Conn. Wing conducts statewide exercise for Air Force evalution

 

 

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Senior staff listen during operations planning at the start of a mission.

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Cadets listen closely during a mission briefing.


1st Lt. Robert Johnson
Director of Public Affairs
Connecticut Wing

CONNECTICUT -- The Connecticut Wing combined with staff from the neighboring Rhode Island Wing for a graded multi-incident simulated training exercise over the weekend under the watchful eyes of U.S. Air Force evaluation judges.

Members successfully located and secured a simulated aircraft crash site and treated the victims and also carried out a simulated missing person search in a Connecticut state park.

Participants were also called on to deal with other unexpected, concurrent operational emergencies. They airlifted emergency medications, secured the command facility from a potential outside threat, adapted to power and communications breakdowns, treated a senior team member’s emergency heart attack, located and inspected a potential hazardous waste dump -- all while providing updated multimedia information to the press, public and state agencies throughout the exercise.

To simulate the severity of real life emergency stressors, the missions were crammed into a very tight time frame involving five fully operational aircraft and more than 100 team members including base staff, pilots, observers, mission scanners, photographers and senior members and cadets in the field.

Hartford-Brainard Airport was established as the base of operations, with mission flights launched from that facility and other Connecticut airfields. Ground teams deployed from the Brainard command base and from other squadrons throughout the state.

Senior members served on the command staff, in aircraft and on ground teams.  They flew a number of different search missions, ferried packages and conducted advanced photographic and surveillance technology missions.

Cadets served as both mission base security and staff assistants, and they made up the lion’s share of the ground teams deploying in Civil Air Patrol vans to search their assigned areas on foot and with the aid of electronic tracking devices.