Oshkosh, Wis.–August 1, 2010 – The last day of AirVenture was a day to honor the memory of those whose passion for aviation touched the lives of others. 

Lieutenant Colonel Conrad Eggers was among those who were remembered during a ceremony held at 11:00 am at the Memorial Wall just outside Fergus Chapel on the edge of Pioneer Airport.

During the ceremony, the names of the 84 Memorial Wall inductees for 2010 were announced by Tom Poberezny, President and Chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA).   Following the recital of names, the aerial missing man formation was performed, Taps was played, and a wreath was placed at the wall.

The ceremony was attended by his sister-in-law, Danielle, other members of his family, and friends.  Many of his family and friends wore Hawaiian style shirts because Eggers had a special fondness for them.

Civil Air Patrol members present to pay tribute included Lt. Col. Marcia Cunningham, Lt. Col. Harvey Moss, Major Pete Boulanger, Major Pat Gaylord, and Captain Robert Koehler. Major Gaylord arranged to have Lt. Col. Eggers enrolled at the Memorial Wall.

Lt. Col. Eggers, who died unexpectedly in 2007 at age 55, joined Civil Air Patrol in 1991. He was a member of the 248^th Tac Air Senior Squadron.  He was very active with the cadets in the Fox Cities Composite Squadron.

“He had a quiet way in which he spent time mentoring cadets. His commitment to the cadet program set him apart,” said Lt. Col. Moss.

Lt. Col. Cunningham recalled her memories of Lt. Col. Eggers.  “He loved to argue a point, but he knew when to concede,” she said.  “He was great in communications and a stickler for detail.  He was a good person who was conscientious of those around them and their feelings.  He is still greatly missed.”

After a busy day of working at the national EAA AirVenture recruiting booth on Tuesday, July 27^th, eleven Fox Cities Composite Squadron members, driving north on Hwy 41, came upon an overturned vehicle in the ditch.  The single vehicle accident had happened just moments before arriving at the scene. 

A passerby who witnessed the accident called 911 while Captain Robert Koehler took charge of the situation until emergency personnel help arrived.

Captain Kurt Lichtenwald, Second Lieutenant Linda Sanchez-Reid, Senior Member Connie Lichtenwald and Cadet Second Lieutenant Mitchell Lichtenwald implemented their training to assess the situation, assist the victim, and provide crowd control.  Fortunately the driver while disorientated did not appear seriously injured. 

Also arriving at the scene and assisting was a United States Army combat medic who had been attached to an Air Force security unit in Iraq.  Emergency response personnel from Winnebago County arrived quickly at the scene.

Under the direction of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol is conducting a precautionary search and rescue mission from Thursday, July 22 - Monday, August 2 in support of the EAA AirVenture Fly-in being held at Wittman Field, Oshkosh, Wis.

The mission task assignments include ramp checks for overdue aircraft, search for on-site emergency locator transmissions (ELTs), electronic and visual search for missing aircraft, and precautionary air patrols monitoring for ELT signals.

Ground teams and supporting air crew will be placed strategically around the surrounding area in order to facilitate a quick response should an emergency arise.

According to Lt Col. Dean Klassy, project officer for the mission, "Weather may have a major impact on operations this year."

Weather has indeed been a factor this summer as the heat and humidity make the atmosphere ripe for numerous thunderstorms and potential tornados. The pattern continues to go through the heart of the Appleton, Oshkosh, and Fond du Lac this summer, showing cause for concern during the world's largest aircraft fly-in.

If a natural disaster should strike, Klassy states that "Civil Air Patrol will be ready to assist the Wisconsin Emergency Management team should they call upon us for help." 

"The incident base is up and fully functional with 15 staff & support personnel along with three aircraft, and five ground teams. The Mobile Command Center monitors all communications within the mission as well as watching the weather for approaching storms."

The Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol with its 1,100 volunteer members has three missions:  Aerospace Education, Cadet Programs and Emergency Services.  It is emergency services that have the largest impact on the community.

Most recently Wisconsin Wing supported the North Dakota and Minnesota Wings during the flooding of the Red River. Providing real-time digital photography during natural disasters to local agencies is just one aspect of what Civil Air Patrol is capable of. Searching by both land and air for a missing person or air craft as well as helping in disaster relief efforts; shows that Civil Air Patrol is a valuable resource for our country.

During the closing ceremony at the July 12 meeting of the Rock County Composite Squadron, Lt Col's Gregory  Kerr (left) and Lt Col Larry Ochowski (right) had the honor of assisting in the promotion to Lt Col. Bruce Kincaid (center).  Squadron commander, Maj. Robert Spenle officiated at the ceremony. 

Lt Col Kincaid will be leaving the squadron in the fall to return to Tennessee where he resided prior to moving to Rockford, IL.

Photo by C/Msgt David Alexander

Volk Field, Wis.– July 21, 2010 – Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol members sustained burns, broken limbs, gunshot wounds, food poisoning, bleeding gums, and squirrel bites (yes, squirrel bites) during their participation in Operation Patriot.

The injuries were simulated, but nevertheless played an important part in training the Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) personnel during the Patriot exercises.

Operation Patriot is an annual joint forces training exercise that gives Army and Air National Guard units from across the country an opportunity to train with the U.S. Army and Air Force, as well as Coalition forces, in scenarios they might encounter when deployed.

From July 17-21, members of the Wisconsin Wing Civil Air Patrol volunteered to play the role of injured military personnel or civilians, whose injuries could range from bruises to post traumatic stress.  Although mannequins can be used for some situations, medical personnel appreciate the responsiveness of live patients.

The scenarios are carefully constructed in advance, but can also be altered while in play.  In a typical scenario, volunteers are briefed on their roles, and may undergo moulage to simulate their injuries, and are then transported by ambulance to the EMEDS facility.  The EMEDS has an emergency room, operating room, and ward capable of stabilizing the patients.  Depending on the situation, the patient could also then be transferred to CSU (Casualty Staging Unit), a holding area that provides medical care while the patient awaits aeromedical evacuation.

The CSU was operated by medical personnel of the Royal Netherlands Air Force.  Medical personnel in the EMEDS included members of the Canadian Armed forces and Belgium Air Force.

Doctors and nurses already know how to take care of patients, so the exercise is really all about “patient flow,” according to Lt. Colonel Ludwig, a physician serving in the Washington State Air National Guard.

“The supplemental non-patient-care is so important,” he said.

Medical personnel worked around the clock in 12 hour shifts.  Patient role players were available for “inserts” from 7 am to 4 pm.

The Patriot exercise started in the mid 1990s.  Approximately 1000 total military personnel participated in Operation Patriot this year, according Captain Holly Caldwell, Air National Guard Joint Force Headquarters in Ohio.  This year’s exercise was smaller in scale due to funding issues, she said, and it had a larger focus on domestic operations.

This was the sixth year that the Wisconsin Wing was asked to participate.  Participants were Lt. Colonel John Potterton, Lt. Col Marcia Cunningham, Captain Michael Krein, Capt. Suzanne Potterton, 1^st Lieutenant Alison Schneller, 1^st Lt. Terese Barta, 2^nd Lt. Timothy McCaigue, Cadet Chief Master Sergeant Natalie Marshall, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Victoria Schell, Cadet Chief Master Sgt. Annaka Fischer, Cadet Senior Master Sgt. Alex Lengyel, and Cadet Staff Sgt. Phillip Tomovici.

Capt. Krein was the Civil Air Patrol’s Point of Contact this year.

“It’s not difficult to take over a project like Patriot when it has been run for so many years by Colonel Potterton, he said. “He has built a good rapport with the Air Force.  The Army and the Air Force love us.”

Calumet County Park was the site for a field training exercise that Fox Cities Composite Squadron conducted on July 16 - 17.  Provided with only a basic structure with electricity, the participants had a valuable opportunity to complete training with minimal technology; a laptop with preloaded forms and a printer. 

With two training scenarios being utilized; a downed aircraft and a missing person, both missions were accomplished through collaboration between Fox Cities' aircraft and ground team members.

A great team effort was made by all participants attending this training mission. The outstanding incident commander, mission staff, aircrew, ground team leaders and members, and SET examiners, all contributed to the success of this training mission.

Though the training was to last through Sunday, the threat of severe weather forced the mission to conclude early Saturday evening. Fox Cities Composite Squadron is thankful to the Calumet County Park for their continued support of their training missions.