Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 11, 1992 TAG: 9201100309
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: JIM ROBERTS
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
`YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A PILOT'
The Civil Air Patrol turned 50 last month. Quietly, but proudly.The volunteer organization has for a half-century helped in civil emergencies, encouraged aerospace education and moved men and women to ideals of leadership and service.
The Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, took part in more than 200 missions this year, three of them involving Western Virginia chapters.
The Montgomery Squadron, which was the first in the state to earn the Unit Citation Award, meets at 7 p.m. Tuesdays in a trailer at the New River Valley Airport to prepare for the inevitable call for help.
"So much for the announcements and paperwork," Capt. Donald Smith said at a recent meeting. "We are now going to do a mission."
Smith set up a hypothetical emergency by telling the members of the squadron - cadets - that a single-engine Cessna 152 with one person on board had crashed somewhere in Pulaski County, and their job was to find where it went down using Variable Omni Radio Navigation data, a handful of trigonometry rules and some meteorology.
"You have to get in the guy's mind to find out where he is," Smith said.
After about 20 minutes of deliberation and fumbling around with huge aeronautical maps, the group decided that the plane probably had crashed - hypothetically, anyway - in grid 325 on Buckhorn Knob.
If the scenario had been a real one, the members would have been mobilized to search the area, by foot and by air.
"One day on a mission is the same as one day active service in the military," explained 2nd Lt. Max Mottesheard.
"The only difference is you don't get any pay."
The Montgomery Squadron was involved in the weeklong search for a missing person last year near Shenandoah National Park.
The squadron shares a high-wing Cessna with five other squadrons in Southwest Virginia.
The Air Force pays for fuel and oil used on missions, but the six squadrons have to cover the yearly maintenance costs with fund-raisers.
The squadron also owns powerful radio equipment for monitoring air activity and communicating with other squadrons.
"There have been times that Russia has called us and said, `Hey, you have an aircraft down in Iowa,' " Smith said.
The Civil Air Patrol is open to all; the only restriction is age - anyone who has completed the sixth grade or who is 13 years old is eligible to become a member.
"You don't have to be a pilot," Smith said.
"You just have to be interested in aviation. And be willing to work."
Capt. Karen Giambattista, an Air Force reservist, added: "There are a lot of ways you can serve, and the military is not the only way.
"The Civil Air Patrol is one of the best-kept secrets, really."
For further information about membership in the Civil Air Patrol, call 674-6163.
Memo: CORRECTION