By Eric McCarthy

Perhaps best known for its search-and-rescue efforts, CAP flies more than 85 percent of all federal inland search-and-rescue missions directed by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. (Photo credit: Civil Air Patrol)A couple of weekends ago, my Civil Air Patrol squadron hosted a SAREX/APEX (Search And Rescue EXercise/Airborne Photography EXercise). These events are designed to simulate emergency situations so that CAP members are prepared in the event of an actual emergency, and so that members can acquire the experience needed to serve in various roles. This means that a lot of us participate in ‘trainee’ (t) roles at these exercises.

These exercises require the coordination of lots of members in different roles, many of which are ‘behind-the-scene,’ but crucial to the success of a mission. These unsung heroes make it all possible, working tirelessly to ensure everything is prepared to allow the mission to be completed successfully. Most of these exercises are planned well in advance, but their purpose is to prepare CAP members to be able to deploy at a moments’ notice. In the event of an actual emergency or disaster there won’t be more than a few hours to assemble a team and respond.

I’ve participated in several of these exercises over the years, but I won’t pretend to know all there is to know about the machinations that make an operation successful. I’ll try to ‘lift the curtain’ a little to give you at least some idea of the effort that goes into one of these exercises. 

At the top of the pyramid is the Incident Commander (IC) who will oversee the entire operation; he or she will assemble a team of directors responsible for the smooth running of the various departments and their personnel.

By Art Nalls 

When I received my wings of gold in June, 1979, those bumper stickers were all over every U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps jet base, and for good reasons. By that time, the A-4 “Skyhawk” built by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation, had already been in service for nearly three decades, been to war, and was a workhorse of USN and USMC jet aviation. Known as the “Scooter” and “Heinemann’s Hot Rod,” all but a few jet aviators, who were provided advanced jet training by the USAF during Viet Nam, cut their teeth in A-4’s. I carrier-qualified in a TA-4J, BuNo 158509 on May 2, 1979 with a whopping 250.2 hours of total flight time.  That was the average flight time for Student Naval Aviators (SNA) making their second and final carrier qualification before being “winged” and was already fond of and comfortable with the “Skyhawk.” 

Many newly minted pilots, myself included, also flew A-4s at their next duty station, prior to transition training in their actual fleet jet. I flew the OA-4Ms, assigned to Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron (H&MS-32) at MCAS Cherry Point. This version was a highly modified TA-4J, designed specifically as a platform for Forward Air Controller (FAC) Airborne. These proficiency flights were to keep me current before my Harrier flight class convened and so I could become familiar with the local course rules. It was considered too much for students to learn new course rules anda completely new airplane such as the “Harrier,” so we took baby steps. In my opinion, the multi-tone gray camo OA-4M, with its added hump back for the radios, and “MARINES” on the aft fuselage, was one of the best looking A-4s. It was just plain sexy. Flying it, however, was another story for another time, and its service with the Marines was short lived.