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Cadets from the Col. Francis S. Gabreski Squadron help set up the event tents and mission base the day before the walkathon.
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Cadet Capt. Heather West, cadet commander for the Gabreski squadron, briefs her fellow cadets.
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Capt. Nathan Hillard, emergency services officer for the Gabreski squadron and incident commander for the event, briefs cadets regarding the next day’s tasks.
Capt. James Ridley
Public Affairs Officer
Long Island Group
New York Wing
NEW YORK – Howling wind and a constant downpour Oct. 18 failed to deter 25,000 individuals from participating in the annual Breast Cancer Walkathon at Jones Beach or to dampen the spirits of the Long Island Group members who support the event year after year.
The annual walk, featuring a three-mile circuit on the boardwalk at the beach in Wantagh, is sponsored by the New York Chapter of the American Cancer Society. It supports fundraising for medical research in the fight against breast cancer.
Each year cadets and senior members from the Long Island Group support the event by providing security, logistics and emergency services to walkers in distress. The participants employ the Incident Command System structure, following an emergency scenario.
“I’m very pleased with the performance of our cadets and seniors this year,” said Capt. Nathan Hillard, incident commander for the activity and emergency services officer for the Col. Francis S. Gabreski Squadron. “We came out and performed in a professional manner and did so in some extreme weather conditions.”
Ground branch directors managed teams that were dispatched to the beach parking lots and along the three-mile march along the boardwalk. In addition, two Civil Air Patrol vans were dispatched to the midpoint and end of the walk.
The CAP members’ was to provide a logical flow for the walkers and for the more than 15,000 cars that arrived at and departed from Jones Beach within a four-hour period. Cadets and senior members directed the cars and walkers and ensured that anyone needing assistance received it.
The evening before the walk, members of the Gabreski squadron bivouacked at the park to provide security and prepare for the next day’s events.
“The overnight provides a necessary service for the Cancer Society” said Maj. Lou Fenech Jr., Gabreski commander.
“We have seen this event grow from about 5,000 people to 60,000 over the years,” Fenech added. “It’s a shame that the weather reduced the number of participants this year, but the society did manage to raise almost the same amount as they did last year.
