FEMA, Ground Handling, OPSEC, uniforms

Sometime during the last week, my paperwork made it through CAP national headquarters in Alabama. This is one of the golden keys to CAP's online universe.

Aside from the public CAP website, there is another portal just for members. Once you have a membership number (the result of the above paperwork's path), you can gain access and begin doing some of the online training.

The first thing they want you to cover is something called Operational Security (OPSEC). For all you patient readers out there, first a bit of history...CAP was formed in 1941, just days prior to Pearl Harbor. It was formed to provide aerial military spotters using civilian pilots and aircraft. After WWII, the mission evolved to include - and primarily focus on - search and rescue of downed aircraft. This was about the extent of my own knowledge of the organization prior to now, and it turns out there is much more to it.

Not only is SAR an important mission, but CAP focuses on aerospace education for youth and also some newer missions for Homeland Security. I must admit, I've not had the best opinion of DHS and especially TSA as of late. Regardless, CAP is still a volunteer organization, but as an outgrowth of the Air Force, it still falls under the purview of DHS. As such, it has become a more inexpensive means of providing training (especially as intercept targets) for the military. I happened to find a pretty interesting video about this mission here. What all this means is that as I write about my experiences, there will actually be some things I can't discuss...who knew?

Back to the online portal, OPSEC is but one of the videos and short quizzes required to achieve "Level 1" and the ability to work directly with cadets. As I mentioned before, youth protection is a critical aspect - with the background check being the first step. The next in this area is some reading and another quiz that is reviewed by the squadron commander.

Then, there is the interesting stuff. Part of flying involves moving aircraft on the ground. Unfortunately, this is also where most aircraft are most vulnerable to damage. Hence, a short video about the important points of this task. Finally, at least for now, there are some FEMA online courses about Incident Management. These are some very interesting insights into disaster response and interagency cooperation. I for one see some reflection of the Hurricane Katrina boondoggle in some of the structure, but it has indeed been around for quite some time. The other very cool thing is that one of the CAP uniforms is standard camouflage BDU's. So in addition to ordering the official CAP polo shirt from the national uniform vendor, I also stopped in at the local surplus store to buy a cap, shirt, and pants. The kids are duly impressed...

With some of the tests and quizzes out of the way (most are open book, by the way), I am on my way to achieving Level 1. Once there, I will begin working on the next, conveniently called Level 2. This is the real beginning of the more formal Professional Development tracks.