Civil Air Patrol Winners of the Statewide Search and Rescue Rodeo

New Orleans – New Orleans Civil Air Patrol teams won Search and Rescue Rodeo trophies for Best Ground Team and Best Aircrew at the recent state competition at Louisiana Regional Airport in Ascension Parish.

Best Ground Team was won by the Pontchartrain Composite Squadron of Harahan, Louisiana. Senior members of the team were Squadron Commander Major Dennis Eschmann, Ground Team Leader Lieutenant Robin Soroe and Ground Team Member Lieutenant Colonel Kathy Beauford. Cadet Ground Team Members were Second Lieutenant Franchesca Giroir, Airman First Class Kameron Rome, and Technical Sergeant Garrison Garcia.

Best Aircrew at the search and rescue competition was won by The Billy Mitchel Squadron based at New Orleans Lakefront Airport. Members of the winning aircrew were Mission Pilot Lieutenant Colonel Phil Nuss, Mission Observer (navigator) Captain Earl Weiser, and Mission Scanner Captain Creston King.

The competing teams carried out search and rescue missions involving finding Emergency Locator Beacons (ELTs) without the use of their Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) SARSAT system. The exercise tested the team’s ability to find downed aircraft or ships with its GPS instruments inoperative. Forty-eight Civil Air Patrol senior and cadet members, seven Civil Air Patrol Cessna-172 and Cessna-182 aircraft, and two ground teams took part in the exercise.

Civil Air Patrol aerospace education activities include experiments, demonstrations, leadership, physical training, and trips to air shows and aviation museums. Activities include robot building and robotics programming, building and flying remote control airplanes, and building and launching model rockets. Civil Air Patrol cadets range from 12 years to 18 years of age. A cadet who goes through our whole program enters the armed services with an automatic bump in grade and pay. The public is invited to meetings on Tuesdays from 7 to 9pm at the VFW Hall at 1133 Hickory Avenue, Harahan, La. 70123

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with more than 61,000 members nationwide, operating a fleet of 550 aircraft. 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 was credited by the AFRCC with saving 54 lives in fiscal year 2011. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to nearly 27,000 young people currently participating in the CAP cadet program. CAP received the World Peace Prize in 2011 and has been performing missions for America for 70 years. CAP also participates in Wreaths Across America, an initiative to remember, honor and teach about the sacrifices of U.S. military veterans. Visit www.gocivilairpatrol.com or www.capvolunteernow.com for more information.