NE Region officials, wing commanders focus on strengthening joint training

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(Seated, from left) Lt. Col. Joseph Sirois, Northeast Region vice commander – south; Col. Christopher Hayden, Northeast Region commander; Lt. Col. Merrie Knightly, Northeast Region vice commander – north; (standing, from left) Cols. Anthony Gagliardi, Rhode Island Wing; Thomas Benckert, Vermont Wing commander; Mathew Balleau, then-acting Connecticut Wing commander; Cassandra Huchko, then-incoming Connecticut Wing commander; and Cols. David Mull, New Jersey Wing commander; Donald Davidson, New Hampshire Wing commander; William Meskill, Massachusetts Wing commander; Kenneth Andreu, New York Wing commander; Mark Lee, Pennsylvania Wing commander; and Daniel Leclair, Maine Wing commander.
 

Lt. Col. Constance M. O'Grady
Northeast Region

MASSACHUSETTS – Commanders of the nine Northeast Region wings and their directors of operations and emergency services gathered recently at Westover Air Force Base for a session the region’s commander, Col. Christopher Hayden, called in order to begin forging a new era of joint training.

The Northeast Region Strategic Operations Conference aimed to foster and reorganize mutual aid in the form of joint training and exercises and to lower the boundaries between flights, squadrons, groups and wings. 

Lt. Col. Joseph Abegg, the region's deputy chief of staff for operations, served as project officer for what was. He began the daylong session by telling the participants, "Our goal is to make a perfect 10 out of the nine wings and the NER Staff by forging a renewed bond to work, train and exercise together."

Those in attendance spent the day listening to lectures on safety, radio communications, critical incident stress management, emergency services, homeland security, and search and rescue evaluations, along with holding open forums to brainstorm new ideas and ways to work together. 

The first step in the process is to build Web site training and activity links between wings and to promote joint training exercises. Giving individual members access to other unit training activities within the nine wings will give them greater flexibility in finding activities that fit their schedules and professional needs. It will also enhance the sharing of best practices and techniques and promote networking. 

The Rhode Island and Maine wings and the Vermont and New Hampshire wings, respectively, are already planning joint exercises as a result of the meeting. By promoting training and networking across wing boundaries, members are increasing their ability to work as one team during regional search and rescue missions and disasters. 

One of the presenters – and the keynote speaker for the event – was John Salvador, director of the Missions Directorate at Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters, who brought the group up-to-date on evolving new missions, procedures and the status of operations.

Abegg summed up by saying, "the synergies and efficiencies of working as a team are always better than working individually, and our vigilance and readiness should never be compromised.”