'This is why we train,' Minn. squadron leader says 1 year after record floods

 

 

(1)
(From left) Cadet Staff Sgt. Lawrence Gerads, 1st Lt. Steven Parker and Cadet Master Sgt. John Dvorak prepare to begin ground team operations during the St. Cloud Composite Squadron’s winter training exercise.

(2)
Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Dylan Maselter handles communications during the exercise.

(3)
Cadet 2nd Lt. Ben Leaf and Cadet Master Sgt. John Dvorak prepare a winter shelter.

(4)
Cadet 2nd Lt. Ben Leaf locates an electronic locater transmitter during a search exercise.

Photos by Maj. Richard Sprouse


Maj. Richard J. Sprouse
Public Information Officer
Group II
Minnesota Wing

MINNESOTA — When residents of the Red River Valley in western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota were inundated with floodwaters last March, forecasters were predicting the river would exceed the record flooding that devastated the area in 1997.

Heavy snow fall and storm-whipped winds shoved driving waters into the miles of levees constructed in the flood zone, placing numerous homes and businesses in the Fargo-Moorhead area in peril.

When the call for assistance came in, 200 members of the Minnesota and North Dakota wings were ready to assist with sandbag operations. Others made dozens of flights capturing hundreds of visual images of the affected areas.

Nearly a year later, Civil Air Patrol members are still proving their winter skills, because they never know when they might be called on to support local communities again. So, braving the cold of a Minnesota winter, ground team members of the St. Cloud Composite Squadron recently took part in a unit-based exercise at nearby Lake Warner Park while pilots from the unit conducted flight operations from St. Cloud Regional Airport.

“Like many other Minnesota squadrons, we annually carry out a training exercise on winter search and rescue techniques, as well as winter survival,” said Maj. Pat Cruze, squadron commander. “It’s not a highly tactical exercise; it’s more of an opportunity for us to familiarize ourselves with the context of winter operations, air-ground communications, the tactical and nontactical use of assets, and survival.”

Most CAP units conduct such training in more moderate climates year-round. Minnesotans don’t have the luxury of waiting for better weather, so opportunities to train in winter are important and enable members to familiarize themselves with the different necessities of a winter operation.

In addition to the exercise itself, squadron members took part in a mock search and rescue mission where they waded through heavy snow on foot, then later building a shelter as quickly and as agilely as possible to protect themselves from below-zero temperatures and wind-chills.

It's one of the important lessons learned from the flooding last year: You never know the time and place of the next emergency or disaster.

“Right now, we’re in the preparation phase to ensure the right people, equipment and aircraft with the proper training are ready and available if the call for assistance is issued,” Cruze said.

“This is why we train.”