Ala. squadrons participate in wing-wide search and rescue exercise

 

 

(1)
(From left) Mission planning occupies (from left) the Huntsville Composite Squadron’s commander, 1st Lt. Joe Robbins; the Redstone Composite Squadron's logistic officer, 1st Lt. Phil Haberlen; and 2nd Lt. Joel Mason, the Huntsville unit’s aerospace education officer, before takeoff.

(2)
Cadet Airman Matt Hanna of the Redstone Composite Squadron and Capt. Ernie Blair, the Huntsville squadron’s communications officer, provide communications support for aircrews, the local mission base and the incident command post.

(3)
Capt. Ian Johnston, Huntsville Composite Squadron deputy commander, conducts a preflight inspection.

(4)
The Huntsville Composite Squadron’s aerospace education officer, 1st Lt.  Joel Mason, prepares preflight paperwork and charts before flying as mission observer.


1st Lt. Kim Miller
Public Affairs Officer
Redstone Composite Squadron
Alabama Wing

ALABAMA -- The Alabama Wing recently conducted a statewide search and rescue exercise revolving around a scenario in which a Cessna 172 was reported overdue after leaving Northwest Alabama Regional Airport in Muscle Shoals and failing to arrive at Bob Sikes Airport in Crestview, Fla.

As part of the scenario, the simulated flight path would have taken the aircraft through inclement weather that had moved through Alabama earlier in the afternoon.

An incident command post was set up at the Bessemer Airport, but each participating squadron received assignments by phone and left from its own airfield.

In north Alabama, aircrews from the Redstone and Huntsville composite squadrons used the Madison County Executive Airport as their home base. The airport’s fixed base operator served as the squadron’ planning area, while radio communications were performed outside in the Huntsville unit’s Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer, normally used as a mobile command post and employed as a local mission base for the exercise.

Using VHS and HF in combination with repeaters, members staffing the mission base relayed message traffic from the incident command post to the local squadrons’ aircrews and ground teams. The wing’s high-bird plane also proved invaluable in occasionally relaying a message to the Bessemer Airport post.