DECEMBER 2014 CIVIL AIR PATROL

M AGAZINE

L EADING E DGE
CONNECTICUT WING

Connecticut Wing Trains for Proficiency

Two Mitchell Awards for Thames River
CAP to be Awarded Congressional Gold Medal

AEROSPACE EDUCATION – CADET PROGRAMS – EMERGENCY SERVICES

 L EADING E DGE
CONNECTICUT
WING COMMANDER
Colonel Ken Chapman
CHIEF OF STAFF
Lt. Col. Jim Ridley
EASTERN CT GROUP CC
Lt. Col. Tom Litwinczyk
WESTERN CT GROUP CC
Lt. Col. Joe Palys
EDITOR
Major Peter Milano
HEADQUARTERS
Connecticut Wing
Civil Air Patrol
Beers Hall
P.O. Box 1233
Middletown, CT 06457
Phone: (860) 262-5847
Fax: (860) 262-5848
HQ@ctwg.cap.gov
WEBPAGE
http://www.ctwg.cap.gov/
SOCIAL MEDIA
Connecticut Wing
CONNECTICUT WING MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2014
CONTENTS
3 Chaplain’s Corner
5 CTWG Trains for Proficiency
7 Royal Charter Trains with Canines
8 Two Mitchell Awards for Thames River
9 Cadet Awards & Promotions
10 Officer Achievements & Promotions
E 11 Schedule & Training Opportunities
12 Civil Air Patrol Presentation at
X Two Rivers Magnet School
13 Tale of a Comet
C 15 Connecticut Wing Pilots Meeting
E 17 What to Save, What to Trash
19 - Connecticut Wings -
L Emergency Checklist Review
DOV Tip of the Month
L 20 Safety Tips for the Holidays
E 21 Civil Air Patrol to be Awarded
Congressional Gold Medal
N 24 Squadron Leadership School Flyer
25 Submission Guidelines/About CAP
C
E

CTWG Cadet Programs

Cover Photo
Major Jim Vigar, 399th Composite Squadron Commander, reviews direction
finding techniques with cadet Senior Master Sergeant Brandon Gasperino and
Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Anthony Berardo. Both cadets are from the 801st
Cadet Squadron, New Fairfield. (Photo: Major Peter Milano)

“Semper Vigilans”
 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

Chaplain’s Corner

J
esus told a parable about a group
Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel Adma Ross of young women who were part of
Connecticut Wing Chaplain
a wedding party. Ten bridesmaids,
he said, took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. But only five of the bridesmaids
remembered to fill their lamps with oil. Only five of them were prepared. So when the bride-
groom was delayed, five of the ten bridesmaids ran out of oil and had to leave to get more.

The bridegroom came unexpectedly while they were gone, and the bridesmaids who
were prepared joined the wedding party. When the five who had gone to buy more oil returned,
they found the door to the wedding feast locked. They missed the celebration because they
were not prepared. “Therefore keep watch,” says the parable, “because you do not know the
day or the hour.” Keep watch. Be prepared.

“Our missions are directed and sustained as well by the character and spiritual
resources of our personnel. Our core values of integrity, volunteer service,
excellence, and respect mold our leadership and inform our decisions.”

In Civil Air Patrol we devote many volunteer hours and resources to being prepared for
disaster. We engage in search and rescue exercises, aircraft training and operations, and Criti-
cal Incident Stress Management (CISM). Our cadets receive aerospace education and train as
ground teams. In Connecticut Wing we consistently log more mileage and hours for our air-
craft than do neighboring wings. Prepared, we will not thoughtlessly run out of gas or oil mid-
flight as did the bridesmaids in the parable.

On its face, it would appear that the parable is simply telling to be sure never to run out
of fuel in our missions. The bridesmaids’ role was to light the way for the wedding procession.
Half of them brought extra oil and were prepared when the procession was delayed. The others
did not and failed their mission. Be prepared. You never know what the future will bring.

(Continued on page 4)

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

(Continued from page 3, Chaplain’s Corner )

Yet a parable is a story that reaches beyond a simple meaning. In a parable, the meaning
is never explicitly stated, but the story is intended to illustrate a higher truth. In the parable of
the bridesmaids, the hearer is told by analogy to be prepared for further unexpected, deeper,
and far reaching events.

Similarly, in our CAP service, preparedness extends beyond the numbers and resources
we find in our after action reports. Our missions are directed and sustained as well by the char-
acter and spiritual resources of our personnel. Our core values of integrity, volunteer service,
excellence, and respect mold our leadership and inform our decisions. These enduring values
serve as our anchor and bind us together. Furthermore, we are led to volunteer service by per-
sonal spiritual and moral principles that rise out of the fabric of our being. To be prepared, we
must be able to sustain these core beliefs amidst stress and trauma in meeting the needs of our
community and nation in times of disaster. To be prepared for turbulent skies ahead, we must
not only to carry enough oil for the mission. We must ready our moral and spiritual resources
as well.

For more information about Civil Air Patrol’s Chaplain Program

CAP Chaplain Corps

“Civil Air Patrol has a vital interest in the moral and spiritual
welfare of its members. The CAP chaplaincy is an organization of
clergy who are appointed and endorsed as CAP chaplains.
They represent their various denominations and support the
pluralistic ministry of the Civil Air Patrol Chaplain Corps”

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

Connecticut Wing Trains for Proficiency

Major Peter Milano, Connecticut Wing Public Affairs
DANBURY, Connecticut – November 15, 2014 – Civil Air Patrol’s Connecticut Wing
conducted a day long, state-wide search and rescue exercise designed to enhance the proficien-
cy of its cadets and senior members. Hartford-Brainard Airport served as the primary mission
base with Meriden-Markham Municipal Airport and Danbury Municipal Airport serving as sub
-bases for additional operations.

Major Jim Vigar, Commander of the 399th

Danbury Composite Squadron, held an early
morning safety briefing at Danbury Mission
Base and outlined the training format of the
day which included familiarization and pre-
paratory work, then advanced training in the
field. Cadet training focused on ground oper-
ations, which are critical to CAP’s search and
rescue mission, and included radio operator,
direction finding, compass skills and map
work. Major Jim Vigar (L), 399th Danbury Composite Squadron
Commander, checks cadet Senior Master Sergeant Bran-
don Gasperino's (c) map work as cadet Major Connor
The first three cadet ground teams in Danbury Guzda observes. Both cadets are members of the 801st
Cadet Squadron based in New Fairfield, Connecticut.
moved out mid-morning after preparing indi- (Photo: Major Peter Milano)

vidual field equipment and conducting gear inspections. The objective for cadets was to track
and locate an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) which was sending out a simulated air-
craft emergency signal. Cadets used direction finding equipment to track the signal from vari-
ous locations, plotted their findings on maps, and by triangulation effectively located and si-
lenced the ELT which was on an aircraft at Danbury Municipal Airport.

Ongoing training operations continued throughout the day and included additional air
(Continued on page 6)

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

(Continued from page 5, Connecticut Wing Trains for Proficiency)

and ground team exercises. The second sortie

of cadet ground teams set out early afternoon,
coordinating their efforts with Civil Air Patrol
aircraft to locate another distress beacon.
With Captain John Freeman piloting the air-
craft and Captain Johnny Burke serving as
Mission Observer (both from the 399th Dan-
bury Composite Squadron) the ELT was lo-
Cadet Second Lieutenant Matthew DiBlanda (foreground)
cated in the hills of Redding, Connecticut. and Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Joseph Waldron conduct
radio operations during the training exercise at Danbury
The aircrew then successfully directed the ca- Municipal Airport. Both cadets are members of the 399th
Composite Squadron based out of Danbury, Connecticut.
det ground teams in to silence the ELT. (Photo: Major Peter Milano)

Participants at Danbury Mission Base came from CTWG’s Western Connecticut Group
and included members of the 399th Danbury Composite Squadron, 801st New Fairfield Cadet
Squadron, Stratford Eagles Squadron, and the 143rd Waterbury Composite Squadron. Danbury
Mission Base provided training to 22 cadets with 12 senior members providing support, train-
ing and aircrew.

Connecticut Wing Emergency Services

First Lieutenant George Garofalo (l), 143rd Composite
Squadron, and Major Glen Dains (r), 399th Composite
Squadron, check direction finding data provided by Cadet
Chief Master Sergeant Brandon Gasperino (c), 801st Cadet
Squadron New Fairfield, Connecticut.
(Photo: Major Peter Milano)
Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mike Heath, serv-
ing as overall mission commander at Hartford
Mission Base said, “We had a good day of
training out of three operational areas. Lieu-
tenant Colonel John deAndrade (Thames Riv-
er Composite Squadron) did an excellent job
as Planning Section Chief and many members
across the wing renewed or received new
qualifications.”

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ●
Royal Charter Squadron
Trains with Canines
Captain April Krason
Public Affairs Officer/CT-071
O
n October 26, 2014 Royal
Charter Composite Squadron
was invited to participate in
one of the Connecticut Canine Search and
Rescue’s (CCSAR) training exercises in a re-
mote location in northern Connecticut.
“CCSAR is a volunteer, nonprofit or-
ganization dedicated to providing a profes-
sional team response to all emergency service
agency requests for lost, missing or drowned
persons; advancing education in search and
rescue; and offering support for families of
lost and missing persons. Their unit consists
of dog teams and support personnel. They
train and certify to standards similar to those
of many search and rescue units throughout
the United States” (http://www.ccsar.org/history.html).
CCSAR has ten certified Air-Scent
Search Dogs, seven certified Cadaver Search
Dogs, one certified Trailing Search Dog, five
certified Water Search Dogs, and five Disas-
ter Trained Search Dogs.
The morning was cold and misty but
the cadets came prepared with winter gear. A
morning briefing by Al Beland included basic
ground navigation skills training to help ca-
dets understand the search process. Mr.
Beland, a member of Connecticut Canine
“Citizens Serving Communities”
DECEMBER 2014
Canine Chloe relaxes as handler Don Miner (CCSAR)
instructs Royal Charter Cadets SSgt. Benjamin Ramsey (l)
and Amn. Johnathan Bell (r) during a training exercise.
(Photo: Captain April Krason)
Search & Rescue, is a dog handler with certi-
fications in woodland, water and human re-
mains detection. The briefing was followed
by several navigation exercises to measure
distance by foot and navigation to a point.
After the exercises cadets and seniors
were broken into groups that would be dis-
patched either to be hidden in remote loca-
tions or sent out with a handler and dog to
search. It was an exciting experience to watch
the dogs be given a command and go to work.
No matter the distance, terrain, or hiding
place, the dogs would alert their handlers in
an amazingly short time that they had found
their “victim” or cadaver scent.
The dogs’ rewards were simple, a fa-
vorite toy, a food treat or just an excited re-
sponse from the “victim” or handler. The
squadron also learned the dogs were just
“regular” pets when off duty.
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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

Two Mitchell Awards for Thames River Composite Squadron

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Rocketto, Public Affairs Officer/CT-075

C
adets and seniors met in concert to honor Cadet Second Lieutenant Keith
Trotochaud and Cadet Second Lieutenant Jessica Carter for earning their
Mitchell Awards on October 28, 2014. Cadets earn the Major General Billy
Mitchell Award after completing the first eight achievements in the CAP Cadet Program.

Major Roy Borque explained that these achievements require a candidate to pass two
closed book exams, in leadership and aerospace education, with grades of 80% or higher. They
must also attend a cadet encampment, pass a physical fitness test, and assume some squadron
duty such as a Flight Commander or Public Affairs Officer.

C/2dLt Trotochaud joined Thames River Composite Squadron in July of 2011 and is
currently Deputy Cadet Commander. He has served on the Connecticut Wing Cadet Advisory
Council and earned awards for performance at two CTWG Summer encampments. Trotochaud
is a sophomore at the Marine Magnet School in Groton where he is an active member of the
track, fencing, and cross-county teams.

C/2dLt Jessica Carter also joined CAP in 2011 but initially served in the Randolph Com-
posite Squadron, Randolph AFB, San Antonio, Texas before transferring to TRCS in August of
2013. Cadet Carter has held a number of squadron staff positions and has attended Non-
commissioned Officer Academy. Cadet Carter is a sophomore at East Lyme High School who
enjoys playing guitar and softball and studying psychology.

Lieutenant Colonel Lief Bergey was Master of Ceremonies. Wing Headquarters was rep-
resented by Major Robin Wojtcuk, former member of the squadron and CTWG Director of Ca-
det Programs, and Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Rocketto, CTWG Director of Aerospace Educa-
tion, offered remarks about Billy Mitchell's career and achievements.

Representative Kevin Ryan, 139th district representing Montville, Bozrah and Norwich,
presented Trotochaud and Carter with Official Citations recognizing their achievements. Ryan
also praised Civil Air Patrol for its Cadet Program.

- “Civil Air Patrol instills the organization’s core values in its cadets -
Respect, Integrity, Volunteer Service and Excellence”

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

CADET AWARDS TECHNICAL SERGEANT

& PROMOTIONS Rickenbacker Achievement
Victor Korman CT-073
Aaron Mullally CT-801
CAPTAIN
Earhart Award STAFF SERGEANT
Christian Tynan CT-075 Wright Brothers Award
Dylan La Voie CT-014
SECOND LIEUTENANT
Jack Brophy CT-073
Mitchell Award
Jakob Leon CT-074
Noah Chokas CT-074

SENIOR AIRMAN
CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT
Feik Achievement
Goddard Achievement
Matthew Lucibello CT-073
Nicholas Knight CT-062
AIRMAN FIRST CLASS
SENIOR MASTER SERGEANT
Arnold Achievement
Doolittle Achievement
Christian Colon CT-011
Quadae Davis CT-011
Michael Bachand CT-058
Michael Hollingsworth CT-075
Kyle Duffner CT-071
Daniel Hollingsworth CT-075
David Dymarczyk CT-073
Marc Jonas CT-801
Colin Pate CT-801 AIRMAN
Curry Achievement
MASTER SERGEANT Brandon Sosa CT-014
Lindberg Achievement Johnathan Bell CT-071
Andrew Carlson CT-071 William Bruce CT-073
Benjamin Young CT-071 Colin O’Sullivan CT-073
Liam McGrath CT-801 Berket Tewolde CT-073
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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

OFFICER ACHIEVEMENTS & PROMOTIONS

SQUADRON COMMANDER SECOND LIEUTENANT

APPOINTMENT Susan Poe
CT-075
Lt. Col. John DeAndrade Lieutenant Poe serves as assistant Deputy
Thames River Squadron, CT-075 Commander of Cadets at Thames River
Squadron. She is highly active in squadron
activities and three of her children serve in
the cadet ranks.

AEROSPACE EDUCATION
YEAGER AWARD
(3rd & 4th Quarters)

Michael Bracken, 1st. Lt.

186th Composite Squadron, CT-058

April Krason, Captain

Daniel Leone, 2d. Lt.
Royal Charter Squadron, CT-071

Everette Hadley, Captain

Danielson Cadet Squadron, CT-074
Francisco Mariano, 2d Lt.
Thames River Squadron, CT-075
Lieutenant Colonel Joe Palys, Western Connecticut
Group Commander, presents Major Jim Vigar, 399th
Composite Squadron Commander, with an achievement
award for outstanding performance during the Novem-
ber 15, 2014 SAREX. Danbury Mission Base provided
training to 22 cadets with 12 senior members providing
support, training and air crew. (Photo: Major Peter Milano)

“Though Civil Air Patrol is known for its flying missions, CAP adults members, known as Senior
Members, do so much more than just fly. In fact less than a fifth of all CAP members are pilots or
aircrew members. CAP adult members come from all walks of life. Some are doctors, nurses, para-
medics, or other medical professionals. Others are lawyers, paralegals, accountants, computer pro-
grammers, and other business professionals and executives. Mechanics, cooks, teachers, police
officers, clergy, parents, really just about any career or background can be useful to and found in
the ranks of the CAP adult membership. CAP supports a variety of missions that require adults
from all walks of life that you may not know about.”
For more information see www.gocivilairpatrol.com

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CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

SCHEDULE & TRAINING Legislative Delegation

OPPORTUNITIES
National Cadet Special Activities
Open Registration for Summer Activities
December 1, 2014 - January 15, 2015
(Including the new Col. Mary Feik Flight Scholarship)
http://www.ncsas.com/
CAC Meeting/Christmas Party
December 3, 2014; Middletown, CT
Cadet Leadership/NCO School
December 27, 2014 - January 3, 2015
CAC Phone Conference
January 7, 2015; 7 p.m.
I
n light of the recent election, the
Connecticut Legislative Initiative is
multiplying efforts to strengthen re-
lationships between cadets and the state leg-
islators. Legislative Liaison Officer Lieuten-
ant Colonel Brooks, and his cadet equivalent
C/Colonel Palys (CT-011), are presently
working with legislators to arrange a Cadets
at the Capital event in Hartford sometime in
the coming months.

Squadron Leadership School

January 10-11, 2015 Cadets are asked to contact C/Col. Palys
Meriden Airport
at maggiep52397@gmail.com if they are in-
(see details on page 25)
terested in learning more about the upcom-
Mandatory DCC Meeting
January 21, 2015; Middletown, CT ing letter-writing campaign to allocate funds

Cadet Competition from the state for the Cadet Program, or in

March 28, 2015; Tentative taking part in the Cadet Delegation that will
Howard E. Palmer Cadet Ball be representing Connecticut at Legislative
September 12, 2015
U.S. Coast Guard Academy Day in Washington DC in February.

DCP Visit Schedule

Major Robin Wojtcuk
Connecticut Wing Director of Cadet Programs

Jan 13 - CT/042 Feb 20 - CT/004

First Air/CPR Training
Jan 22 - CT/062 Feb 26 - CT/022
First Aid and CPR Training is available
Jan 27 - CT/011 Mar 03 - CT/073 to all members of Connecticut Wing.
Feb 03 - CT/075 Mar 13 - CT/071 If you want to schedule training please
contact Major Marlene Welch at
Feb 05 - CT/074 Mar 16 - CT/014

Feb 10 - CT/058 TBD CT/801

medictroll27@gmail.com

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

O
CAP Presentation at n October 28, 2014 Lieu-
Two Rivers Magnet School
tenant Colonel Stephen
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Rocketto
Connecticut Wing Aerospace Education Officer Rocketto presented a Civil
Air Patrol familiarization talk and some demonstrations of the physical principles of aero-
nautics while visiting the Flight Academy at Two Rivers Magnet School in Hartford, Conn.

The Flight Academy is a special, extra-curricular program conceived of and run by Dr.
Robert Polselli who is a Certified Flight Instructor and teaches engineering and technology at
Two Rivers Magnet School.

The program is designed to appeal to students who are interested in aviation and wish to
learn to fly. The students use two classroom flight simulators and are offered the opportunity to
fly with Polselli using aircraft provided by a Brainard fixed base operator.

Civil Air Patrol familiarization was accomplished using the new computer slide presen-
tation created by First Lieutenant David Meers and Lieutenant Colonel Rocketto. After a short
question and answer session about CAP, Rocketto presented some demonstrations involving
Bernoulli's Principle, gyroscopic stability, and air pressure and invited the students, in the spir-
it of Socratic dialogue to either explain or question what had been observed. Spirited argument
ensued as the students analyzed the phenomena observed.

Rocketto discussed the possibility of forming a CAP school based squadron at Two Riv-
ers and they will study the requirements with the hope of bringing it to fruition.

A short video about the program may be found at:

http://www.youtube.com

Civil Air Patrol’s award-winning aerospace education program promotes

aerospace history, flight principles and careers. Many of the nation’s astronauts,
pilots, engineers and scientists first explored their careers in CAP.

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ●
Aerospace Current Events
Tale of a Comet
Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Rocketto
Connecticut Wing Aerospace Education Officer
T
he European Space Agency
(ESA) recently succeeded in
deploying the Philae Probe
from the Rosetta orbiter for a soft landing on
Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on No-
vember 12, 2014. The trip took 10 years and
some of the scientists, engineers, and techni-
cians have worked for over two decades to
make this extraordinary event possible.
The astronomer Fred Whipple postulat-
ed that comets are akin to dirty snowballs.
Most orbit the sun in both short and long peri-
od elliptical orbits which are thought to origi-
nate in the Kuiper Belt or Oort's Cloud.
The Kuiper belt is a region of the solar
system which extends for about 50 astronomi-
cal units outward from Neptune (an astronom-
ical unit is the distance from the sun to the
earth, about 93 million miles). Oort's Cloud is
believed to extend from the sun for a distance
of 50 thousand astronomical units.
Some scientists hypothesize that com-
ets, which contain solid minerals and gaseous
materials such as carbon dioxide, water vapor,
ammonia, and methane in a solid state are the
detritus of materials left over from the origi-
nal formation of the solar system some 4.5
billion years ago and may have seeded the
“Citizens Serving Communities”
DECEMBER 2014
Still image from animation of Philae descending to
the surface of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko on
November 12, 2014. (Credit: ESA/ATG medialab)
earth with water and organic chemicals.
For most of their lives, comets range
far from the sun and are solid objects. As they
approach the sun and warm up, some of the
gases vaporize, form the coma which reflects
the light which might make them easily visual
and is referred to as the “tail” of the comet.
Actually, the vaporized gases are acted on by
solar winds and point away from the sun so
that on their outbound journey, the tail leads
the more or less spherical “head.”
Many folk tales associate comets with
portents of calamity or disaster. For instance,
the Bayeux Tapestry, a medieval embroidery
over 200 feet long, depicts Halley’s Comet at
the Battle of Hastings in which the English
King Harold was killed and his lands fell to
the Normans under William Duke of Norman-
dy. The ancient Chinese believed comets
brought bad luck. Native Americans regarded
comets as omens of disaster.
Mark Twain, born in 1835 when Hal-
(Continued on page 14)
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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014
(Continued from page 13, Tale of a Comet)

ley's Comet made an appearance, predicted that he would die when Comet Halley reappeared.
He stated:

I came in with Halley's Comet... It is coming again ... and I expect to go out with it...
The Almighty has said, no doubt: 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they
came in together, they must go out together.'

Twain died in 1910, seventy five years later when Halley's Comet made its third pass
around the sun as predicted by the scientist Edmund Halley in 1758.

A psychological explanation of these beliefs

probably lies in the fact that comets appear in the
relatively stable sky, often considered the abode of
the gods, and change can be upsetting to a rela-
tively stable social group.

The quest for knowledge, not superstition,

drove the ESA team who sought information about
the composition of the elements and minerals, the
topographic features, and the gaseous environment
which surrounds to nucleus of 67P/Churyumov-
Gerasimenko, all of which might then help answer
fundamental questions about the early solar sys-
The Bayeux Tapestry and the Appearance of Hal-
tem and the formation of the earth. ley’s Comet in 1066 A.D. Onlookers are pointing to
the comet in the upper right of the panel.
(Credit: www.aerospaceguide.net/)
Data has been recovered from both the Ro-
setta Orbiter and the Philae lander. Unfortunately, the final position of the lander on the rocky
surface placed it in a unfavorable position for its solar panels to receive enough light to re-
charge its batteries and all contact was lost after about 33 hours on the surface. It is hoped that
the orbit of the comet will place the solar cells in a more advantageous position around August
2015 and Philae can be awakened.

During its short life, Philae did manage to provide valuable data and photographs. Ro-
setta will continue to travel with the comet and acquire information about the gravitational
field and gases which make up the coma.
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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

CTWG Pilots Meeting

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Rocketto
Connecticut Wing Aerospace Education Officer

M
ajor Roger Malagutti and
the Silver City Cadet (CT-
014) Squadron hosted a
Connecticut Wing pilots meeting on Saturday
November 8, 2014 at Meriden-Markham Air-
port, Meriden, Connecticut.

Wing Commander Colonel Kenneth Colonel Sturges, Connecticut Wing Director of

Operations, explains the importance of flying
Chapman offered a “State of CTWG Air Opera- aircraft assigned to the wing.
(Photo: Lt. Col. Stephen Rocketto)
tions” presentation to the 30 assembled pilots.
He noted that Connecticut Wing placed second in Northeast Region aircraft usage.

Colonel Chapman then discussed plans for 2015. At present, CTWG has eight aircraft
assigned, but this will reduce to seven with the departure of 04E for Vermont where it will be
used a glider tow plane. A replacement may be acquired in the spring and Chapman is hoping
that this will be a Cessna 182 or the Gippsland GA-8. The number of aircraft assigned to a
Wing is a function of usage with 20 hour/aircraft/quarter seen as a minimum.

Additional funding has been allocated for pilot and air crew proficiency flights and addi-
tional counter-drug assignments may be expected in the coming year. Funding is available for
cadet orientation flights and squadrons are encouraged to assure that their cadets receive the
five power flights to which they are entitled. Orientation flights are one of the keys to retain
cadets in the CAP program. Glider flights will commence in the spring. Money is also availa-
ble to take teachers who are CAP Aerospace Education Members on flights.

The arrangement for glider training was explained. Fundamentally, glider orientation
flights have been outsourced to the Connecticut Soaring Association (CSA). The CSA provides

(Continued on page 16)

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

(Continued from page 15, CTWG Pilots Meeting)

a tow plane. The instructors are members of both CSA and CAP.

Chapman noted that the Wing will face a U.S. Air Force Operational Evaluation and
preparations are already in motion to bring our emergency services resources to an even higher
standard than already achieved.

A surprise was the announcement that the 2015 CTWG Conference will break with tra-
dition and will be a fly-in at some selected airfield. A range of activities for cadets and a barbe-
que will be part of the day-long event.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter “Sandy” Sanderson chose to lecture on the concept of

“professionalism” as a necessary ingredient of a “safe” flight culture. He argued that safety is a
top-down process which develops education and training programs to establish high standards
for flight operations.

Colonel Lloyd Sturges, Connecticut Wing Director of Operations, was the last speaker
and covered two areas of concern. The first was aircraft usage. In the three fiscal years 2012-
2014, CTWG registered very high rates on the order of 250 hours/aircraft and led Northeast
Region for two of those years. However, a guarantee of available aircraft depends upon high
quarterly usage rates. The 2015 FY may find CTWG with eight aircraft supported by more
USAF and grant financial support. This will demand that CTWG pilots fly the airplanes on op-
erational missions, orientation flights, and pilot proficiency and crew training exercises in or-
der to maintain the size of our fleet.

The second part of Sturges' briefing focused on the critical subject of submitting the re-
quired paperwork for each flight. The paper work demands legible and complete log books and
WIMRS entries for each mission. He detailed the steps necessary for each of the forms and
emphasized the importance of a timely submission of data. The USAF pays for much of our
operations and their rules on the quality, quantity, and clarity of required documentation must
be observed in order to maintain their financial support.

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

A
What to Save, What to Trash s your unit prepares to hunker
Captain Christopher Keenan down for the winter, someone
Connecticut Wing Historian
might say, "Hey, let's clean
up the office." Before you just throw out all of the old paperwork, take the time to look
through what you are trashing. Remember, one man's trash is the historians treasure. The fol-
lowing article is taken from the Army Medical Departments Center of History newsletter, The
AMEDD Historian, Number 1, 2013.

"In making your determinations about the historical value of your files, your initial crite-
ria should be based on the standard DOTLMPF model (Doctrine, Organization, Training,
Leadership, Material, Personnel, Facilities). If the documents address significant changes or
analysis of any DOTLMPF categories, they should probably be saved. Other considerations for
assessing historical value (with handy acronyms to aid in remembering):

SAVE:
 Size of the material. Is it a cabinet or truck load? Sometimes the sheer quantity of material
makes it impractical to sort through everything, and one must assume that nothing of signif-
icant historical value exists in a mass of unsorted paper.
 Are there other copies; especially are there multiple copies on-site? Only one copy should
be sent for archiving – duplication in the collection only leads to confusion. Keep a list to
avoid duplicates.
 Value of the documents. Does it capture an event, change, or other item of interest? If so,
send it to the research collection.
 Excessive documentation of a particular subject. If several documents lead up to a single
significant decision, and a decision paper captures the information, perhaps only the deci-
sion paper should be saved.

-If, based on the criteria above, you feel that archiving might be warranted, look for:

(Continued on page 18)

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

(Continued from page 17, What to Save, What to Trash)

PAPERS:
 Personnel or people in command
CONNECTICUT WING
 Actions of major or unique units
WISHES EVERYONE
 PERtinent location information about de-
ployed units or personnel
A HAPPY HOLIDAY
 Significance in regards to major (CAP) SEASON!
missions.

DOCS:
 Documents that are historic (opinions will
vary, but this could include things like hand-
written notes from commanders, original written
orders, field notebooks, etc.)

 Organizational changes
 Changes of command
 Structure and mission of the unit/activity

Documents that are identified as

"achieves" should be turned over to your units
Cadets, Senior Officers &
historian for cataloging and storage. You nev- Squadron Public Affairs Officers
er know, that memo you saved might be the
Submit your news, photos and event
"Rosetta Stone" to a future CAP historian. listings for publication to
publicaffairs@ctwg.cap.gov
This is a great time to start listing up-
coming activities to make sure members
have plenty of planning time to attend
your event or training.

Deadline for the January

issue is January 4, 2015

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ●
Connecticut Wings
Captain Johnny Burke, Connecticut Wing Standards & Eval Officer
Emergency Checklist Review
T his month’s Emergency Checklist
Review is Autopilot or Pitch Trim
Annunciator ON. A runaway trim or
autopilot trim disagreement could give you
this problem.
All five steps are Immediate Action Items,
and are self-explanatory.
AP or PTRM Annuciator On
1. Ctrl Wheel...Grasp Firmly, regain
control of airplane
2. AP TRIM DISC button...Press and
hold throughout recovery
3. Trim controls......Adjust Manually
4. Autopilot CB.......OPEN (pull out)
5. AP Trim Disc....RELEASE
WARNING
Do not engage AP until cause of
malfunction is corrected.
The Autopilot CB should be “collared” for
easy identification. If not, it’s the lower right
hand CB, in front of the pilot.
T
Night Currency
ake advantage of our Pilot Proficiency
funds and the new “profile 10 - Take-
offs and Landings,” to get night current. Ori-
entation pilots, Transportation Mission pilots
and Mission pilots can all use “profile 10.”
“Citizens Serving Communities”
DECEMBER 2014
DOV Tip of the Month
R
emove all frost, snow, and ice
from the wing surface before
attempting flight. During
cold weather conditions, it is best to park the
aircraft in a heated hangar. If an aircraft is
parked in an area blowing snow, special at-
tention should be given to openings in the air-
craft where snow can enter, freeze solid and
obstruct operation. These openings should be
free of snow and ice before flight. Some of
these areas are as follows:
 Pitot tube
 Heater intakes
 Carburetor intake
 Anti-torque and elevator controls
 Main wheel and tail wheel wells,
where snow can freeze around ele-
vator and rudder controls. –FAA
Ground Handling Video Credit
W e recently learned that you must
watch the ground handling video,
before you take the test, in order to get credit
for renewal in ops qual. If you take the test
without watching the video, the computer
will not give you credit.
PAGE 19
 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

Safety Tips for the Holidays

Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Valastro, Connecticut Wing Safety Officer

F
irst of all I would like to wish you all a very happy and SAFE holiday season.
The holiday season is a joyous time of year but one fraught with many dangers.
It is a time of busyness and distraction which can take little accidents and make
them tragedies.

I was a volunteer firefighter for 16 years and EMS for 12 years in a few different dis-
tricts and can tell you from experience that the holidays can be dangerous. I will not allow a
real Christmas tree into our home because I know it will not get the watering it deserves. If you
have a real tree you must assure that it has the water it needs to not dry out. Please go to the
following link and watch the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) video showing the
difference between a properly watered tree and a dry one; https://www.youtube.com/christmastreefire.
It takes less than 30 seconds for the tree to be engulfed and the heat it produces will cause the
room it is in to be engulfed in flames within 90 seconds.

While this is probably the most dangerous thing you could encounter there are many
other things to be careful with while decorating for the holidays. Check your lights, the exten-
sion cords and outlets they are plugged into. If you are putting lights outside make sure they
are outdoor rated and keep connections off the ground so they cannot get wet and short out.

Many religions have holidays this time of year and many of those involve candles or
other open flames. Be very cautious with open flames and the curiosity of children. Many of us
have relatives over for holiday meals. We get rushed and distracted while cooking. The kitchen
is normally a dangerous place but that danger multiplies during large get togethers. Turn your
pot handles into the stove, out of reach of children, or the possibility of knocking into them. Be
cautious when dealing with large items in the oven, turkeys and hams produce juices over 300
degrees and can easily spill, causing very bad burns.

It only takes a few seconds to either think about safety or have an accident.
Please choose to think about safety this holiday season.

There are more safety hints and tips in the Civil Air Patrol National Safety
newsletters found on the capmembers.com safety newsletter page.
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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

Civil Air Patrol to be Awarded Congressional Gold Medal

CAP’s World War II heroes will be available at Capitol for interviews Dec. 10
CAP National and Major Peter Milano, Connecticut Wing Public Affairs

MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. – On Dec. 10, Civil Air Patrol will be awarded the
Congressional Gold Medal on Capitol Hill in honor of its founding members’ role in protecting
the homeland against deadly German U-boat attacks during World War II and carrying out oth-
er vital wartime domestic missions.

The Congressional Gold Medal ceremony will take place at 3 p.m. in Statuary Hall at the Capi-
tol. About 40 living veterans and dozens of members of their families as well as the families of
deceased veterans will be in attendance. Later that evening a celebratory dinner sponsored by
CITGO will be held at 7 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Virginia,
where bronze replica medals will be presented to the World War II-era CAP members courtesy
of the oil giant. Sunoco and Sunoco Logistic are also major sponsors of the events.

Among those being recognized by the award is Joel

Fairfax of Madison Connecticut. A charter member of
Connecticut Wing’s Danbury squadron, he still has his
original CAP ID card from 1941. He was assigned to
perform coastal patrols in Bar Harbor, Maine, but his
job in the defense manufacturing industry, making
machine tools for aircraft, was deemed too important
to the war effort for him to take time off. Joel contin-
ues to fly to this day.

Some 200,000 men, women and teenagers from all

walks of life – including stars of the silver screen and
successful businessmen, future Tuskegee Airmen and
aspiring pilots – participated in CAP during the war
years, largely without recognition or reward. The or-
ganization was founded Dec. 1, 1941, six days before
Pearl Harbor.
Among those being recognized for the
Veterans in attendance at the event will include: Congressional Gold Medal is Joel Fairfax of
Madison Connecticut. Mr. Fairfax is a charter
 A pair of centenarians – T. Guy Reynolds, who turns 102 member of the Danbury squadron.
(Photo: Major Peter Milano)
on Nov. 30, and Jeri Truesdell, who celebrated her 100th

(Continued on page 22)

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

(Continued from page 21, Civil Air Patrol to be Awarded Congressional Gold Medal)

birthday Feb. 16. Reynolds, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, founded the West Virginia Wing’s Martins-
burg Composite Squadron in 1943. Truesdell, who lives in Winnetka, California, joined CAP in 1942 and
served until 1944 as a pilot in the Illinois Wing.

 Along with Truesdell, early female aviators like Jayne Pace of Houston, who flew as a Louisiana Wing pi-
lot starting in 1945, and Etta “Kitty” Bass Knight of Spruce Creek, Florida.

 Gail Halvorsen of Amada, Arizona, the U.S. Air Force’s “Uncle Wiggly Wings,” who is famed for drop-
ping chocolate to deprived children on the Soviet-controlled side of Berlin during the 1948 Berlin Airlift,
and who credits CAP with teaching him how to fly after he joined in 1942.

 George Boyd of Wichita, Kansas, and Wallace C. Higgins of Alfred Station, N.Y., who joined the Tuskeg-
ee Airmen after training as CAP cadets in New Jersey and New York, respectively.

 Lester L. Wolff of East Norwich, New York, who flew anti-submarine missions for CAP’s New York
Wing, more than two decades before he served as a U.S. representative for New York in the House from
1965-1980.

 Five of Wolff’s fellow sub chasers – Robert Arn of Westerville, Ohio, who served at CAP’s Coastal Patrol
Base 14 in Panama City, Florida, from September 1942-June 1943; James Fletcher of Sugar Land, Texas,
who served at Coastal Patrol Base 4 in Parksley, Virginia; Carl Jividen of Londonderry, Ohio, who not on-
ly flew out of but also helped build Base 14 in Panama City; Emery Overcash of Moore, South Carolina,
who served at Coastal Patrol Base 21 in Beaufort, North Carolina; and Gilbert Russell of Granite Quarry,
North Carolina, who served at Coastal Patrol Base 16 in Manteo, North Carolina.

 Otha H. Vaughan, of Huntsville, Alabama, whose experiences and training as a CAP cadet in South Caroli-
na helped lead to an Air Force stint and, ultimately, a career with NASA that included involvement in de-
veloping Saturn series rockets for the Apollo program and in designing the Lunar Rover.

Also attending will be the families of:

 Willa Brown, the first African-American woman to earn a private pilot’s license and to hold a commercial
pilot’s license in the U.S.

 Vernon Rudolph, the founder of Krispy Kreme Donuts Inc.

 Richard L. Yuengling Sr., the fourth co-president and manager of D.G. Yuengling and Son, the oldest
brewery in the U.S. that’s still active today.

Other high-profile CAP members during the war years included a significant Hollywood con-
tingent, most notably famed actors Robert Cummings and Mary Astor; Meinhardt Raabe, who
(Continued on page 23)

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

(Continued from page 22, Civil Air Patrol to be Awarded Congressional Gold Medal)

portrayed the Munchkin coroner in “The Wizard of Oz;” Henry King Jr., a noted Hollywood
director from 1915-1961 and one of 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences; and Jose Iturbi, a world-famous pianist and harpsichordist who also appeared in sev-
eral Hollywood films in the 1940s.

During the war members of CAP’s coastal patrols, flying their own or borrowed planes flew 24
million miles from March 1942-August 1943 over the Atlantic and Gulf coasts in order to ward
off German U-boat attacks against U.S. shipping – especially domestic oil tankers bound for
Europe to help fuel the military machine. They did so at the request of the U.S. Petroleum In-
dustry War Council, because the U.S. Navy lacked the resources to guard against the subma-
rine attacks and provide escorts for commercial convoys.

The CAP coastal patrols, flying out of 21 bases located along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from
Maine to the southern tip of Texas, spotted 173 U-boats and attacked 57. They also escorted
more than 5,600 convoys and reported 17 floating mines, 36 bodies, 91 ships in distress and
363 survivors in the water.

Other pioneering Civil Air Patrol members patrolled the country’s borders by air, vigilant for
potential saboteurs. In addition, they towed targets for military trainees, watched for forest
fires, conducted search and rescue missions, provided disaster relief and emergency transport
of people and parts and conducted orientation flights for future pilots.

In all, 65 CAP members lost their lives in the line of duty by the end of the war.

The Senate passed legislation authorizing the Congressional Gold Medal in May 2013, with
the House following suit a year later. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law May 30.

“I salute CAP’s founding members for their legacy of service and sacrifice in protecting the
homeland during World War II,” said Maj. Gen. Joe Vazquez, CAP’s national commander.
“Now, some 73 years later, CAP’s rich history of service continues. Modern-day members,
nearly 60,000 strong, still perform vital homeland security missions, search and rescue mis-
sions and provide emergency response for natural and manmade disasters.”

In-depth information about CAP and its World War II missions and members,
including those listed above, can be found at
www.capgoldmedal.com

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 CONNECTICUT WING NEWS
Important Facts
 Dates: 10 -11 January 2015
 Cost: FREE
 Location: Meriden Airport,
213 Evansville Ave.
Meriden, CT 06451
 Required for completion of
Level II of the CAP SM Pro-
fessional Development Pro-
gram.
 Every Senior Member
needs an SLS and CLC to
advance in the CAP senior
member program.
 Classes taught by experi-
enced CAP officers, com-
mand and staff.
Contact
Major Roger Malagutti
SLS Director
(203) 597-7106
rmalagutti@aol.com
Fax (203) 574-0405
- Register on the Connecticut Wing Professional Development Webpage -
http://ctwg.cap.gov/professional-development.html
● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014
Welcome to the Winter 2015
Squadron Leadership School
Purpose of the School
Squadron Leadership School (SLS) provides Civil Air Patrol’s
adult members with a basic understanding of CAP operations at the
squadron level and how those operations affect CAP’s national mis-
sions. Additionally, members learn more about CAP customs, core val-
ues and communications. Case studies, discussion and group assign-
ments are integral facets of the SLS program. Squadron Leadership
Schools are administered at group or wing level and last from 12 to 16
class room hours. Students completing SLS are awarded a certificate
of completion and this training is noted on their permanent record.
SLS is open to all seniors in Requirements
CTWG and Northeast Region
 Be a CAP Senior
Member in good
What courses are being taught? standing
 Officership & The Public Trust  Completion of Level 1
 Introduction to Professional Development  Be motivated!
 Squadron Staff Officer  Completed and
signed CAPF17
 Squadrons: The Heart of CAP mailed to CTWG HQ
 Introduction to Leadership  UOD: AF Blues or
corporate.
 The Staff Officer as a Communicator
 Registration cut off
 Creative Thinking and Problem Solving date: 1 Jan 2015
 Best Practices
 Learn How to Become a Good Squadron Officer
Morning coffee and donuts will be provided, lunch is on your own.
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CONNECTICUT WING NEWS ● LEADING EDGE MAGAZINE ● DECEMBER 2014

Leading Edge Magazine is published monthly by Connecticut Wing, Civil Air Patrol,
a private, charitable, benevolent corporation and auxiliary of the United States Air Force.

Submission Guidelines

Send submissions in Microsoft Word format or in the body of your email:

publicaffairs@ctwg.cap.gov

Edit copy according to Associated Press Style.

Photos should be sent as attachments in JPG format and must meet uniform compliance.

Identify all persons in photo’s and include credits.

Deadline for the January 2015 issue is 4 January

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit or-
ganization with 60,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. CAP,
in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs about 85 percent of continental U.S. inland
search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Cen-
ter and is credited by the AFRCC with saving an average of 70 lives annually. Its
unpaid professionals also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug in-
terdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The mem-
bers play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more
than 25,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet programs. Per-
forming missions for America for over 70 years, CAP will receive the Congression-
al Gold Medal in 2015 in honor of the heroic efforts of its World War II veterans.
CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor
and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans.
Visit
www.gocivilairpatrol.com www.capvolunteernow.com www.capgoldmedal.com

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Copyright © 2014 Connecticut Wing, Civil Air Patrol. All rights reserved. PAGE 25