E-mail Newsletter



|[pic] |7-6 Air Cav re-CAP |

| |Group 13, Texas Wing, South Western Region, Civil Air Patrol, USAF Auxiliary |

|February 2004 |Volume 2, Number 2 |

|February News |February News |

| |Astro’s Fanfest By 1Lt. David Ayre |

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| |The weekend of Feb. 14th and 15th saw our cadets, seniors, together with their friends and spouses at Minute Maid Park, for the|

| |Houston Astros FANFEST and the 2004 College Classic baseball program. This is our annual fund raiser, where we donate our time|

|Civil Air Patrol is the United |to the event and in return the Astros donate a significant sum to the squadron for our operating expenses. We give our |

|States Air Force Auxiliary |heartfelt thanks to all those members and their friends who volunteered for this event, but we would have appreciated more |

| |support from our cadet and cadet staff ranks. From a squadron of 70+ cadets, the seniors equaled or outnumbered the cadets |

|7-6 Air Cav re-CAP is |this weekend! |

|the newsletter of the: | |

|7-6 Air Cavalry Civil Air Patrol |February FTX By C/Capt. Eric Mabry |

|Composite Squadron, Group 13, Texas| |

|Wing. |On the weekend of February 20th -22nd the 7-6 Air Cavalry Composite Squadron held their monthly Field Training Exercise. In |

|Commander: |attendance were 14 cadets, 10 Cadet Staff members, and 7 Seniors. A very good turnout on the Senior and Cadet Staff side, but |

|Capt. S. Dicker |we hope to have more cadets attend in the future. |

|4724 S. Parkway | |

|Conroe, TX 77303-4355 |Field Training Exercises offer opportunities for cadets to gain training in Emergency Services, especially in the tasks |

| |required for cadets to complete their CAPF 101T for Ground Team Member (GTM) and Urban Direction Finding Team (UDF) |

|Lone Star Regional Airport |specialties. Cadets also have the opportunity to go on Cadet Orientation Flights throughout Saturday and Sunday. Though at |

| |this FTX they were only flown on Saturday. |

|Cell Phone: | |

|(713) 504 7154 |This weekend offered cadets training in Basic Compass Use and Navigation, Pace Count, DF training, and Line Search techniques. |

| |We were fortunate to have in attendance 5 SET evaluators including Lt. Col. Mike Hays, Maj. Landis, Capt. Tessitore, C/Capt. |

|Pager : |McElvaney, and C/1st Lt. Wright. This greatly increased our ability to efficiently and accurately evaluate and sign off on |

|713-684-8385 |cadets’ 101Ts. We also had a visiting cadet staff member from Marauder Squadron, C/1st Lt. Jordan Wright. Lt. Wright was a |

| |great asset to the cadet staff and the staff looks forward to having staff members from other squadrons attend in the future. |

|Fax: |The cadets were also treated to a sumptuous dinner of pizza Saturday evening and an unexpected but pleasant breakfast of donuts|

|(713) 218-5560 |Sunday morning. Overall the Cadet Staff is very pleased with the level of training which took place this weekend and we are |

| |working to ensure that the next FTX (to be held the 19-21 of March) will be even better. |

|E-mail: | |

|stephen.dicker@ | |

|or | |

|cap76aircav@ |USNORTHCOM Homeland Security Exercise by Capt. Jeremy Hooper |

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|We’re on the Web! |On February 20, 2004, Captain Jeremy Hooper and C/Captain Justin McElvaney participated in a Unified Defense Exercise Mission, |

|7- |dubbed “Unified Defense ‘04” (Mission Number: SWLR04-0081). This week long multi-state Homeland Security exercise involved |

| |some 50 different local, state and federal agencies in Texas, Alaska, Virginia, Colorado, and Washington D.C. and was |

| |coordinated by U.S. Northern Command () at a cost of approximately $1.5 Million. This exercise also |

|Homeland Security |incorporated a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) exercise (Vigilant Overview 04-2) in a scenario that posed |

| |aerospace defense challenges to exercise participants. |

| |The purpose of this exercise was to assess the readiness of all available assets to respond to a large-scale terrorist attack |

| |or natural disaster. CAP assets were coordinated through the CAP National Operations Center. We provided five aircraft in |

| |support of this mission. The first aircraft, equipped with radiological testing equipment, flew a route from San Antonio to |

| |Cotulla to test air samples for nuclear contamination. Two additional aircraft flew a reconnaissance mission over the I-35 |

| |evacuation route providing slow scan and satellite digital photography in real time. The fourth aircraft provided |

| |transportation for a key official between Austin and San Antonio. The fifth aircraft (C182-N97881), piloted by Capt. Hooper |

| |and C/Capt. McElvaney, and assisted by LTC Mike Hays of Group 13, provided a real-time “High Bird” communications relay |

| |platform for both voice communication and slow scan digital images utilizing an airborne repeater; the majority of the 7.6 hour|

| |flight was spent orbiting overhead San Antonio at altitudes between 8,000ft and 10,500ft. While the disaster was simulated, |

| |the incident staff seemed impressed with CAP’s capability to support such a mission in the unfortunate event a similar tragedy |

| |occurs for real. |

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| |Any comments, news or information to communicate? Please contact Capt. J. |

| |Hooper, the editor, at jeremy@ |

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| |Quote of the Month: Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power. |

| |Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) |

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|Famous Quotes | |

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| |Squadron Commander’s Call |

| |by Major Stephen Dicker |

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|Commander’s Call |I was a bit disappointed in our turn out for the Astro's Fan Fest |

| |fundraiser.  We had barely enough Cadets, Seniors and friends to cover the |

| |assignments on Saturday, which meant less breaks for those working.  Sunday |

| |was a different story thanks to the Senior members.  We had fewer Cadets and |

| |triple the number of Senior members and friends than the day before. |

| |Everyone received plenty of breaks and got to enjoy some of the activities. |

| |It’s difficult as the Unit Commander of a Squadron that totaled 120 members |

| |on the weekend of the activity, why we couldn't get forty members together |

| |for the activity.  That would only be one third of the total squadron. |

| |Cadets especially, need to realize that you have to put in some work in |

| |everything you do.  This includes CAP.  I will be developing a tracking |

| |system to monitor those Cadet's who consistently fail to attend the work |

| |assignments but are routinely at every fun event.  CAP requires that you |

| |participate in a percentage of the meetings and external activities in order |

| |to promote and/or participate in the fun activities.  I'm really hoping that |

| |I will not have to abide by those guidelines and that everyone will |

| |voluntarily participate in the future.  For those who didn't come, everyone |

| |I spoke with had a great time.  As we went to leave the building, Lt. Mike |

| |Cannon, who works for the Astro's, presented the squadron with a $ 1,000.00 |

| |check for all our efforts. |

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| |Now we need for the Cadet and Senior members to get working on obtaining |

|February Events |Business Memberships.  These memberships can be for any amount from any |

|BTF Graduation |business wishing to support the Civil Air Patrol.  Talk with your friends and |

|SLS |neighbors who own their own businesses or work for a company, and ask if |

| |they would like to help support your program.  Applications for Business |

| |Memberships can be obtained from the Admin. Office any Tuesday evening.   |

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| |Upcomming Events & Activities |

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| |Basic Training Flight Graduation: Feb. 28 |

| |This ceremony will recognize the accomplishments of the Basic Training Flight over the last several weeks, serving as a |

| |transition for the basics as they begin accepting greater responsibilities within the Civil Air Patrol. |

|Emergency Services |Squadron Leadership School: April 9-11. |

| |This course teaches some of the fundamentals of the Civil Air Patrol to senior members. It is required for the attainment of |

| |Level II achievement. For more information, download the Op-order located at: |

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| |Emergency Services |

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| |The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers an excellent online course on the Incident Command System (ICS). This is|

| |the system utilized to organize personnel and assets to respond to an emergency. Civil Air Patrol uses this system in all |

|Profiles |Search and Rescue Exercises and in actual Search and Rescue Missions. This course is called IS-195 (Basic Incident Command |

| |System) and may be taken online at . This course, eligible for college credit, can be |

| |completed in one day with diligent study. |

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| |The next funded SAREX is scheduled on April 23th and 24th at DWH (Delta Sqdn-David Wayne Hooks Airport). This is open to all |

| |Cadets and Seniors who wish to attain ES qualifications. Both Cadets and SM’s must have taken and passed the CAPT 116 - 100 |

| |question test and have a CAPF 101(e) card to participate, and the respective CAPF 101T for the qualification they wish to |

| |obtain. |

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| |Profiles: SM and Cadet Lord |

| |by Chaplain (Major) George Klett |

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| |We welcome SM Norma Lord and her cadet son Aaron to the ranks of our squadron this month! Norma was born September 13, 1964 in |

| |Allende, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and came to the United States in 1968. She is married to Gary Lord, who owns and operates |

| |Precision Auto Repair in Huntsville. Aaron, the oldest of three children, was born July 22, 1990, and is in the 8th grade at |

| |Moorehead Jr. High School. His hobby is skateboarding, with national skateboarding champion Janie Thomas honored as his idol!  |

| |His other interest is his own web site! The other two children are David (6th grade) and Sarah (4th grade). The Old Testament |

| |names of the three children are a testament to this family's spiritual faith!  Norma is a graduate of Joliet Central High, |

| |Joliet, Illinois, and is currently employed by First Financial, with church membership at Fire Tower Baptist Church. As her CAP|

| |Specialty Track, Norma will be working with Lt. Sylvia Brumlow as an assistant administrative officer in our squadron. Her |

| |hobby is calligraphy, and we hope to be using her talent on some of our paperwork! Norma and her family reside at 19902 Petty |

| |Walker Road in Conroe. We are very delighted to have Norma and Aaron in our 7/6 Air Cav. Composite Squadron, and appreciate |

| |their excitement about their membership and work in our CAP family! We salute the two of you! |

|Flight Ops | |

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| |Senior Member Spin |

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| |Flight Operations by Capt Jeremy Hooper |

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|Communications |The new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Flight Operations is complete. This document can be downloaded from |

| |. In addition, there are a number of resources pilots may find useful |

| |at . Once the squadron’s new website is finished, these resources (and more) will be |

| |transferred to the main squadron site. |

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|Aerospace Ed. |I want to encourage 7-6 Aircav pilots to fly N235TX as much as possible, since we have an annual usage goal of 240 hours. |

| |While we are still on target to meet this goal, this is largely due to pilots from other squadrons flying the plane for us. If|

| |it’s been a few months since you’ve flown, please grab a CFI and get yourself current. And if anyone needs a Form 5 checkride,|

| |I am now a qualified Check Pilot. |

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| |Finally, I will be presenting a four-part video series during upcoming meetings about common causes of aircraft accidents. |

| |Pilots and anyone else who is interested are encouraged to attend. |

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| |Communications |

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| |Capt. Tessitore gave the Basic and Advanced Radio Operator’s Authorization (ROA) course a couple of weeks ago. The basic card |

| |allows a member to operate a CAP radio, while the advanced card allows a member to apply for a radio call sign and operate a |

| |base station. The advanced course also requires the successful completion of a written examination. |

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| |Aerospace Education By: 2LT Roland Illerhaus |

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| |We started out the new year by presenting the first chapter of module 1 on January 6th. We discussed the fundamentals of flight|

| |such as the Newtonian laws and the Bernoulli equation. Also we discussed the components of an airplane and identified their |

|Logistics |respective function followed by a Q/A session to practice for the test. |

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| |This year we have also signed up for the Aerospace Education Excellence award that will involve 6 additional events on a |

| |monthly base through June this year. With the involvement of most of the cadets we were able to complete the tasks for the 2003|

| |AEX award that has been presented to us in October last year. |

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|Maintenance Hanger |During our February AE day we discussed the control surfaces on an airplane and consequential movements. We also discussed |

| |glider flying and explored the technology behind “lighter than air” aircraft. Next month we will be visiting Garrett aviation |

|Cadet Programs |and start the second module with engines. We will be using our plane to identify all relevant engine and system components. |

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| |Major Elmer Mooring of 7/6 Air Cav taught the Aerospace Education Program for Senior Members (AEPSM) at Hooks Airport in |

| |Tomball on February 21, 2004.   In attendance were members from Delta Squadron and Ellington Squadron.   Following the course, |

| |he administered the Yeager examination and all attendees passed the test.  They will receive the Yeager Certificate and are now|

| |authorized to wear the Yeager ribbon on their uniform. |

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| |Logistics |

| |We used our new trailer for the first time at the recent FTX. We had a load of supplies in the trailer that had to find a |

| |temporary home in Capt. Hooper’s hangar at Montgomery Country Airport (now recently re-named “Lone Star Regional”) until we are|

| |able to move into a larger office space where we may be able to use these chairs, desks, etc. The trailer helped immensely to |

| |transport our supplies to Woodville, and we anticipate a much higher degree of use in the future. |

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| |Maintenance Hanger |

| |Our aircraft N235TX is back online after an extensive annual inspection. |

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| |Cadet Programs By 1Lt. David Ayre |

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| |A change of command ceremony was held Tuesday 10th February where C/1Lt Ben Tatum relinquished command after a year as Cadet |

| |Commander, and C/Capt Eric Mabry assumed command as Cadet Commander for the 7/6 Air Cav. Similarly, Capt. Robert Stewart |

| |relinquished command as Deputy Commander for Cadets (DCFC -senior member in charge of the cadet program) and 1Lt David Ayre |

| |assumed command as DCC. The same evening Capt. Dicker was promoted to Maj. Dicker, and several Certificates of Appreciation |

| |and Commendations were presented to cadets and seniors, in addition to several Yeager Certificates being presented to senior |

| |members. |

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| |The Basic Training Flight is progressing well with its program to get our newer cadets ready for their first achievement, the |

| |Curry Achievement, named after CAP’s first National Commander. The Basic Cadets are being trained under the leadership of |

| |C/Capt Justin McElvaney, who is ably assisted by C/SSgt Kyle Joncyk and C/SSgt Jimmy McCann. The “Basic’s” will have their |

| |final training and graduation day on Saturday 28th of February. |

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| |The evening of Tuesday 17th saw a near record testing pass rate of 10/16 or 62.5%, well done to all those cadets! This evening |

| |also saw the introduction of our new evening schedule, in order to align with the rest of CAP, where activities finish at 2130 |

| |after a 2 ½ hr program. It may take us a few evenings to get this running smoothly so please bear with us. |

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| |The first Woodville FTX of 2004 was held this month over the weekend of February 20-22, and is reported on by C/Capt Eric |

| |Mabry. |

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|Safety |The next FTX tentatively scheduled for March 19-21; so keep an eye on the calendar. Cost to attend is $15 in order to offset |

| |expenses such as fuel and food. A list of packing supplies is posted on the unit bulletin board. This is an excellent |

| |opportunity for cadets and seniors to learn and practice Search and Rescue (SAR) ES tasks take cadet orientation flights, and |

| |practice military bearing. The Ops Plan can be downloaded from: |

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| |Cadet Training and Education Program (CTEP) will be held on April 2-4 at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. The Texas Wing powered |

| |Flight Academy is June 4-12 (Applications should be in by April 15th). The glider academy is July 30-Aug 7. Summer Encampment |

| |is June 18-27. For more information, see the cadet programs website at |

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| |Current Staff Assignments 2/24/04 |

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| |Cadet Commander – C/Capt. Eric Mabry |

| |Executive Officer – C/Capt. Gaston Kurtz |

| |Operations – C/Maj. Max Fruchtnicht |

| |Training – C/Capt. Justin McElvaney |

| |Logistics – C/1st Lt. Ben Tatum |

| |1st Sergeant – C/CMSgt. Geoffrey Mabry |

| |Emergency Services – C/Senior Airmen Anthony Pellecchia |

| |Flight Sergeant – C/SMSgt. Michael Brown |

| |Asst. Operations – C/SSgt. David Brown |

| |Training Instructor – C/SSgt. Kyle Joncyk |

| |Training Instructor – C/SSgt. Jimmy McCann |

|Admin |Training Instructor – C/SMSgt. Mason Handfelt |

|Membership 118 (73 Cadets) | |

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| |Safety by Capt Clyde Domengeaux |

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| |Since 9-11-01, our lives have changed quite a bit. Especially those of us in the aviation business. For those of us still in |

| |the Airline industry, our procedures have changed and our passings through security areas have gotten worse. |

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| |General Aviation is also undergoing a tremendous change and it will not be too much longer before those who are in the 135 |

| |(charter business or non schedule) area, will be seeing a drastic change in the way we conduct business with our arriving |

| |customers and this includes the owner of the airplane too. |

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| |We, the Pilot-In-Command (PIC), will be held responsible for the checking of all carry on luggage; possibly patting-down or |

| |using a wand on everyone before they board. Can you visualize the time delay that will be endured? |

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| |Now, how will this start affecting our CAP flights? I don't know just yet, but be assured, the FAA isn't going to let us skate |

| |through this. |

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| |The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has proposed guidelines on ways to improve general aviation airport security. |

| |How these will be imposed, regulated, and monitored has yet to be determined. I feel, WE, the Pilots can/should play an |

| |important role in this arena. We will be paying more attention to the activities around our aircraft on our home turf as well |

| |as other airports. The vigilance will definitely have to be enhanced by ourselves and we will have to brief our passengers |

| |accordingly. |

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| |It was noted by AOPA President Phil Boyer, "the most basic premise of the guidelines is that one size does not fit all. Local |

| |airport officials and pilot communities have the best perspective on the security needs at their airports." |

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| |Yes, our lives have changed since 9/11, but I feel we will become a better aviation community by educating ourselves through |

| |the bulletins from the FAA, articles in the AOPA magazine, other sources of security interests for our airports and aircraft. |

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| |Admin / Personnel Matters by 1Lt. Brumlow |

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|Professional Development |Congratulations to the 7-6 Air Cav. We have grown to 118 members: 45 Seniors and 73 Cadets. |

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| |Membership renewals are due for the following: |

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| |Bunin, David – 2-29-04 |

| |Baker, Wesley – 3-31-04 |

| |Devore, Brandon – 3-31-04 |

| |Ewing, Chase – 2-29-04 |

| |Fuller, Jordan – 3-31-004 |

| |Harper, George 2-29-04 |

| |Hatherly, Jacob – 2-29-04 |

| |Hendrix, Josh – 2-29-04 |

| |Kutter, Tyler – 3-3-04 |

| |McDonald, Kevin – 3-31-04 |

| |Mensing, Jeffery – 3-31-04 |

| |Carson, Riddle – 2-29-04 |

| |Siercks, Thomas – 2-29-04 |

|Questions & Comments |Thies, Job – 3-31-04 |

|Cadet Protection Policy |Wong, Stephen – 3-3-04 |

| |Zboril, Adrienne – 2-29-04 |

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| |You may renew on line |

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| |Welcome to the CAP family: |

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| |SM/Norma Lord |

| |C/Aaron Lord |

| |C/Simons, Nathaniel |

| |C/Simmons, Nicholas A. |

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|Calendar |Happy Birthday to: |

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| |SM/David Ayre |

| |SM/Chester Grossie |

| |C/Daniel Hatherley |

| |SM/George Klett |

| |SM/Astrid Phillips |

| |SM/ Robin Walker |

| |C/Caleb White |

| |C/Adrienne Zboril |

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| |As a note, 1Lt Brumlow will be stepping up to Personnel Officer. SM Norma Lord will take over Administration. |

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| |Professional Development by Lt. Col. Bill Williams |

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| |The recruitment contest is over . The winners were: First Place – Katie Cadwallader, Second Place – Kyle Joncyk, and Third |

| |Place - Eric Mabry. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all cadets who took the time to help our squadron grow. |

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| |It is now time for all seniors who haven’t taken the SLS Course to get your Form 17 submitted. The tentative dates for the |

| |course are 10 – 11 April at the Air Cav Facility. This course is required to complete Level II training. |

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| |We had a Level I Orientation Course on January 31 at the Montgomery County Airport, our normal meeting place with eight senior |

| |members completing Level I and one cadet completing Cadet Protection Program Training (CPPT). The class was conducted by 1Lt. |

| |David Ayre, who did a great job and deserves our thanks. |

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| |Most members have at least one Specialty Track they are working on. I have a master list of this information correct through |

| |February 24 from the National Headquarters. Please check with me if you want to know what’s required for your rating or if you |

| |want to add another Specialty. |

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| |For more information on Senior Professional Development, contact Lt. Col. Bill Williams Tuesday evenings or e-mail at |

| |billbill9@. My home phone is 936-264-4296. |

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| |Seniors & Parent Power |

| |Comments & Questions |

| |Q. Where can I find more information about the Cadet Protection Policy? |

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| |A. CAP Cadet Protection Program Training (CPPT). CAP is committed to doing everything reasonably possible to combat the |

| |potential for child abuse within our organization and to discourage our cadets from illegal use of alcohol and other drugs. CAP|

| |members are expected to avoid even the appearance of impropriety involving cadets and report suspected abuse immediately. For |

| |the purpose of this policy, abuse is defined in two categories. The first is sexual abuse. Cadets will not be subjected to |

| |sexual molestation, touching, contact, exposure, suggestions, or other incidents of a sexually oriented nature. Physical abuse |

| |is the second type. Cadets will not be physically struck, hazed, or assaulted in any way. |

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| |For more information, see CAP Regulation 52-10 |

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| |(Source: CAP Knowledge base) |

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| |Any parent having questions, concerns or suggestions should feel free to email the Squadron Commander, Maj. Stephen R. Dicker |

| |at stephen.dicker@ . Maj. Dicker can also be reached on his cell phone at 713-504-7154 for immediate needs. |

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| |Calendar We have placed the Calendar on the squadron website, with the expectation of keeping it more current and saving space |

| |in the newsletter. Go to it is also available directly at |

| |Also see the trial sign up calendar for all O Flights at so cadets may sign up on line. |

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