Civil Air Patrol

Capt. Tom Billstrand, a pilot from Civil Air Patrol’s Albuquerque Senior Squadron II, performs a pre-flight check of an aircraft during a statewide search-and-rescue exercise at Kirtland May 15. The exercise is being held for members to practice skills ahead of an operations evaluation by the U.S. Air Force scheduled for November. (Photo by Ryan Stark)

CAP holds emergency services exercise

Published June 8, 2015
By Lt. Col. David Finley
Civil Air Patrol New Mexico Wing

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Members of Civil Air Patrol's New Mexico Wing sharpened their search-and-rescue and disaster assistance skills at Kirtland Air Force Base in a statewide exercise May 23.

CAP aircrews and ground staff responded to simulated emergency situations. Five aircraft and more than 60 members took part in the exercises, which included finding an aircraft emergency locator transmitter and a lost hiker. They also dealt with a simulated a broken gas pipeline and train wreck.

CAP members from Kirtland joined Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Clovis and Farmington air crews. Cadet members of CAP also were involved. The exercise is one of several planned in preparation for an Air Force evaluation of the wing that will happen in November.

"To stay sharp for real-world missions, we routinely train. Our aircrews practice their search routines and aerial photography, and our ground teams practice the support functions that make the flight time more effective," said CAP Lt. Col. Larry Zentner, the Incident Commander for the exercise. "The team at the command post gets practice at prioritizing, planning and logistically supporting multiple simultaneous sorties."

CAP, the auxiliary of the Air Force, has aircraft equipped with specialized direction-finding equipment to locate signals from Emergency Locator Transmitters.

In addition to making visual searches for missing aircraft, vehicles and personnel, CAP aircrews routinely provide aerial photos of facilities and regions to assess potential dangers and damage.

For more information about CAP, visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com.