Edition # 3 1 July 2010

Monroe Squadron Assist County As Tornado Hits Area

At 02:05 Sunday morning the first funnel cloud touched down in Monroe County. There were multiple hits and when the reported two tornados had completed their run, the pathway of damage passed from our counties furthest western border moving east until it hit Lake Erie. Considering the assistance our squadron has supplied to the county emergency service divisions with aerial photographs most members anticipated a call to duty. They were not disappointed as the first call came in from the local news papers requesting aerial photographs. Soon after the American Red Cross called in with similar request. All groups were requesting pictures of the hardest hit area in the county the City of Dundee. Squadron Commander Lt Col Mark Woodruff assigned an air crew of AP Capt Jay Jondro, Pilot 1st Lt Carl Sweeney, Observer Capt C/2Lt Ryan Graczyk, to the mission. During their preflight briefing the crew decided in addition to the Dundee area that they would follow the overall path of the twister and record pictures of the complete route of devastation. It was further decided that both Capt JonIn This Issue dro and C/2Lt Graczyk would both man cameras whenever possible. Utilizing two cameras would give Pg1) MI-063 Assist in Tornado the crew the opportunity for one photographer to con- Assessment centrate on damage assessment photography while Pg 2) MI-063 Featured in CAP the other would shoot pictures and practice transmitting News, Estral Beach Clean Up photos from the air. One complete set of photographs Pg 3) Commanders Letter of the Dundee area were successfully sent from the air. Pg 4) Life Saving Award After completing the photo run over Dundee the crew Pg 5) Squadron Service moved eastward across the county shooting areas Pg 6) Cadets Page with storm damage. They completed their photo run Pg 7) Squadron Service over the Village of Estral Beach the last area hit before Pg 8) MIWING Rare Finds the tornado slipped into Lake Erie. Pg 9) Promotions Picture discs were burned and delivered to all re- Pg 10) Picture Page questing parties within an hour. For their work the Monroe Squadron again received front page coverage of their photos. A complete set of the aerial photos Squadron Articles were also available for viewing at the Monroe Evening News on line news edition.

Monroe Composite Squadron

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MI-063 Tornado Efforts Featured In Capnews . Again

Our Squadron was featured June 15th in Capnews : Volunteer Now on-line news. Our Wing and National press release and an assortment of aerial pictures of the tornado damage were featured the national news edition. Along with the article similar to that on page one of this news letter there were nine rotating aerial photographs. This article will be added to the Squadrons Wall of Fame of news releases that made national publication.

Monroe Personnel Assist in Village of Estral Beach Clean Up

The Monroe Composite Squadron MI-063 answered the call for help and assisted the Village of Estral Beach in a massive debris clean up effort. The clean up service included removing tree limbs, decks and docks from the roadside, beach line, and the village canal system. Two tornados rated as a high end EF2 hit the Villages of Dundee and Estral Beach just after 02:00 Sunday June 6th. At its high point wind speeds of 135 MPH were recorded. Dundee was the focal point of most television news reports. It grabbed the medias attention because many visitors to the local Cabellas were evacuated and relocated during the storm. There was also abnormally high amount of auto traffic through Dundee due to the upcoming NASCAR race at MIS speedway. The Monroe squadron used its emergency contact service, polled its members and offered to assist immediately in the Dundee clean up effort. With all the news coverage volunteers from all over streamed into Dundee to help. The squadron was informed by the local Red Cross to stand down, there was no need for additional workers. However the very next day the squadron was contacted by the Red Cross, this time to see if MI-063 was still interested in helping in a clean up effort. It seems in all the hurried efforts to assist Dundee, the Village of Estral Beach was in dire need of help. The squadron was contacted by Village President Dan Swindle with an urgent plea for help. Emergency crews had removed trees throughout the village leaving behind limbs of all sizes on the beach lines, in the emergency flood canals, and along the roadside. Mr. Swindle also stated that the work to be done was on private property and his village residents would be relieved and feel secure to see CAP volunteers in military uniforms helping in the clean up effort. A composite crew of squadron volunteers assembled at squadron headquarters at 0800 Saturday 12 June. They traveled to the village assembling outside the village offices to get safety and mission briefing, and to receive their assignments. The squadron was split into two flights and hit the beach line at the villages most northern and southern borders. Slowly moving down the beach line, dragging the debris through the constricted spaces between the houses they filled flat bed trailer after trailer with limbs of all sizes. By noon the beach line and some adjoining lots were cleaned. Continued : See Estral Beach Clean Up Page Three

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From The Squadron Commander Lt Col Mark Woodruff

Why does this guy keep bugging me? It seems like every week the Public Relations Officer is bugging me for the Commanders article for the newsletter. Is he stockpiling the articles or is time just going by that fast? A quick look at my watch reaffirms that the time is actually going that fast! Too much has happened since I last penned an article. We have lost some members and gained others. The squadron is now up to 43 members and growing. In all my years being associated with the Monroe Composite Squadron I have never seen the membership this high. We have survived several tornadoes, completed the USAF evaluated mission, put on a Group 705 SLS with 20 students, attended the cadet run Operation Wolverine mission, attended the 2010 Wing conference, made a trip to Wright-Patterson AFB Museum and now it is time for encampment. All in all, a busy three months. And this time of year isnt just busy for CAP activities. It is also the time of year that families travel, vacation and work around the house. While you are busy with these activities please keep in mind a simple phrase that goes something like this: There is no job so important that it cannot be done safely! When I worked for the phone company I would see a plaque with this each and every morning and it was not only written but preached. It should be around your home too. Be safe and have a great summer.

Estral Beach Clean Up Cont. from page 2

After a lunch break the flights combined and were tasked to work in the villages inland canal system. The canals were filled with tree limbs, and building material debris from docks and sheds. Village residents in boats cut and secured ropes to the debris and MI-063 members pulled the rubble on to the banks to be cut up and moved to disposal area. The members working the canal duty were glad the uniform of the day was BDUs the canal water had a green hue and a unique smell to it. Senior Members working on the clean up detail were, Major James Fiel, Captains Jay Jondro and Jeff Walters, 1Lts George Low, Nick Roberty, and Doug Thoma. The Cadets cadre included, Cadet Commander Alex ChavisC/2Lt Ryan Graczyk, C/ CMSgt David Lawrence, C/SMSgt Jason Gulley, C/SA Jessica DeAngelo, C/A1C John Parker, and C/A Alex Tirpak. The work was hard, dirty, and smelly but all involved were rewarded with the sincere appreciation exhibited throughout the day by the village residents. The village clean up was featured story in the Monroe Evening News and our squadron received special recognition for our volunteer efforts.

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Capt Jeff Walters and C/2Lt Camille Walters Receive Prestigious Cap Life Saving Award
Captain Jeff Walters and his daughter C/2Lt were presented with the prestigious CAP Life Saving Decoration by Group 705 Commander Lt Col Leo Burke. The award is presented to members who utilize their emergency training to save a human life. The recommendation and description of the act was written by Lt Col Burke as follows : On 06 Mar 2010, 1000HRS C/2Lt Walters and Captain Jeff Walters were attending a funeral. The temperature that morning was 35 degrees. The snow piles had melted and refrozen over night. When they pulled into the parking lot of the church, where the services were being held. Capt Jeff Walters, noticed that some one was lying on the ground near a car. After driving over to the area, Cadet and Captain Walters noticed an elderly lady had slipped on the ice and was not moving. Immediately leaving their car, the Walters, announced that they were trained in first aid and were there to help her. Capt Walters and C/2Lt assessed the situation, comforting the 84 year old woman. C/2Lt Walters called 911 for medical assistance. Deciding not to move her until she could be stabilized, due to the pain in her upper left leg. The Walters comforted the woman and kept her focused to prevent shock until the EMS workers arrived. After EMS arrived the Walters assisted with the moving the woman on to a back board and stabilized her for the trip to the hospital. Their quick actions by Captain and Cadet Walters prevented this elderly woman from going into shock and they prevented further medical complications. Their actions likely saved the womans life and reflect the values of the US Air Force Auxilary, Civil Air Patrol. The Life Saving Award was presented to the Walters at a Squadron meeting.

A Big MI-063 Thanks, and a UhRah to Capt Nathan Harmon for Your Work on the Communications Room Remodel

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Monroe Squadron Serves as Exercise Planners

The Monroe Squadron and its Exercise Planning Group were again tapped for their exercise planning expertise. This mission event had special meaning because it was the practice for the bi-annual Air Force Evaluated Mission. The planning group laid out a new and challenging tale of events that kept the Mission IC and the sections head hopping through out the weekend. The mission was based on the scheme that a civilian transport plane was moving military equipment from Selfridge ANGB to Grayling NGB. The aircrafts cargo door would blow off in bad weather as the payload shifted. Freight from the storage bay fell along the crafts scheduled route, and forced flight path as the craft experienced mechanical failures. The cargo dropped along the way until the transport finally crashed consisted of harmless supplies, an assortment of rebuilt ELTs, to highly flammable jet fuel. Wing Squadrons along the flight path helped by laying out simulated debris at the EPs prescribed locations. Judging from the section heads comments the exercise plan proved to quite challenging and a good preparation for the biyearly USAF Evaluated Mission Many Monroe Squadron members worked at the event. 1Lt Greg Lane handled the position of Exercise Planner and Controller single handedly. Others seniors working the event were, Lt Col Woodruff Air Ops Branch Director, 1Lt Carl Sweeny Mission Pilot, C/2Lt Ryan Grazyk Observer, Major Brian Malley Scanner, Major James Feil Observer.

Monroe Squadron Assist USAF in Another NEADS Mission

For the past few years Michigan Wing has assisted in the training of the Michigan Air National Guard by serving as practice intercept targets. The training exercise is designed to teach fighter pilots how to track and intercept low and slow aircraft that fly illegally in US air space. The acronym NEADS stands for North East Air Defense Sector These missions have been validated as of real importance to homeland security because in recent years unannounced and even real intruders have entered restricted air space and the US Air National Guard has been called in to secure the area. The Civil Air Patrol has provided this service in 24 Wings across our country, and in the District of Columbia. Our squadron has been called on multiple times to assist in these missions. Coordinating CAP Wing officer is our Group Commander Lt Col Leo Burke. The most recent mission included an air crew of 1Lt Carl Sweeney as Mission Pilot, Lt Col Mark Woodruff as Mission Scanner, and C/2Lt Ryan Graczyk as Mission Observer Unfortunately it must be noted that this crew did not break our squadrons losing streak. It seams however hard we try we are just not having any luck evading the boys from the US Air National Guard..

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The Cadets Page

Cadets Clean Up Memorial
Last summer the Cadets of MI-063 assisted the Matt Urban American Legion Post #40 of Monroe with the dedication ceremony of Monroes new military monument dedicated to the post namesake Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Matt Urban. Wayne Blank who spearheaded the fund raising efforts for the memorial , asked our cadets to serve as the Color Guard for the ceremony. It was an honor to be selected as the Color Guard as every military organization from the area was represented. Now that a year has gone by and many visitors have paid their respects the monument and surrounding walk areas was in need for a sprucing up. Post 40 was in search of someone to provide this service. When asked our cadets immediately committed to the tasking. On a Thursday meeting evening a flight of cadets policed the monument bringing back to its original dedication condition. Besides the self satisfaction of paying this honor to one of the countries most decorated heros, area motorist honked their approval and gave a thumbs up as they passed by the clean up detail.

Cadets Visit Wright Pat

On 12 June members of the squadron boarded the squadron van and set off to visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton Ohio. Among the attendees were cadets, C/2Lt Ryan Graczyk, C/MSgts Alex Chavis and David Lawrence, C/SA Jessica DeAngelo, C/SMSgt Jason Gulley, C/A Brit Nicholson, and senior members Capt. Nathan Harmon, Lts Nick Roberty, and Doug Thoma. The squadron members toured the museum's various exhibits, participated in several h an ds -on a ct ivit ie s in c lud in g a s p a ce wa lk s imu lat o r, an d a ls o wa lk ed through various former presidential aircraft in the museum's Presidential and Research & Development annex. The squadron ended the day with an IMAX presentation on the construction of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the first commercial aircraft to be built mostly of composite plastics. The flight returned to Monroe over 15 hours after they had left. It was agreed by all they had a better understanding of the history of the US Air Force.

Welcome New Cadet Members

C/AB Adam Audet C/A Joseph Chiparo C/A Darian Cousino C/AB Mike Laughton C/A Brandon Marquette

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Squadron Personnel Assist Historical ReSociety in Custer Re-Dedication

This year was the rededication of the General George Armstrong Custer statue in downtown Monroe. The Monroe County Historical Society spent a year publicizing and promoting the upcoming event. Their efforts resulted in Civil War era buffs coming to the dedication from all over the country. Once the society began receiving reservation from across the country they decided to make the re-dedication a week long event that would include displaying all of our counties rich historical past. There plans would include a tour of Monroe Custer Airport and some of our historical aircraft. They also realized that they would need the assistance of area support groups to successfully pull this off. Squadron Commander Lt Col Woodruff received the plea for assistance from Historical Society President Mika. He requested our squadrons help in marshalling the tour busses into the airport and to directing the visitors to the aircraft static displays. A composite flight of seniors and cadets volunteered to help out. The flight included Squadron Deputy Commander Capt Jay Jondro, Capt Jeff Walters, with cadets C/2Lt Ryan Graczyk, C/CMSgt David Lawrence, C/SMSgt George Bellman, and C/A Joseph Chiparo Main attraction of the airport event was the Grumman Avenger TBM-3E torpedo bomber. The Avenger was an US Navy aircraft with a 3 man crew. The name Avenger came from the intention and goal of Avenging the Pearl Harbor attack. The flight was surprised with the warmth and fondness the visitors displayed. Of course those attending this historic tour would have a special fondness to the military. They thanked our members repeatedly for our service to our country. One elderly grandmother type actually asked members for permission To Hug, and then passed through our ranks sharing her appreciation with a big squeeze. .

Monroe Participates In The (Almost) Memorial Day Parade

Our squadron again received the honor of being invited to join all the other military entities in our city. This was the third consecutive year that the VFW and the Am Vets have honored CAP with this respect for our services. The squadron members were arriving and were all set to participate when the Emergency Management Center activated the alarms for severe storm warnings. The Monroe City Police Department pulled the plug on the annual parade sending all parade participants and observers on their way to safety. Their precautions proved to be prudent as the severe storm seemed to hit as soon as the people were dispersed. The storm also put a damper on the planned post parade ceremonies at the VFW post. Everyone asked could never remember a parade cancelled in Monroe.

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Michigan Wing Records Rare 2 ELTs Finds In 1 Mission

It sounded simple at first when Tyndall AFB called Michigan Wing about an ELT mission, but that changed immediately when the call reported multiple hits from Howell, Flint, Pontiac, and Selfirdge ANGB. A Wing wide e-mail went out with multiple responses back from squadrons volunteering. This was first-rate considering it was during the Easter Weekend. Immediate responders included 2 aircrews, one from Pontiac and another from Monroe. There were 3 ground teams from Livonia, Monroe, and Howell. The IC, Communications, three Ground Teams, and the two Air Crews, all worked well together as the signals went from faint to fairly strong from Selfridge to Chelsea, to Pontiac, to Flint, and then even Owoso. While stopping to refuel in Owosso in the early morning hours the Monroe team commandeered a local sheriff and his vehicle and tracked the ELT to an industrial building. After Ground Teams located the non-distress ELT and shut it down, everyone heads home. However Tyndall AFB calls back hours later, they were receiving another ELT. Two ground teams were dispatched one begin a ramp search at Selfridge, while the other moved to Marine City. In little than less than 12 hours the ELT was located, it was in a seaplane that had crashed the morning before. The sheriff was unwilling to let the Ground Team touch the craft and disable the ELT because the investigation of the crash was ongoing. Finally the next morning the Air Force was able to convince the local sheriffs department of the importance of shutting down the false distress signal. Yet another Ground Team was dispatched and they were able to shut off the ELT. Finding 2 ELTs in one mission is very rare.

Monroe Squadron Stands Tall In Dual ELT Mission

&

Monroe Crew Get A Find

When the call for help went out across our Wing 3 Ground Teams and 2 Aircrews stepped up to the call. Our squadron supplied one of each to the mission effort. The Ground Team included Major Jim Feil, Capt Jeff Walters, Cadets Gulley, Walters, and Lawrence. The ground team left Monroe when they were task to the Jackson area, eventually they joined the other Ground Teams in Flint. One does not have to check on Map Quest to understand they racked up lots and lots of mileage on the squadron van. After their final tasking they drove for over two hours to get back to Monroe. Monroes Aircrew consisted of Lt Col Mark Woodruff, 1Lt Carl Sweeney, and C/2Lt Ryan Gracyk launched out of ARB to search the route between Jackson and Lansing. After chasing a false signal from a radio tower the crew turned north and found the signal west of the Owosso airport crediting C/2Lt Ryan Graczyk with his first find

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AtennN - shun ! Front & Center .

Congrats to MI-063s New Mission Pilot 1Lt Greg Lane 1Lt Carl Sweeney recently qualified in a CAP 182 glass Cockpit Lt Sweeney is now qualified to fly our 172s, 182;s and the G8 Gibsland. Welcome New Squadron Member : Keith Masserant

Monroe Squadron Unit Personnel 2010

Command Commander Deputy Com. Seniors Deputy Com. Cadets Historian Safety Aerospace Education Cadet Programs Cadet Development Cadet Leadership Cadet Activities Communications Finance Logistics Supply Logistics Management Information Management Information Web Master WMU Coordinator Public Affairs Operations Operation Emergency Services Search and Rescue Alerting Flight Release Aircraft Maintenance SAR/DR Mission Pilot Professional Development Programs Test Control CC CDS CDC HI SE ET CPP CPL CPS DOK FM LGS LG MIS 1Lt George Low Capt Nathan Harmon 1Lt Nicholas Roberty 1 Lt Philip Howard Capt Nathan Harmon Lt Col Mark Woodruff Capt Jay Jondro Sr. Capt Nathan Harmon 2Lt Doug Thoma 1Lt Greg Lane Capt John Dauer Capt Nathan Harmon Capt Nathan Harmon

WMM Capt Nathan Harmon WMUC Lt Col Mark Woodruff PA DO DOS Capt Jay Jondro 1Lt Greg Lane Capt. John Dauer

The Monroe Composite Squadron Welcomes Our New Captain

The Monroe Composite Squadron recently celebrated the promotion of Phil Howard to the rank of Captain. The promotion ceremony was conducted outside our squadron headquarters after the opening flag observance. Squadron Commander Lt Col Mark Woodruff presented Capt Howard his bars Captain Howard is the squadron Logistics Officer and holds a Technician rating in that track. Capt Howard serves in CAPs Emergency Services Division in Air Crew. He is qualified as a Mission Observer, Flight Line Marshaller, and a Mission Radio Operator. Captain Howard has been a member of our squadron since 2005

DOSS 1Lt Carl Sweeney DOSA Lt Col. Mark Woodruff DOOR Lt Col Mark Woodruff LGMA 1Lt Carl Sweeney DOVS 1Lt Carl Sweeney ETS ETST 1Lt Greg Lane 1Lt Nick Roberty

Picture Page
A Fun Day At The Beach

Dundee Tornado Aerial Pic-

Urban Memorial Clean Up

From Our Beginnings