By Maj Pat Mitcham
Emergency Locator Transmit-ters have been found hidden inbarns, in trunks of cars, in hangers,and in airplanes. Huntsville Com-posite Squadron took a step intohistory to find one on the 16th of May in the oldest B-24 still flying.Huntsville personnel were sentto find an ELT in the North Ala-bama area on Monday, May 15th.After searching Huntsville Interna-tional, a non-operational cropduster field in the area and PryorField in Decatur, the ground teamwas unable to find anything andthe signal disappeared. The mis-sion was closed by AFRCC afterthree passes by SAR-SATs with-out detect-ing a sig-nal.OnTuesday,anothersignal wasdetected bySAR-SATand a newmissionwasopened anda Hunts-ville teamwas dis-patched.This time all signals were lo-cated on or around Huntsville In-ternational Airport. The clearlydistinguishable ELT signal wasnot present and only the carrierwas being transmitted. In coordi-nation with Airport Security andpersonnel in the FAA tower, thesearch team searched the airportfor the elusive signal. After sev-eral hours of searching AFRCCconcluded it was a “non-distress”event since there were no reportedmissing or overdue aircraft in ornear the area at the time of thesearch. The decision was madeto postpone the search until thenext day.One last DF sweep around theAirport was going to be the finalsortie of the day. The carrier wavewas suddenly isolated to the B-24that had just taxied up on the rampoutside Signature Aviation. The B-24 had arrived the day before, ontour, and had been taking fans onrides around Huntsville since itsarrival. Thus the scattered SAR-SAT hits from the day before andthe“elusive”carrier sig-nal on theground onand aroundthe airporton the 16th.A malfunc-tioning ELTwas foundin the tailsection of the“DiamondLil,” the old-est B-24 stillflying. TheB-24 is owned and operated by theCommemorative Air Force.“Diamond Lil was the 25th of over 18,000 built,” according totheir website.It was to have been delivered toGreat Britain in 1941, but was in-volved in an accident. Repaired, ithas flown as a transport plane forvarious companies until the CAFacquired it in 1967. “Old 927 ...was put in the paint scheme andmarkings of the 98th Bomb Groupof the 9th Air Force” in 1971.The search team was able tolook inside the “Diamond Lil” andtalk with the crew that had broughtit to Huntsville on tour.
Maj Mitcham is the ALWG Director of Public Affairs.
ELT from oldest B-24 still flying
June 2006
Administration...............7Aerospace Education.....6Alabama.........................1, 3, 6, 13, 18Cadets............................12Chaplains.......................4DMSP..........................5Florida..........................3, 10-12, 16, 18Georgia........................4, 13, 15, 17History.........................14Medical........................6Mississippi.....................15Public Affairs................12Safety.............................13
News from theSoutheast Region Civil Air PatrolCol John Tilton, Commander
IN THIS ISSUE
ReCAP
The Diamond ‘Lil’ on a rainy runway at HuntsvilleInternational Airport
Photo by Lt Col Gene Mitcham
1st Lt Ian Johnston,Capt Barry Roberts,and Lt Col GeneMitcham
Photo by Maj P. Mitcham
2
June 2006 Region ReCAP
This seems to be the time for inspections. Florida Wing and Puerto RicoWing just completed a SAV (Staff Assistance Visitation). The preliminaryreports are that both did well. Alabama Wing is having its CI (ComplianceInspection) this month and they are ready. Good work to all, and thanks tothose who take the time to prepare for the inspection and the inspectors. Ourwell wishes go out to all involved.It’s easy to say, “keep everything current and the inspection will be noproblem,” but we all know how that goes. Inspections take a lot of work, andsquadron commanders, your help is critical in getting the Wing’s paperwork up to date. When you get that last-minute call for copies, please just sendthem as fast as you can. Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation andpatience.We are having a Staff meeting this month and I hope to meet with eachstaff section and do some reviewing. I am asking for your projected budgetsfor next year and your plan of action. It will be nice to put a face with aname… mine included. Since several wing commanders will not be avail-able, it will not be a Commander’s Call. I look forward to seeing the staff June 24 at the Cabot Lodge, in Tallahassee, FL.Summer is almost here and it is one of our busiest seasons. Let’s hopeMother Nature gives us a rest. If not, we have plenty of backup in the regionand the corporation. Each member needs to be ready and prepared, on aCAP-member basis, and in your own homes. Too many people neglect hav-ing a well-stocked home survival kit. If we’re prepared we can take care of our families, and be a help to our neighbors. And, after all, that’s part of thereason we joined the Civil Air Patrol program. You may not be called, butyou should be ready.There have been a number of losses within our Southeast Region commu-nity this month. I send condolences to the families of members, and lovedones of members, in their difficult time. We are a family in CAP. Let’s al-ways remember that and encourage one another along the way.As we beginhurricane season, ourQuote of the month:
“
The time torepair theroof iswhen thesun isshining.”
—John F. Kennedy
A Word from the SER Commander
CCommander’sComments
Happy BirthdayStaff Members
Bartolo Ortiz, 6/10Charles Clement, 6/16Guillermo “Willie” Heredia, 6/17David Garner, 6/19Richard Greenwood, 6/20Tomas Larsen, 6/30
June Service Anniversaries
Hugh Stewart, 5 YearsNorma Wendt, 6 YearsRaymond Hayden, 7 YearsJohn Moore, 8 YearsThomas Carson, 8 YearsJean DuBois, 9 YearsRichard Greenwood, 14 YearsAlfonzo Jackson, 15 YearsEdward Vinson, 20 YearsValerie Brown, 30 YearsBartolo Ortiz, 39 Years
Mark Your Calendar
24 June SER Staff Meeting, Tallahassee, FL24 June-1 July MSWG /ALWG Encampment, Gulf Port22-29 July SER Staff College, Knoxville, TN8-9 August National Board, Reno, NV
Region ReCAP June 2006
3
On May 19, 2006, 15 cadetsranging from C/Amn-C/SSgt cameto Sand Hill Boy Scout Reserva-tion in Brooksville, Florida andparticipated as basics in the firstAirman Leadership School hostedby Group 3. Cadets came to thisactivity with the understandingthat they would learn how to befollowers in leadership and learnabout Cadet Programs. Not onlydid they learn, but they experi-enced much more.The cadets participated inclasses in leadership that coveredbeing a Follower, NCO and Offi-cer. Other classes over the week-end covered Customs & Courte-sies, Role of an NCO, EmergencyServices, Special Activities, Fun-damentals of Speech, Study Hab-its, Drills and Ceremonies, andmuch more. A cadet was askedwhat he enjoyed most during theweekend, and he said, “I enjoyedthe class on The Role of an NCO,because someday soon I will be asergeant in my unit.” The Com-mand and Support Staff alsolearned a lot through the weekend.The ALS staff did an extraordi-nary job, from planning and orga-nizing this activity (by C/Capt Mi-chael J. Staples and 1st Lt DavidLeach, and members of Group 3),to its execution (led by 1stLt Michael Karayianes as the ac-tivity Commander andC/Capt Michael Staples).ALS or FLWG CALC (CadetAirman Learning Course) will becoming soon, so we hope thatmany more cadets and seniors willparticipate in this wonderful event.
C/Capt Staples was the ALS C/CC, Polk County Composite Squadron
FL Cadets Participate in ALS
By Capt Rayburn Harkey
Prior to Wing events, such asSARXs and the recent Wing Con-ference, the Tus-caloosa Squad-ron (AL024) fre-quently plans aplane washingwith the opportu-nity for membersand their gueststo fellowshipafter the work is done. With theWing Conference right around thecorner, the Squadron Commander,1st Lt Poole, scheduled an Aprilplane-washing event and invited allmembers to participate. This is anevent the Tuscaloosa Squadron en- joys regularly.Everyone was en-couraged to bringhis/her family andenjoy a cookout fol-lowing the plane-washing. Much toeveryone’s surprise,Commander ClaudePoole proved to be an excellentchef, and served up mountains of grilled hamburgers and hot dogs toeager members and their guests onthe terminal ramp of TuscaloosaMunicipal Airport.The squadron aircraft, N9522X,is equipped with SDIS capabilities,which have been used on severalmissions since installation. Tensquadron members are qualified tooperate the new system, and addi-tional members are in the processof receiving SDIS certification. Thegoal of the Tuscaloosa Squadron isto have rapid-response capabilities,with numerous trained back-upcrews in the event of any incident.
Capt Harkey is the Tuscaloosa SquadronPAO
ALWG Squadron Combines Function and Fellowship
By C/Capt Michael J. Staples
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