Oregon Civil Air Patrol to hold statewide exercises

The Oregon wing of the Civil Air Patrol says it will be conducting a statewide US Air Force-evaluated exercise this weekend with a set of scenarios to train for and test its capability and preparedness to respond to various emergency situations.

With incident command centers located in Medford, Bend and Aurora, the CAP will conduct responses to both natural disasters, air search and rescue, and related operations that could be requested by state, local and federal authorities.

Six aircraft and up to 100 members from around the state will comprise ground and air crew personnel to conduct various emergency flight and ground operations.

These operations could be communications support to local authorities, search operations to locate missing persons or aircraft, high resolution digital photo reconnaisance, emergency medical support flights and transporting of critical supplies, equipment and personnel among other possible responses.

In addition to adult aircrew and ground staff, the CAP will utilize its teenaged cadet members in various ground support operations such as communications, mission base operations, ground search and rescue operations and aircraft flight-line activities under the guidance of an experienced adult member.

“Our cadet members are a crucial force multiplier during our missions” said Major Rich Ouellette, CAO Incident Commander. ” They perform essential tasks that have a tremendous impact on the success of our multitude of operational missions”

“The training we conduct during these evaluated tests and more routine training operations during the year are important to keep our skills current, apply new technology and procedures and to train our newer members who are interested in serving their communities and their country in time of emergency,” he said.

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 60,000 members nationwide.

CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and has been credited by the AFRCC with saving more than 100 lives this fiscal year.

Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.

The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to over 25,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs.

CAP has been performing missions for America for more than 68 years. For more information on CAP, please visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com