Local Civil Air Patrol hosts cold weather search-and-rescue training
Residents in the Elgin community may have noticed a significant increase in small aircraft over the weekend as members of the Civil Air Patrol, Illinois Wing practiced cold weather search-and-rescue simulations.
The exercise, which members refer to fondly as the "Ice-Bowl," was held at the Paul Wolff Campground in Elgin on Saturday, Feb. 24. It involved both ground teams and aircrews conducting several sorties throughout the day. Twenty-nine volunteer members, made up of ground, air and communication teams, endured cold, windy and sometimes wet conditions while building skills in numerous search-and-rescue disciplines.
Flight crews developed skills in locating emergency beacons, scanner and aerial photography while assisting ground crews in the search of targets simulating downed aircraft.
Ground crews learned and developed skills; in-line search - where members search for clues left by missing people or aircraft, hasty search - an expedited search for lost people, stretcher carry techniques (aka litter carry) to correctly transport injured people, compass and navigation using pace counting, and radio frequency search using VHF L-PER technology.
"Practice is vital in search and rescue as each situation is different," stated Major Uei Lei, an air and ground crew coordinator. "Carrying an injured person sounds easy in theory, but it can take a team of 18, rotating members, to carry person(s) in extreme conditions. The same reason applies to why we practice in the inclement weather. Practicing in cold weather allows all of us to understand our individual and team capabilities as well as our limitations, and we can train to improve to better serve. "
"In the Air Force tradition of 'train as you fight', training in winter conditions is critical to real-world preparedness," stated Lt. Col. Ray Walden, Incident Commander. "I also offer a hat tip to Mother Nature for waiting until the mission completed before offering rain to our mission experience."
To see photos or videos of the Feb. 24 "Ice Bowl" event, visit www.facebook.com/ILWGCAP/.
To learn more about the Illinois Wing, Civil Air Patrol, visit ilwg.cap.gov.