maine wing - mar 2004

8/9/2019 Maine Wing - Mar 2004

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March 2004

THE NEWSLETTER OF MAINE WING, CIVIL AIR PATROL, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE AUXILIARY

by Capt. Dick Jackson, CAP,CCCS, ME058

NOW, LISTEN UPCOUNT OFFand from among thetrees came; ONE ------TWO------THREE-------FOUR------then si-lence followed by moreembarrassing silenceand then WHEREARE YOU, SMITH-ERSHERE, SIRNO, I MEAN, FIVEand the count resumesall the way to THIRTYSIX. You see,THIRTY SIX is TOPDOG, our leader, Ma-

jor Scott D. Higgins, and he is justmaking sure none of his 30 cadetsand 6 Seniors for whom he is re-sponsible, have become lost. (Thename Smithers has been chosento protect the guilty.) And, thatshow the MEWNG Winter SurvivalSchool began that cold Friday after-noon of February 20, 2004 at theBangor, Maine, Air National GuardBase.

Now, this description is coming toyou from the point of view of a sen-ior who has never done any wintercamping. Because I pilot my ownsingle-engine experimental aircraft,I felt it would be good life insuranceto know how to survive in the fieldwere my aircraft ever to fall out ofthe sky with me in it. I know how

North East Region, Maine Wing, 2004 Winter Survival School

long it might take for one of our CAPnight-supersonic C172s to find me

and I wanted to be alive when theyarrived, so I dutifullyfilled out CAP FORM 31requesting the 2004Winter Survival Schooland was accepted.After a prior eveningcheck-in at the BOQ atMANG, muster was inthe chow hall Friday at0700 with the propermenu of complex carbo-hydrates, proteins andfats, (Yes, Cadet Vir-ginia, fats ARE good foryou.) In all fairness, we

were not required to cook our ownmeals. The 101st Services Flight ofthe 101st Aerial Refueling Wing pro-vided three excellentmeals Friday, and oneenthusiastically re-ceived breakfast onSaturday after all nightout in the field.After Friday breakfastwe broke into three

groups: First Year stu-dents, the newbies,thats me; SecondYear students, theweve-done-it-once-before group; and theThird Year Students,the whats he going-to-throw-at-us-now group.

We, newbies, had to learn some-thing sensible before we could risk

our fragile bodies out in the cold foran overnight. For the next six hourswe heard several PowerPoint pres-entations and lectures enriched bythe personal, colorful experiences ofour instructor, Major Higgins. Topicsincluded: an understanding of thebalance of body energy (BTUs) toprevent frostbite or hypothermia; thekinds of food to maintain the internalfurnace; how much water to drink(lots); what to do when your bodybecomes critical (youre going todie), at either too hot at 105oF or toocold at 92oF; how to warmly dress(three layers); and what kind ofsleeping bag (polyester) in which tosleep. After all this instruction, wenewbies were taken to the field and

challenged to find a smooth,comfortable place betweentwo or more trees to create acozy shelter to keep outwind, rain, and, hopefully, toallow some sleep!Upon return to camp afterdinner on Friday with our

shelters already built, alongcomes Quiz Time. The firewas restoked to blazing. In-structor Higgins called outquestion after question on amyriad of topics. Any ques-tion properly answered was

promptly rewarded with a mystery

(Continued on page 6)


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MMaine Wing Overaine Wing OverWing Commander

Col Mitch Sammons

Vice Commander

Lt Col Larry Woods

Wing Public Affairs

Maj Chris Hayden

Newsletter Editor

Capt Dennis Murray

Headquarters

Maine Wing, Civil Air PatrolPO Box 5006

Augusta Maine, 04332-5006

Editorial Office: 207/767-1874

Headquarters: 207/626-7830

The Maine Wing Over is an unofficial newsletter pub-lished quarterly in the interest of members of the MaineWing of the Civil Air Patrol. Any opinions either ex-

pressed or inferred by the writers herein are their own andare not to be considered official expression by the Civil

Air Patrol or the Department of the Air Force.

MEMORANDUM FOR All Cadets,Maine WingFROM: Deputy Commander, MaineWing EncampmentSUBJECT: Encampment CadetStaff Selection and Training Week-

end1.. Cadets applying for staff positionsat the 2004 Maine WingEncampment are expected to attendtwo pre-encampment staff trainingweekends. This memorandum con-tains information on the first pre-encampment training weekend. Thisactivity will also accept applicantsfrom cadets not planning on servingon encampment staff (see item 3b).2.. Location and Dates: The staff se-lection and training weekend will beheld at the Bangor Air National GuardBase on 19-21 March 2004. Sign inwill be between 1900 and 1930 hourson Friday. Dismissal will be at 1200hours on Sunday.3.. Who may attend:1.. Cadets applying for staff positionsat the 2004 Maine Wing Encamp-ment are expected to attend. If youcan not attend, but still wish to beconsidered for a cadet staff position,you must contact Colonel Treadwell.You will be expected to complete thestaff application process as detailed

in my 25 February 2004 memoran-dum.2.. Any cadet holding the grade ofCadet Staff Sergeant or higher mayattend the weekend, even if you donot plan on applying for an encamp-

ment staff position. Attendance at theactivity is limited to 40 cadets; priorityfor attendance will be given to en-campment applicants. Non-encampment applicants will be takenon a first come, first accepted basis.Please indicate on your applicationthat you are a non-encampment ap-plicant. Applications and Deadline:You must complete each of the fol-lowing steps to attend the staff selec-tion and training weekend:1.. You must notify 1Lt WayneMcKinney, CAP, at Maine WingHeadquarters that you plan to attendby phone or e-mail by 1200 hours onFriday 6 March 2004. Lt McKinneycan be reached via e-mail [email protected] by phone at 207-626-7830.b.. You must complete a CAPF form31 and mail the form, along with acheck for $10 payable to Maine WingCadet Programs to Maine WingHeadquarters. The letter must bepostmarked no later than 12 March2004. The address for Maine Wing

Headquarters is P.O. Box 5006, Au-gusta, ME 04332-50061.. Medical information: It is very im-portant that you properly completethe medical information questionnaireon CAPF 31. Please advise ColonelTreadwell if you have any medicalconditions or limitations.2.. Uniforms: Uniforms for the week-end will be both Class "B" blues(short sleeve shirt, no tie) and BDU's.You must also bring PT clothing.3.. Meals: You will be provided four

(4) meals during the weekend:Saturday breakfast, lunch and dinnerand Sunday breakfast. If you havefood allergies or other medical and /or religious restrictions on what foodyou may eat, you must communicatethat to Colonel Treadwell with yourapplication package.4.. You will be billeted at the Horizon

Inn at the Bangor Air NationalGuard Base. In addition to your cloth-ing, you must bring your owntoiletries, soap, towel and washcloth.It is recommended that you also bringnotebooks and other writing materials

and your leadership laboratorybooks.5.. Open Cadet Staff Positions: Allcadet staff positions, with theexception of cadet commander, cadetdeputy commander, cadet executiveofficer and cadet training officer areopen. The following list illustratesthe open positions:1.. Flight staff (flight commandersand flight sergeants)2.. Squadron Staff (Squadron Com-manders and first sergeants)3.. Training NCO4.. PAO Staff (PAO Officer, PAAONCO, Photographer)5.. Emergency Services Staff (flightcommander, flight sergeant,squadron commander, first sergeant,and instructors)6.. Operations (operations officer andNCO - new staff position thisyear working in and with the cooks)7.. Other executive staff positions(logistics, admin, etc.).10. The encampment commander,along with the deputy commander,

commandant ofcadets, and the emergency servicesprogram director will have the finaldecision on staff selections. No staffselections will be made until the endof the staff selection weekend.1.. Questions on the application proc-ess can be addressed to theundersigned via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at518-493-5961. If you are unable toreach Lt. Col. Webster, you may con-tact Col. Treadwell directly at

[email protected].

MARK T. WEBSTER, LieutenantColonel, CAP

Deputy Commander


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Wing Cadets and Seniors at Stobie Seaplane Base on Moosehead Lake, Maine move a Cessna 182 seaplane f rom the water ramp to land parking. Maine Wing has

supported the International Pilots association Fly-in for the past seven years. Photo Courtesy of Mike Lange, Moosehead Messenger.

International Parade Lead by CAPColor and Honor GuardOn August 9, 2003, the Maine WingSquadrons from St Croix Composite,

Machias Valley and Downeast onceagain participated in the InternationalParade from Calais, Maine to StStephens, New Brunswick. In addi-tion, the Honor Guard from many dif-ferent squadrons participated. Thisyear was special to Maine Wing, CAPbecause we lead the parade, whichhas not been done for many years. Itseems the organizers of the event cancount on CAP personnel to be on timeand to be very professional. Lessproblems for them and believe me

they have many problems to dealwith, before, during and after theevent. Thank you to all of the partici-

50 Years of Service

Attention to all Cadets! AirmanAcademy is coming up! Mark yourcalendar for April 19th-22nd at theBangor Air National Guard Base.This training activity is designed forbasic cadets, Airman, Airman 1st

Class, and Senior Airman that wouldlike further training on follower shipskills and leadership skills. This activ-ity is designed to assist you inachieving your next grade and to pre-pare you for Encampment. If you areplanning on a successful career as acadet, plan on attending this activity.You must send your CAPF 31 toMaine Wing HQ, P.O. Box 5006, Au-gusta, ME 04332-5006 by April 1st,along with your $30.00 registrationfee. Arrival time will be 1330 on Mon-day the 19th. Lunch will not beserved so be sure to have eaten be-fore hand. Graduation will be at 1400on Thursday 22nd at the Air NationalGuard Base, so any parents whowant to attend plan on being there forthat time. Cadets can be picked upafter graduation. Special note to anycadets interested in applying for staff:In order to qualify for staff you musthave attended either an AirmanAcademy or an Encampment previ-ously and be a C/SSgt. or above.Please note on your application

which position you are applying forand send a short resume. If youwould like a staff position send yourapplication in as soon as possible,because staffing decisions will bemade soon.1Lt. Lori Renzullo

Colonel Mitchell Sammons, MaineWing Commander and Major MikePellerin, Maine Wing Director of

Communications, recently visitedColonel Joseph Melrose and MajorAnn Melrose at their home in Bath.While their, Colonel Melrose waspresented his 50 year service awardand both of the Melrose's receivedCommanders CommendationAwards. They have both served theCivil Air Patrol with tremendous dedi-

cation for a long time. Colonel Mel-rose is currently the CommunicationsLicensing and Records Officer forMaine Wing. Colonel Melrose is also

a former Maine Wing Commander.Both Colonel Melrose and Major Mel-rose are the Directors of both theMaine Wing HF Nets and the North-east Region Nets. They have both

been nominated by the NortheastRegion Commander for the NationalMeritorious Service Award. Theirdedication and service to the Civil AirPatrol and our country should serveas an inspiration to all members.Maj Mike Pellerin, DOC

I am pleased and proud to announcethat Captain Ted Kryzak has as-

sumed the helm as the Director ofthe Maine Wing Cadet Program as-sisted by 1 Lt. Lori Renzullo as theDeputy Director and Major Scott Hig-gins as the Cadet Activities Officer. Iam especially pleased to announcethat 1Lt. Peter Goss has agreed tostep in to take the reins of our WingSafety Program. This extremely im-

Staff Changes

portant position will be managed ag-gressively by 1Lt. Goss to all of ourbenefit. I am looking forward to work-ing with him in this endeavor as hedevelops a program that will makeMaine Wing an outstanding example

for CAP.Our congratulations to themare in order as well as our thanks fortaking on those responsibilities.Thisis a strong team that will continue thefine tradition of the Maine Wing Cadet& Safety Programs. There are somegreat ideas and events planned forthis year, so don't miss out on the op-portunities and experiences. Checkthe Maine Wing Web Page for thedates of these activities and watch forfuture announcements.My thanks to these members for theirdedication and commitment to thesuccess of Maine Wing.Mitch Sammons Col. CAPCommander - Maine Wing

To all Cadets planning on attendingthe Honor Guard Academy,This years Honor guard academy willrun from April 18 - 24 (please notethat this is longer than the airman

academy). The academy will end at1500 on Saturday the 24 of April, soplease make sure you have properarrangements to be picked up. Thecost for the Academy this year will be$100 per cadet. If funds are a problemplease let us know and we will worksomething out. Do not forget to havea form 31 completely filled out includ-ing the medical section. Please sendall forms to Lt. Roberts at:744 GrayRd.Windham Me.04026If you haveany problems call Lt. Roberts at 892-

0386. Your money and a photocopy ofthe form 31 should be sent to MaineWing Headquarters. For the academycadets should expect for rigorous PT,and constant work from the time youget up to the time you go to bed. Con-tact me for a list of what to bring.C/MSgt. RibeiroHonor Guard Deputy Commander

Honor Guard Academy


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old Ribeiro, Capt Don Sau-cier, Lt Col Ed Vadja, andCapt Jeff Weinstein. CadetsBurns, Washek, Earle,McGovern and St John allenthusiastically helped man

the booth and answer ques-tions about the CAP cadetprogram from inquiringyoungsters.Submitted by Capt JeffWeinstein, CAP Maine WingDeputy Public Affairs Officer(Maj Chris Hayden, MaineWing Public Affairs Officer &CCCS Squadron Com-mander, also contributed tothis report.)

Photos by Capt JeffWeinstein.

St CroixComposite Squadron

Cumberland CountyComposite Squadron

Maine Wing's Cumberland CountyComposite Squadron set up andmanned an effective informationaland recruiting booth at the AnnualBoy Scouts of America Exposition onSunday, February 1st, 2004. Theevent took place at the CumberlandCounty Civic Center in Portland. TheMEWG Honor Guard led the scoutsduring their impressive parade offlags and performed some drill rou-tines several times throughout the

six-hour event, to the delight of theExpo's attendees. Local ABC-TVChannel 8 briefly featured the HonorGuard on its evening newscast.Throughout the day, the full scale re-cruiting booth drew a good-sizedcrowd. Based upon the level of inter-est, the CCCS anticipates a newflood of cadets as a result. OneSquadron cadet who is both a CAPCadet and a Boy Scout changeduniforms half way through the day inorder to support both interests

equally! Maine Wing Senior Memberswho contributed to the success of thishigh-visibility CAP display includedMEWG Honor Guard coaches 1LtRoberts and 1Lt Young, as well asCCCS Members Capt Marc Brunelle,1Lt Paul Connors, 1Lt Andrea Hay-den, Maj Chris Hayden, Capt TedKryzak, Capt Beau Provost, 1Lt Har-

1Lt Paul Connors, Capt Ted Kryzak, & MajChris Hayden Man the booth at the BoyScouts Expo

The St Croix Composite Squadron,is pleased to announce the promo-tions of four cadets in the squadron.Shown, left to right, are the followingcadets. Cadet John Chambers, Bai-

leyville & Grand Lake Stream waspromoted to Cadet Technical Ser-geant, Cadet Robbie Wilson, Cal-ais, was promoted to Cadet Airman,Cadet Steven Martorano, Calais,was promoted to Cadet Senior Air-man and Cadet Stephen Lincoln,Jr., Baileyville & Baring, was pro-moted to Senior Master Sergeant.LTC James Greenlaw, awarded thepromotions to each cadet during theregular meeting on Thursday night.Capt Dennis Murray, DCC

Cadet Joseph Martorano promotedto C/A1CMartorano re-ceived his well-deserved pro-motion at the

regular meetingon January 22,2004. C/A1CMartorano pic-tured here, received his promotionorders from Commander Lt ColJames Greenlaw. Congratulations toJoseph Martorano on you well de-served promotion.(Photos by 2Lt Jerry Palmer)

Cadet Todd Clark to C/SrAClark received his well-deserved promotion atthe regular meeting onJanuary 22, 2004. C/SrA Clark, picturedhere, received his pro-motion orders fromCommander Lt ColJames Greenlaw. Con-gratulations to Senior Airman ToddClark on you well deserved promo-tion.(Photos by 2Lt Jerry Palmer)

Cadet Derek Farquharson pro-moted to C/SSgt.The St Croix Compos-ite Squadron, CAP, ispleased to announcethe promotion of CadetDerek Farquharson.Farquharson receivedhis well deserved pro-motion at the regularmeeting on January22, 2004. Congratulations to Staff

Sergeant Derek Farquharson on youwell deserved promotion.(Photos by 2Lt Jerry Palmer)Stories by: Capt Dennis Murray, DCC

When good people in any countrycease their vigilance and struggle,then evil men prevail.

Pearl S. Buck


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Waterville CompositeSquadron

Machias ValleyComposite Squadron

Augusta-GardinerComposite Sq

The Machias Valley CompositeSquadron had the following promo-

tions the last quarter:Cadet CommanderDavid Roth receivedhis Earhart award andwas promoted to Cap-tain. Cadet Christo-pher McCarthy was

promoted toCadet / ChiefMaster Ser-geant. Cadet

John Rother-mel was pro-moted to Cadet /Senior MasterSergeant. Cadet

Richard Sim-mon was pro-moted to Ca-det / MasterSergeant.Senior

Patricia Rothermel, our new chap-lain, was promoted to 1st Lieutenant.(No picture available) SeniorTim

Moorhouse,our newestpilot, waspromoted to2nd Lieuten-ant.Congratula-

tions to these fine members of Civil AirPatrol. Your dedication and accom-plishments make us all very proud.Karen Varian, PAOMachias Valley Composite Sq.

In news from the Waterville CompositeSquadron, cadets and seniors haverecently been recognized for achieve-

ments for outstanding dedication toCAP. During the annual awards ban-quet held in February cadets, seniorsand family members shared in a spe-cial supper while awards were an-nounced. Lt Col. Pearl Benderwas

named senior member of the year forour squadron. C/Amn Doug Gliddentook home the honor of cadet of theyear. C/MSgt Miles Noonan was an-nounced as the cadet NCO of theyear. C/Capt Erik Bellandi shined asthe cadet officer of the year. In othernewsworthy notes several seniormembers have been nominated forWing Conference awards: Lt Col.Pearl Benderwas nominated for theSenior of the year award, Maj ArtPhilbrick was nominated for theBrewer award, 1Lt Doug Grosso wasnominated for Communicator of theyear award, and 2Lt Charlie Brownwas nominated for the Maurice Cantoraward.2Lt Lauren N. Grosso, PAO

(Continued from page 7) CAC, Wing Conf

more said than done." We don't wantto fall into that trap. These activitiesand increased input from the cadets

through their CAC should promotemore interest and involvement, thussuccess, in Maine Wing. Please letme know if you have any questions.Thank you.

Mitch Sammons Col. CAPCommander - Maine Wing

At the Squadron in the last eightmonth's we have had 5 of our wonder-

ful cadets pass the Mitchell. That isgreat for this squadron. We've come along way in 3 1/2 years !! We are un-derstaffed, but we have 4 very de-voted seniors that always get the jobdone. I just thought Wing should knowthis.A devoted Member.

An important component of the WingConference is the presentation ofawards to acknowledge and thankthose members who have performedtheir CAP duties in an exemplary man-ner and/or helped others learn and

grow by their example in the calendaryear 2003. The categories of awardsare: Eagle Award ( for the memberdemonstrating Exceptional Service)Guy Gannett Public Affairs Award,Maj Maddox Communicator of theYear, Maurice Cantor Service Award(for the jack of all trades member whogets whatever needs doing done), Pro-fessional Development Officer of theYear, Richard MacDonald EmergencyServices Award Safety Officer of theYear, Senior Member of the Year,Squadron Commander of the Year,Sustained Excellence Award (for thatmember with most remarkable persis-tence and perseverance), Wing StaffMember of the Year, Commander'sCommendation and Certificates of Ap-preciation. All seniors and cadets maysubmit as many nominations as theywish (however cadets may not benominated). Please send in your nomi-nations to MEWG CAP HQ (P.O. Box5006, Augusta ME 04332-5006) identi-fying the award category, the nomi-nee's name, your name and the rea-

sons you feel your nominee should re-ceive the award. If for some reasonyou do not want your endorsementmade public on the website please in-dicate in your submission. Alterna-tively, you can enter your nominationson-line by going to the Wing websiteand clicking on the "Nominations" link.To see who has been nominated sofar, click on "Nominees". The closingdate for receipt of all nominations willbe March 15, 2004 as the award com-mittee will meet to review and select

the award winners at the Wing worksession 3/16/04.1LT Wayne McKinneyMEWG Administrative Assistant

The following squadrons had no re-ports: County Senior, BangorBrewer, Pinetree, Sundown andDowneast.


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Safety

(Continued from page 1) Winter Survival 2004

airborne missile. Topics rangedwidely on Aerospace, CAP Regula-tions, Navigation,and, of course, areview of what we

had learned aboutsurvival that morn-ing. Sleeping wasa challenge. Ourcampsite was lo-cated about 1000or 1500 yardsabeam and west ofrunway 16-34 ofthe ANG Base.About 3AM some-body out over theAtlantic neededsome gas as theywere departing from or returning tothe US. Consequently, starting about3 AM and continuing for about 4 sor-ties, KC135 tankers departed to meetthe refueling requirements. Now,sleeping through that takeoff noiseresembled a level 5 tornado passingthrough your shelter. You get a lot ofpractice falling asleep over and over.Finally, dawn arrived along with lightsnow. After packing gear and polic-ing the area several times to makesure the campsite was left as pristine

as we found it, we headed back tothe Mess Hall to share what we hadlearned. After appropriate answers,Major Higgins handed out the Certifi-cates of Completion. Major Higginshad some very capable assistants tohelp keep the 30 cadets followingproper routine. They were 2ndLt. JeffFurlong (CCCS), Capt. Jeff Fellows(Aug) and 1st Lt. Peter Kleskovik(Aug). A survival school such as thisneeds lots of help and these threewere excellent as they assisted Major

Higgins in maintaining proper dignityand protocol with all hands. As anewcomer to the CAP, I have foundthe cadet program to be outstandingfor what it teaches cadets in disci-pline, teamwork and consideration forothers. This quasi-military approachresults in certain additional life-lessons rarely found in other high

school programs. For me, the 2004Winter Survival School was invalu-able. I learned what minimal equip-

ment of leastweight I need tocarry in my aircraft

to survive a coldnight in the MaineWoods, and whilesuch an overnightis not a pleasantprospect, havingthe proper knowl-edge now makessuch an eventseem survivable.Every pilot, CAP orotherwise, shouldtake this course.Its the cheapest

insurance policy a pilot could buy.

Recently there was a Wing Com-manders' teleconference call withMajor General Bowling and others onhis staff. As you know, there havealready been some serious accidentsincluding two fatalities involving CAPmembers and aircraft. There is greatconcern at National over what we all

have to do to make the culturalchange that is apparently necessaryin order to have each member al-ways think of the aspect of SAFETYwhen in service for CAP as well as inpersonal activities. Some sugges-tions that were made include the po-tential for instituting the following re-quirements that we may hear moreof from CAPNHQ - Mandatory atten-dance for pilots at monthly SquadronSafety meetings. No attendance...nofly. Mandatory involvement in the

FAA Wings Program for Pilots. On-line safety quiz at Wing level - allmembers. It is up to all of us inMaine Wing to always defer to safetyconsiderations and to have it be-come an instinctive reaction to thinkof safe operations when we are in-volved in the potentially hazardousactivities of this second vocation we

have agreed to undertake. You will behearing more of these developmentsto strengthen safe operations in thefuture. In the meantime...please thinkbefore acting and then please act in asafe manner.

Thank you.Mitch Sammons Col. CAP

This is a note mostly for the Com-posite Squadrons ImportantThe "official" announcements for theMaine Wing Conference will soon beout.(1.) Please let me know if your squad-ron will be submitting any displays forthe conference and, perhaps, for theNortheast Region Conference. A no-tice had been sent to all that was initi-

ated from NER which described whatsorts of displays they were looking forthis Fall. The essence of the noticewas that they would like to have dis-plays which would bolster the aspectof safety or safe operations with thetheme "Safety in all that we do". Thenext competition that will happen isthe Aerospace Display Competitionwith the theme of "The Most Innova-tive and Inspirational"...a hands-oneducational activity display. The for-mat appears to be an activity/inter-

active game or puzzle type of display.(I would think that with all the com-puter guru's that are in the cadetranks, they should be able to comeup with some clever video game orinteractive visual game or puzzle.) Ifyou did not keep a copy of the NERguidelines, let me know and I willsend them to you.(2.) There will be a Speech Competi-tion for Cadets at our conference thisyear, as well. Please submit thenames of those who would like tocompete in this event to me by 31,March. There will be three topics forthe speeches. These topics will bedetermined at the next Maine WingStaff Meeting (3 March) and will besent to the squadrons for their plan-ning.(3.) Maine Wing has encouraged andprovided increased support for the



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Arlington, VA Ten cadets and threesenior members from Maine WingsMachias and St Croix Squadronsheaded south on December 16th tothe Arlington National Cemetery toparticipate in the annual laying ofChristmas Wreaths on the veteransgraves the following day. The cadetsdid an outstanding job and were a

credit to the Civil Air Patrol said CaptWayne Merritt, the Machias Squad-ron Commander. Seeing our CAPcadets drew comments of praise fromthe public and from the Air Force Re-servists who were also there to helpadded Lt Col. James Greenlaw theCroix Squadron Commander.The inspiration for this trip came from

Capt Wayne Merritts boss MorrillWorchester of the Worchester WreathCompany in Machias, Maine. As ayoung man his father had taken himto Arlington and that visit had such aprofound affect on him he decided hewould find a way to repay the debt tothose who gave their lives so wecould enjoys ours. And so, every yearfor the past eleven years, Morrill Wor-chester has placed his companyswreaths on the graves of veterans atArlington. This year Morrill Wor-chester felt it would be appropriate toask Capt Merritt if his squadron would

like to join him and participate in thewreath laying. It didnt take Capt Mer-ritt long to say "yes" and start contact-ing the cadets and seniors. He alsoput in a call to St Croix Squadron, the

sister squadron to Machias, and re-ceived the same resounding "yes"from their squadron commander LtCol James Greenlaw.Joined by Capt Dennis Murray of StCroix, Lt Col Greenlaw and Capt

Merritt and ten cadets drove for asolid twelve hours and rendez-voused with the Worchester Wreathcompany truck in Arlington. To-

gether all the volunteers laid4,500 5,000 wreaths that day.The cadets and seniors also wit-nessed the wreath ceremony at theTomb of the Unknowns.Maj. Christopher Hayden MEWG/PA

(Continued from page 6) CAC, Wing conf

Cadet Honor Guard program. So,too, do we want to see increasedactivity in the Cadet AdvisoryCouncil. There will be a meeting ofthe CAC at the Wing Conference.Please so notify the cadet whorepresents your squadron in theCAC of this meeting. Please sendthe name, phone number and e-mail address of your CAC represen-tative to me as soon as possible. Ifyou do not have an assigned CACrepresentative by now...assign one.The CAC needs to have more of an

opportunity to express what theywould like to see happen in theMaine Wing Cadet Program and tobe able to see that their ideas aremade into reality. It is up to them,with our support, to see that hap-pen. There's an old saying: "Whenall is said and done...there's a lot


Maine WingAnnual Conference

2004April 23rd-25th

Chalet MotelLewiston, Maine

Be There!You might win.


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NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

PORTLAND ME

PERMIT NO 203

HeadquartersCivil Air Patrol, Maine WingPO Box 5006Augusta, ME 04332-5006

Commanders Corner

Because of storms, we have had tocancel training sessions for January

and February which hasnt helped tokeep our skills in tune or to allowmembers to complete their training toachieve the ES ratings they havebeen working on for so long. But,hang in thereSpring will be on usand those opportunities will be therefor you again. We may be seeingsome interesting joint training ses-sions this year. I have had thechance to meet with the Departmentof Environmental Protection, theMaine State Strategic National Stock-pile Agency, Life Flight of Maine, aswell as the Director of the HancockCounty Emergency ManagementAgency and the Portland Transit Au-thority to discuss the ways MaineWing can help them in their securityefforts. The meetings with the MaineState agencies of D.E.P. and the S.N.S. have already resulted in our be-ing written in to their response plans

and I thank our Wing Director of Home-land Security, Col. Jim Linker, for hishelp in those meetings. Major ChrisHayden arranged for us to meet withthe Portland Transit Authority and the

Downeast Patrol Squadron has beeninstrumental in arranging for closer tieswith the Hancock County E.M.A. Weneed to continue to make those kindsof connections in order to ensure thatMaine Wing will be able to bring itsskills to the table should an incidentrequire our help. All of these agenciesare planning on training exercises thisSpring and Summer and we expect tobe invited to their parties. Please try toattend the 2004 Maine Wing Confer-ence on the weekend of 24 April at theChalet Motel (same location as lastyear) in Lewiston. As you know, theCumberland County CompositeSquadron is the host squadron, thisyear, and it should be one of the bestconferences to date. Details are forth-coming, watch for those announce-ments. This past month, Major Pellerinand I had a chance to present the 50year membership award to Col. Joseph

Melrose. It was an honor to be ableto do so, and we are very fortunate tohave Col. Joseph Melrose and hiswife Maj. Anne Melrose perform ourradio NET requirements as well as to

assist Major Pellerin in the difficulttask of maintaining our radio systemsand records. We sincerely thankthem for their commitment to the suc-cess of Maine Wing. Like everything,it sometimes seems that we can getdistracted by the smaller incidentsthat can cause frustration and the ex-asperated thought of Who needsthis? But we need to remember thatanything that has any worth to it isusually achieved by hard work and isnot an easy accomplishment. We canall agree that the core values of the

Civil Air Patrol mean to achievestrong character traits and providegood examples for our future genera-tions. This is a good program to seein action and you members of MaineWing make it happen.Col Mitchell SammonsWing commander

maine wing - mar 2004

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