Today, members of this squadron and the Lewis Composite Squadron received Basic Communications User Training (BCUT). The basic objective of the course is to teach students how to properly operate a CAP radio. The upcoming Cavalcade of Planes event in June, will require us to have more radio operators, so this class was the first step in preparing those who will be working the event. The training also satisfies the "Basic Communications" task for all CAP Emergency Services specialties that require communications knowledge.

Among the lessons learned were the proper use of callsigns and prowords and how to properly contact another station. The students put what they learned into practice by actually communicating with each other using ISR radios.

Maj. Jim Bartel, the SPCS Communications Officer, provided the training. Among the students from this squadron were Cadet McKinney, Cadet Gadzala, Cadet Murphy, SM Josh Krecek and 2LT Susan Wiegert. Members from Lewis Composite Squadron included Cadet Hall and Capt. Virginia Kurash.

C/LTC Michael Dunn of this squadron is among an elite group of cadets that has achieved the highest Cadet award, the General Carl A. Spaatz Award. Dunn was presented the award at the 2008 Illinois Wing and Great Lakes Region Conference by National Commander Brig. Gen. Amy Courter and GLR Commander Col. Charles Carr.

Including Cadet Dunn, only 1675 cadets have achieved this level in the cadet program since the award's inception in 1964. That's about 2 cadets for every 1000 in the program. Spaatz Cadets are normally promoted to Cadet Colonel upon achieving the award, but Mr. Dunn is actually no longer a Cadet as he has since reached 21 years of age.

To earn the award, Mr. Dunn completed a rigourous four-part exam consisting of a challenging physical fitness test, an essay exam testing moral reasoning, a comprehensive written exam on leadership and a comprehensive written exam on aerospace education.

Mr. Dunn is currently a student at the Illnois Institute of Technology studying computer engineering. He is also participating in Air Force ROTC receiving officer training while at IIT. Upon graduation, Dunn plans on being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He plans on going into space operations or acquisitions. Until he starts active duty, he plans on continuing his participation in Civil Air Patrol as a senior member.

Congratulations to Michael Dunn on this great achievement.

The Ice Bowl 2008 Training Mission held on January 12 and 13, and the planning session on January 5, had over 80 CAP members participating. The day provided training for aircrews, ground teams and mission base staff. The mission was carried out at over 10 locations throughout the state.

All Wing aircraft were involved and flew a total of 33 hours. Route searches, electronic and grid searches were accomplished. Four Wing and many personnal vehicles were operated on ground searches. At DuPage Airport mission base, personnel in communications and operations were also trained.

Participating members from our squadon included Maj. Jim Bartel, Maj. Gerry Baumgartner, Capt. Dennis Svoboda, 1st Lt. Joe Kotowski and senior member Josh Krecek. Maj Bartel and SM Josh Krecek worked in communications. Maj. Bartel was training a member from another squadron to be a Communications Unit Leader. This was SM Krecek's first mission. He worked at tracking our air and ground assets as the base received communications from them. 1st Lt. Kotowski, Capt. Svoboda and Maj. Baumgartner served as aircrew members, whose goal was to get the two flights the Capt. Svoboda needed to finish his training to become a qualified Mission Scanner. They did and he did.

It was a successful mission. We're looking for more participation from this squadron in future missions. They're really a lot of fun.

At tonight's squadron Holiday Party two cadets received the General Billy Mitchell Award. Cadets Tom Lamb and Ryan Enright were presented the award by former Illinois Wing Commander, Col. Steve Peters. Cadet Enright was also promoted to Cadet/2nd Lt. Also receiving the award, but not in attendance was Cadet Kurt Peterson.

The General Billy Mitchell Award is earned after completing the first eight achievements of the cadet program as well as passing an arduous 100 question examination testing leadership theory and aerospace topics. Cadets receiving the award are eligible for advanced placement in the grade of E-3 (Airman First Class) should they choose to enlist in the USAF. They may also apply for a variety of scholarships and CAP special activities.

Congratulations to Cadets Lamb, Enright and Peterson.

C/2LT Erin Noonan of the Col. Shorty Powers Composite Squadron was one of three cadets selected to represent the Great Lakes Region at the 2008 Civics Leadership Academy. The CLA is an intensive 1-week program held in Washington, D.C. Cadets attending receive behind-the-scenes tours and briefings at the Capitol, Supreme Court, State Department, Pentagon, CIA and more. They interact with national leaders while learning about the democratic process. The week culminates with CAP's Legislative Day, when cadets meet with their elected representatives on Capitol Hill. CLA is an academically-focused activity that includes seminars, readings and group projects.

As part of the application process Cadet Noonan was required to submit a resume of her achievements in each of the three missions of Civil Air Patrol as well as activities in the community. She was also required to submit a typed, 250 to 350 word essay on one of two topics. Finally, Cadet Noonan had to include a 1-page letter of recommendation from a teacher.

Congratulations to Cadet Noonan on her selection.

Members of the Col Shorty Powers Composite started training for the Urban Direction Finding (UDF) mission specialty on 27 Nov, 2007. The goal is to train enough members to form a squadron UDF team that is mission-capable.

This training evening was lead by C/2Lt Erin Noonan who shared the knowledge she acquired at the National Blue Beret activity this past summer. She was assisted by C/2Lt Kurt Peterson, C/Sgt Dan Murphy and senior members Maj. Gerry Baumgartner and Capt. Bill Peters.

The night's training began with a basic introduction to the L-per Direction Finding(DF) equipment and the practice ELT. The students were shown the functions of the equipment and how to localize a signal. They then were given hands-on time with the equipment.

The training progressed with a practice ELT being placed in the field behind the hanger and the students using the equipment to locate it. As all thought that was too simple, the ELT was placed in a slightly more challanging location for them to practice their skills on. And naturally, it took the students slightly longer to find it.

Future training will include additional practice with the L-per, along with different techniques to locate the source of a signal, compass land navigation training, and map reading skills.

Despite being a very dreary and rainy day, three members of the squadron took to the skies to get in some training flying a search sortie. 1st Lt. Joe Kotowski was the Mission Pilot, Maj. Gerry Baumgartner was the Mission Observer and Capt. Dennis Svoboda was the Mission Scanner Trainee. The primary purpose of the flight was for Capt. Svoboda to get reaquainted with scanner duties in preparation for the upcoming Ice Bowl mission in which he plans on completing his mission scanner training. However, as this was the first time the three had flown together as a team, the flight also provided training for all in cockpit resource management and just working together as a team.

Even though it was a training flight, it pretty much went "by the book". From the pre-flight safety briefing on egress procedures to the simulated radio calls back to mission base, it all was handled if it had been a real sortie.

The sortie assignment was to conduct a parallel track search for a missing Beech 18 twin engine aircraft. On the way to the assigned grid, Maj. Baumgartner reviewed with Capt. Svoboda various aspects of visual search as it related to scanning. Capt. Svoboda had no problem answering questions, and he had no problem finding the target and directing 1st Lt. Kotowski to circle above it.

Upon returning to the airport, the crew debriefed themselves and discussed areas of their performance that were satisfactory as well as areas that could be improved.

Cadet Ryan Enright was promoted to the grade of Cadet Chief Master Sergeant at tonight's squadron meeting. Cadet Enright has completed the Robert Goddard Achievement of the Leadership Phase of the Cadet Program. Congratulations to Cadet Enright.

Once again, members from SPCS and Lewis Composite Squadron, as well as others from a number of other local Civil Air Patrol squadrons worked well together to support Clow International Airport's "Cavalcade of Planes". Clow Airport and the Illinois Aviation Museum is the home of the Shorty Powers Composite Squadron. The event is a way for the airport and museum staff to show the public where general aviation is going and where aviation has been. From 7 AM to 5 PM on both June 2 and June 3, Civil Air Patrol members staffed several areas at the airport including parking control, flight line and recruiting. A wing C182 was flown in for static display for the recruiting effort.

This year saw a significant increase in attendance over previous years. People came out to enjoy the good weather and take in a lot of what aviation had to offer. Cadets working parking control had a big job on their hands as parking filled up quickly. Equally important was the job cadets working working the flight line had in helping to maintain the safety of the public, ensuring they were out of the way of moving aircraft.

An attempt was made to conduct some Emergency Services training in the area of ELT hunting with direction finding gear. That training was started but it wasn't long before it had to be terminated due to the need for the cadets to man parking or flight line activities.

Many people stopped by the CAP tent and the C182 asking questions and getting answers about not only the Civil Air Patrol and the local units, but general aviation questions as well. Having the beautifully painted C182 there was a great attraction to get people to come in and talk to the pilots. The kids looked in awe at all the instruments and the adults were very interested to hear of all the missions CAP conducts.

Organizers of the event were very impressed with the way CAP conducted their assignments and were appreciative of all the hard work. Toward the end of the day on Sunday, the pilot giving Stearman rides offered to take a cadet for a ride. An impromptu raffle was held and the lucky cadet was C/Capt Robert Kent. The rest of the cadets still working didn't miss out, however. They were offered rides in a Robinson R44 helicopter.

Planning has already been started for next year. A request will be submitted to get a Gippsland CAP aircraft and perhaps a G1000 C-182 for static display. A larger number of CAP member participants will be sought next year. The crowds are expected to increase next year and we'll need all the help we can get to make the event run as smoothly as it did this year.