Minn. members brave below-zero cold for annual Winter Survival Exercise

 

 

(1)
Temperatures of 20 below have no impact on Duluth Composite Squadron Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Marshall Vondy’s compass.

(2)
(From left) Cadet Tech. Sgt. David Helgager and Cadet Senior Airman Tom Rogers of the Northland Composite Squadron, Cadet Staff Sgt. Eva  Berg of the Grand Rapids Composite Squadron and Cadet Senior Master Sgts. Jacob Jones of the Duluth Composite Squadron and Jacob Fliehr of the 130th Composite Squadron make their way through deep snow.

(3)
At Mission Base, 2nd Lt. Danielle Schrader of the Northland Composite Squadron tries to ward off the cold during radio duty.

(4)
Capt. Richard Zeman of the Northwest Minnesota Composite Squadron gives a cold thumbs-up.

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Cadet 2nd Lt. Libby Berg (left) and Cadet Staff Sgt. Eva Berg of the Grand Rapids Composite Squadron show off their shelter.

(6)
“It was worth the drive,” says Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Andrew Heisel of the Hutchinson Composite Squadron.


Capt. Robin Helgager
Commander
Northland Composite Squadron
Minnesota Wing

MINNESOTA – Temperatures were already hovering around 15 below when more than 50 members from 12 squadrons converged Jan. 22 on a wooded area in Minnesota’s North Country for the wing’s annual Winter Survival Exercise, hosted this year by the Northland Composite Squadron in Bemidji.

As ground teams were assigned, the group received a safety briefing and extra instructions on keeping with a buddy, sleeping a minimum of two cadets to a tent and assessing cold weather injuries.

Ground team leaders were given the coordinates to the campsite area, and the trek began. The deep snow muffled the sounds of the teams crunching through the woods with heavy 72-hour packs and cold weather gear.

Upon arriving at the campsite, cadets and senior members began gathering materials from the forest floor for their shelters and the common bonfires. The area chosen featured numerous fallen branches and limbs quite suitable for the exercise.

For Cadet Airman 1st Class Chris Madsen of the Northland Composite Squadron, “the shelter building was the best part of the weekend.”

Cadets pulled tarps and parachute cord from their packs for the construction of their weekend homes.  Later, after each structure was in place, they began covering their shelters in multiple inches of snow for insulation.

As the temperatures plummeted to 24 below, cold cadets were escorted back to a warm fish house provided by Capt. Mark Shorter of the Tri-County Senior Squadron to warm up. Along with the fish house and the use of his property for the activity, Shorter donated a snowmobile, propane tank and lots of extra plowing to make room for the mission base. 

The mission base was manned with round-the-clock communications by Maj. Ken Hartwig, 2nd Lt. Danielle Schrader and Senior Member Rachel Helgager, all of the Northland squadron. The unit’s 1st Lt. Don Helgager, winter survival project officer, and 2nd Lt. Tom Stinar, training officer, directed the ground teams, while fellow Northland members 2nd Lt. Patti Schrader and Rachel Helgager served as administration officers and 2nd Lt. John Schrader was safety officer for the weekend.

Temperatures rose a bit Saturday morning, and after breakfast by the fire came a full day of ground and air operations training.
 
Participating pilots – Lt. Col. Keith Bischoff, Group 1 commander; Majs. Edwin Culbert Jr. and Charles Schumacher and Capt. Pat Lawler of the Duluth Composite Squadron; and Capt. Ray Majkzrak of the Northland squadron -- trained throughout the day with exercises geared toward better air-to-ground communication. Meanwhile, the ground teams practiced search and rescue techniques using radio and nonradio signals.

Cadet Master Sgt. Jacob Jones of the Duluth squadron said he came for the emergency services training. “This type of weather makes it definitely more of a challenge!” he observed.

At the end of the day Saturday, everyone was glad for a warm meal, a hot fire and the camaraderie of the group being together again. Cans of soup, “hobo meals” and Meals Ready to Eat were prepared at each of three bonfires. 

Cadet Master Sgt. Jacob Fliehr of the 130th Composite Squadron, who traveled six hours to participate, said he thought that “sitting around the campfire after a hard cold day of ES was just the best!

Sunday morning was time for packing up gear, cleaning up the area and bidding farewell to fellow cadets until the next wing event.

Before departure, the incident commander, Lt. Col. Chet Wilberg of the Hutchinson Composite Squadron, gathered all the participants for a time of reflection on what they had accomplished.  Senior Member Wayne Striebel of the Northland squadron said he was proud of the teamwork and character he had witnessed as cadets made sure to watch out for one another. 

“It’s easy to practice CAP’s core values when you are warm and inside,” Striebel said. “It’s another thing to live ‘IVER’ (integrity, volunteer service, excellence and respect) when what you are doing is difficult.”

He didn’t hear a single cadet complain all weekend, he added.

As the teams were leaving the woods around noon, each member was given a take-home bag filled with a bottle of water, a sandwich, cookie, candy bars and the Northland unit’s traditional yellow airplane made from candy. 

Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Marshall Vonda from the Duluth squadron said he definitely planned to bring more cadets from his unit next year. “Wouldn’t miss it!” he exclaimed.