1 Cadet Flight Fest and Ground Team Extravaganza 2013 By 1st Lt Sandra S Locascio A Thunderbolt Composite Squadron News Letter SWR-TX-295 www.thunderboltcap.org Volume 2, Issue 2 Special points of in- terest: • Mission Possible… (A MUST read) • Commander’s Corner • Color Guard Going to Nationals! • Coming Events... Mission Possible... 2 Color Guard at SWR 3 Coming Events... 4 Commander’s Corner 4 Inside this issue: It was the perfect choice of weekend. It was the perfect place. We were having a great turnout. Senior staff was in place. In the air, 24 anticipated O-Rides, 4 planes guaran- teed, 10 pilots. On the ground, GTM3 training in place, set evaluators on point, one damaged hunt and go seek plane to find. Things couldn’t be better. Senior staff was ap- pointed as well as cadet leadership staff. Cadets were broken into three flights, Alpha (all avia- tion, O-Rides, and mar- shaling related activi- ties), Bravo (all GTM and ground operations only), and Charlie (O-Rides and GTM activities). Cadet leaders were assigned to oversee the flights. Welcome to Cadet Flight Fest 2013. Bigger and better. Thanks to Col Bray and Lt Bray, we found the perfect site. Nestled on several hun- dred acres in Anna, TX, our location for future CFF’s had been estab- lished. It contained plenty of trails to hide and seek airplanes and fake people for GTM training. Plenty of room to bivouac comfortably with nearby restroom facilities, and cabins for the adults to settle into. We settled into an area with a nice pavilion great for breakfast and gathering and Friday night was wonderful. It would be the remainder of the weekend that would cause us grief. Unfortunately, no mat- ter how much planning goes on, no one can ever plan well for weather. With the amount of peo- ple involved and getting time to do all that we prepared, it wasn’t that we could easily change weekends based on a April 2013 front coming in. We’d have to weather it out and that’s exactly what we did. Saturday’s strong cross- winds, low ceilings, and pending storm shut air operation down. Eight pilots waiting at their respective FBO’s for clearance to fly to McKinney wasn’t going to happen, and at 12 noon, we sent them home to try on Sunday. Navigation classes and flight marshaling con- tinued with help from Col Crum and Maj Sharp, so the day was not a bust. Ground team moved forward as planned but precaution- ary due to impending storms. Cadet Fest continued on page 2...
Transcript
1
Cadet Flight Fest and Ground Team
Extravaganza 2013
By 1st Lt Sandra S Locascio
A Thunderbolt Composite Squadron News Letter SWR-TX-295
www.thunderboltcap.org Volume 2, Issue 2
Special points of in-
terest:
• Mission Possible… (A
MUST read)
• Commander’s Corner
• Color Guard Going
to Nationals!
• Coming Events...
Mission Possible... 2
Color Guard at SWR 3
Coming Events... 4
Commander’s Corner 4
Inside this issue:
It was the perfect choice
of weekend. It was the
perfect place. We were
having a great turnout.
Senior staff was in place.
In the air, 24 anticipated
O-Rides, 4 planes guaran-
teed, 10 pilots. On the
ground, GTM3 training
in place, set evaluators
on point, one damaged
hunt and go seek plane to
find. Things couldn’t be
better.
Senior staff was ap-
pointed as well as cadet
leadership staff. Cadets
were broken into three
flights, Alpha (all avia-
tion, O-Rides, and mar-
shaling related activi-
ties), Bravo (all GTM and
ground operations only),
and Charlie (O-Rides and
GTM activities). Cadet
leaders were assigned to
oversee the flights.
Welcome to Cadet Flight
Fest 2013. Bigger and
better. Thanks to Col
Bray and Lt Bray, we
found the perfect site.
Nestled on several hun-
dred acres in Anna, TX,
our location for future
CFF’s had been estab-
lished. It contained
plenty of trails to hide
and seek airplanes and
fake people for GTM
training. Plenty of room
to bivouac comfortably
with nearby restroom
facilities, and cabins for
the adults to settle into.
We settled into an area
with a nice pavilion
great for breakfast and
gathering and Friday
night was wonderful. It
would be the remainder
of the weekend that
would cause us grief.
Unfortunately, no mat-
ter how much planning
goes on, no one can ever
plan well for weather.
With the amount of peo-
ple involved and getting
time to do all that we
prepared, it wasn’t that
we could easily change
weekends based on a
April 2013
front coming in. We’d
have to weather it out
and that’s exactly what
we did.
Saturday’s strong cross-
winds, low ceilings, and
pending storm shut air
operation down. Eight
pilots waiting at their
respective FBO’s for
clearance to fly to
McKinney wasn’t going
to happen, and at 12
noon, we sent them
home to try on Sunday.
Navigation classes and
flight marshaling con-
tinued with help from
Col Crum and Maj
Sharp, so the day was
not a bust. Ground
team moved forward as
planned but precaution-
ary due to impending
storms.
Cadet Fest continued on
page 2...
2
The night saw a different side. To
prepare for storms, cadets were
relocated to the education build-
ing as were many supplies. The
storms hit hard in the evening
and aside from wind, rain, power
was lost for several hours which
created backups in the sewage
system. Even generators were
inaccessible. Power was eventu-
ally regained later that night.
Sunday the weather continued.
Although the rain had stopped,
winds and low ceilings were again
the constant, and O-Rides, again
were halted for the day. As in
Saturday, aviation classes and
marshaling continued thanks
to Bob Brands and Maj Sharp.
Ground team was able to func-
tion despite the wet and mud
and the education building
caught the brunt of it all. It
was a long but successful day
for them.
As a precaution and because any
camping equipment that was left
out from the previous day was
still wet, we once again sought
refuge in the education building.
The night winds had settled and
the stars shone brightly. We were
able to create a campfire and cook
various campfire treats courtesy
of Lt Oliver and her culinary tal-
ents.
Monday’s weather was much bet-
ter and allowed us to launch 2
aircraft and fly 9 O-rides, well
below the anticipated numbers,
but the best we could do in the
short day. Although the Flight
part of the Cadet Flight Fest was-
n’t as good as we hoped, the
ground portion totally rocked.
Overall, the Cadet Flight Fest and
Ground Team Extravaganza was
a hit.
Here are the numbers that made
it all worthwhile:
37 cadets present
9 squadrons represented
20 cadets completed GTM3
4 completed UDF
1 senior member was signed off as
MSA
2 for MRO
1 completed GRM2
1 is now a GTL
1 is now an MSL
9 sorties flew -7 were first rides.
Plans to continue more sorties are
in the works.
cial runs, fun and encouragement.
At the end of the allotted time, the
squadron will face off in a contest of
all cadets against everyone else.
The winners take all. The more
members you have on your team,
the better your chances of winning.
Refreshments and cool prizes to all
who accept this Mission Possible….
This paper will self destruct in 5
seconds. Well, maybe not.
Good evening, cadets, senior
members, and parents….
Your mission, should you decide
to accept it, will be to train for
and complete a 2 mile run or
walk. You will be provided a
training schedule and times to
meet your team members for so-
Cadet Fest continued...
Mission Possible...
PAGE 2 A Thunderbolt Composite Squadron News Letter VOLUME 2 , I SSUE 2
Not only will YOU get in great
PT shape, you will also help our
color guard train to run their
fastest mile ever at their Na-
tional Competition in July!
By 1st Lt Sandra S Locascio
Starting 1st Week of May
3
Our Thunderbolt Color Guard team has been very busy since winning the Texas competition back in February. A few short weeks after securing first place at Texas, the team headed back to Nacogdoches to raise the flag at the grand opening ceremony of our new Texas Wing Headquar-ters. It was quite an event and the new facility will serve all of us in the Texas Wing well.
Shortly after the grand opening, the team headed up to Little Rock Arkansas for the Southwest Re-gion competition, and while the weather was challenging, our team, led by Commander Lione, once again battled to secure first place overall. As tough as the judging and competition was at the Texas Wing Level, everything was stepped up for Regional. Starting with the written test, and ending with the indoor practical, the team fought in a very close race. Even in-ranks inspection was intense as it was performed
by the Little Rock Air Force Base Honor Guard and they were very thorough (also friendly and pro-vided solid feedback). The Air Force Honor Guard also judged each of the drill competitions, which was an honor in itself. The entire event was professionally managed and hosted by the Southwest Region and Arkansas Wing.
As is the case in Civil Air Patrol, healthy competition between Squadrons and Wings keeps all of us sharp and prepares us for any challenge life may throw our way. As Major Matt Fields pointed out at the opening meeting, we must always remember that even in competition, we are truly one team. The Regional competition was a shining example of how we can complete but still act and pre-sent ourselves as one strong or-ganization with common goals. Between the events, we had plenty of time to interact with the other Squadrons and I can hon-
estly say that we built some good friendships. We heard several comments from uni-formed personnel on base of how impressed they were with our cadets and the CAP organization.
While we did ultimately come away with a first place finish, we should recognize and congratulate the Squadrons representing Arizona, Arkan-sas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma for a hard fought battle. Well done to all!
Our Color Guard will present the colors at the Wing Con-ference in Houston on April 12, then continue their rigor-ous practice and preparation for the National Color Guard Competition which will be held in Dayton Ohio the week of July 16.
Well done team, we are all
proud of you.
PAGE 3 A Thunderbolt Composite Squadron News Letter VOLUME 2 , I SSUE 2
TX-295 Thunderbolt Color Guard heads to
National Competition
By 2nd Lt Edward Korona
A very rigorous inspection!
4
Eugene Ely made the first landing on a ship in January 1911 in a Curtiss biplane. He touched down on the USS Pennsylvania in San Fran-cisco Bay. Later that year, Congress ap-proved $125,000 for expansion of the Air Force. One member objected and said, “Why all the fuss about airplanes for the army? I thought we already had one.”
Lt Colonel Chad Bray, Thunderbolt Commander How does one follow up a very successful month? With a
BIGGER successful month! Several significant events happened
in March that has made it outstanding. On March 9th, Texas Wing
officially opened their new headquarters in Nacogdoches with rib-
bon cutting and the whole ten yards of ceremonies and activities.
The first flag raising at the new wing headquarters was per-
formed by our own color guard. This is an impressive honor and
we are very pleased with our cadets.
However, it is almost kind of sad to inform you that the
Texas Wing Color Guard will not be presenting the colors at
April’s Wing Conference. They have been replaced by the South-
west Region (SWR) Color Guard. By the way, did I tell you that
we won the SWR Color Guard competition! This puts our cadets
in the finals to win the national title in July. Already the recogni-
tion is beginning to sink in as we are starting to get calls for our
team to present colors at various events. Please give your encour-
agement and support to these fine young men.
Another highlight is the completion of our second Cadet
Flight Fest and Ground Team Extravaganza. Although this is
only the second event, we out grew our normal facility and moved
the base operation to the Collin County Adventure Camp. Even
though the weather was not on our side, the facility worked out
well. The highlight on this round had to go to the ground team
portion as we were able to get quite a few people signed off on
their UDF, GTM3, GTM2, and GTL certifications. Finally, Mon-
day opened up to get some first flights done along with some
rocket launching. I have to say, this was another successful event
that could not have happened without the support and teamwork
of our squadron and quite a few other squadrons in Groups 2, 3,
and 6.
The last weekend of March was an excitedly sad day,
when we had to say good bye to our old home and move to our
new home. We owe Capt Pezzulli a lot of gratitude for allowing us
such a nice place to meet at the Fairview Country Day School.
His efforts and leadership led to the revitalization of this unit!
Now we are in a unique position. We outgrew the facility and it
was time to look for a larger place. SM Touvell was the head of
our New Home Committee and had come up with a few excellent
recommendations, which will be kept as future backup plans. Lt
Flora Brands was the person that has secured our place back at
the airport! We will now be officially meeting at the old McKin-
ney Aerospace Hanger (MAH) at Collin Country Airport, 1476
Industrial Blvd, McKinney, TX, 75069, starting Sunday, 7 April
2013.
It is surely impressive to see this unit jumping from a
small flight to a fully functional squadron in such a short time.
The only way this could have ever happened is with help from all.
These are truly stories that demonstrate that anything can hap-
pen with TEAMWORK! So what is our mission? It’s GO TEAM!
All, Thank you for all of your efforts!
Cadets and Senior Members:
If you would like to contribute to future issues of Thunderbolt Squadron’s awe-
