1) National Board approved the boonie cap and orange shirts for ground teams. Hooah. Way to go national board. It makes me happy that the new command staff is willing to look at necessity more than "how does it look", but also asks "how does the Air Force feel about this?" Everytime a CAP-SAR team goes to a SAR conference, the reaction is pretty much the same. You wear CAMOFLAUGE on SAR!?!? Well, now we wear orange too, if we want. My GT boss submitted this proposal to our wing 2 months ago, so I'm sure he's down with it, and we will all be getting orange as soon as national approves it. As for the boonie hats, he doesn't like the way it looks on the media, neither do I. He and I agree that it is a good item in the field, but when we are around people (like those media types) we should wear AF uniform items, like the regular BDU cover. I haven't heard much about what the rank and file thinks of this. I'm especially interested in what Midway6 has to say. He usually catches sides of things I miss.
2) Planning an op! My roomate is a saftey intern at Guidance Helicopter Inc, and we were given a great opportunity. They want to practice implementing their newly minted saftey response plan. Basically, they want to know what to do when they lose a bird. Who to call, what to say, and how to handle the media (damn they're everywhere). What does this translate to for us? They want to fly a whirleybird somewhere remote, land, and set off a practice beacon. We will then pretend it's the real thing. Guidance calls the sherriff, CAP, etc. We stage and go. The GT I'm on is just getting formed, and has limited field experiance, so this is a great setup for a real life scenario they can use. Additionally, the Group II planes can DF the beacon, while scanning for *ghasp* a real live target! Squadron ES officers should discuss exercises like this with local FBOs. This kind of dual training gets the CAP name out there, provides a realistic environment, and develops a friendship between agencies. Tentative date is April 19th, so expect an AAR after that, if not any more updates beforehand!
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2 comments:
The new, optional, 'Ground Team Uniform' is rediculous in my opinion. Yes, it is true that BDUs may not be the most visible uniform, but with the required orange reflective vest, and the amount of noise a search generates, I don't think anyone will have a problem finding a ground team.
On the boonie, FINALLY! A lot fo people think that it looks bad or whatever, but IMO functionality counts before looks, and the boonie is undeniably more funtional than the standard patrol cap.
Can you wear a boonie hat without the orange shirt, and do you need permission from a ground team leader?
thanks
K_c_g_1991@yahoo.com
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