took the life of John F Kennedy Jr. along with the lives of his wife and her sister in-law. The NTSB ruled the cause as the pilot's failure to maintain control of his airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. Many articles have been written about the accident but the one in the October, 2010 issue of Flying magazine discusses the accident from a different perspective. The author details the events in Kennedys life leading up to the accident. Some of the items I think are worth mentioning include the stress JFK was possibly under, his health, and his experience as a pilot. Of course, everyone knows that John F. Kennedy Jr. was the son of the late President Kennedy. This fact alone put his life, both personal and professional, in the public lime light. This celebrity status could be a constant source of stress. He was known to be a healthy, active 39 year old. However, he had experienced a recent injury caused by an accident in an ultra-lite aircraft. Apparently, his injury, a broken ankle, resulted in him taking some pain medications. As far as his experience, he had accumulated 310 hours of flight time over a 17 year period. That would mean he had not done a lot of flying, obviously! In April of 1999 he purchased a Saratoga and received a complex sign off in May, 1999. This was two months before his final, fatal accident. One of his instructors said he had problems managing multiple tasks. The article also states this is normal for a pilot with his experience, to which I agree. This reminds me of the phrase 3 foot visibility which means that things that are happening right in front of you cannot be seen by you but someone who is 3 feet away can see them clearly. In high stress situations, like not knowing where you are or what the aircraft is doing, many people focus on one thing and lose their situational awareness. Of his total 310 hours of flight time he had only 72 hours without an instructor. He had 36 hours in the Saratoga of which only 3 hours were without an instructor and of those 3 hours, less than 1 hour was at night. I think at this point you can see a pilot with this kind of experience, with these types of pressures on his life could easily have gotten into the situation of losing control of a complex, high performance aircraft on a marginally VFR evening. If we were to go put ourselves in the same situation as JFK Jr. and run the Im SAFE check list (see below) and the (CAP ORM matrix) we would not have flown that evening. As we transition from round dial aircraft (172s and 182s) to technically advanced aircraft like the 182T with the NAVIII we must remember that there are many distractions in the G1000 which do not exist in the round dial aircraft. The G1000 system and the autopilot demand attention just to operate the aircraft. We cannot let ourselves get so distracted that we forget to fly the aircraft and put ourselves into a Kennedy. Maj. Chris Iddins AL Wing Stan/ Eval.

I=Illness M= Medication S=Stress A=Alcohol F=Fatigue E=Eating

Did You Know Corner . . .

Page 9

There are a lot of changes taking place in Safety these days. Some of you may have read that there is a new course that is required to be taken by all CAP members. Well you are correct but, dont get too worried. The course isnt all new. As a matter of fact, it is a combination of the Basic Safety course and ORM. With just a little info about calling Time Out or Knock It Off when you see a safety problem. That last part is really the only part that you have not studied already. Of course, if you are a cadet, you have already been told by me that you have the right to call a Time Out anytime it is needed. I am reasonably sure that all of the senior members know that as well. The new course is called The Introduction to Safety for New Members. And yes, the course is required to be taken by ALL members, not just new ones. However the due date for all current members has been extended to 31 March 2011. There will be a policy change letter on this soon. New members will be required to take the course as a part of their Level I or Curry Achievement starting 1 Jan 2011. Personally, I like to go ahead and take courses so that I dont forget to do them later. Okay then, where do I go to take the training? That is easy. Log on to eServices and look on the left side of the page. Click on Online Safety Briefing. Find and click on The Introduction to Safety for New Members. After you complete the course and take the test, you can print a certificate to put into your file. Be sure to print one for you and one for your file at the squadron. You can even save a copy to your computer. So now you know. Eddie Shurbutt, 1Lt. Safety Officer for Cadets

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Cadet Promotions

Nathan Bedford was promoted to C/MSgt on October 21, 2010. Presenting Nathans rank are Lt. Col. Tony Bedford and Capt. Cindy Bennett.

Allaina Howard was promoted to C/TSgt on October 21, 2010. Presenting Allainas rank are Lt. Col. Tony Bedford and Capt. Cindy Bennett.

Jessica Lucy was promoted to C/SSgt October 28, 2010. Presenting Jessicas rank are SSgt. Mark Lucy and Capt. Cindy Bennett.

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Cadet Promotions, continued . . .

Daniel Smith was promoted to C/SSgt on October 21, 2010. Presenting Daniels rank are Lt. Col. Tony Bedford and Capt. Cindy Bennett.

Noah Thomas was promoted to C/Amn on October 21, 2010. Presenting Thomass rank are Lt. Col. Tony Bedford and Capt. Cindy Bennett.

Attention Cadets!!
Most of you know that the squadron has traditionally purchased rank and ribbons for cadets that are promoting. Due to the cost of these purchases, we have had to change this practice. It has always been the responsibility of the cadet to purchase all rank, ribbons, and patches. However, to assist new cadets in the program, the squadron has purchased the rank for them. In the future, cadets promoting to Master Sergeant and above will have to purchase their own rank. Ribbons will continue to be provided by the squadron. The squadron does not stock all patches however, you may continue purchasing the patches that we have in stock. If you check with me in advance of needing an item, we may be able to add your order to our order and save you some shipping cost. If you find that you have rank or uniforms that you dont need, please consider donating them to the squadron. Some of us do it regularly. Eddie Shurbutt, 1Lt