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CIVIL AIR PATROL SOARS INTO WILD BLUE YONDER WITH 179TH AIRLIFT WING

  • Published
  • By Lieutenant Johnny Shea
  • CAP 279th Composite Sq,Clermont County, Ohio
Cincinnati Ohio --  Over the weekend, in the skies over Ohio, the Civil Air Patrol, 279th Composite Squadron, Clermont County, headed into the wild blue yonder with the Ohio Air National Guard's 179th Airlift Wing, Mansfield Ohio. The 179th Airlift Wing hosted an Orientation Flight (O-Flight) on a C-130H2 aircraft for 16 Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadets and 3 senior members. The C-130H2 aircraft picked the members up at Cincinnati - Lunken Airport and flew around the military operation area (MOA) for an hour.
The Civil Air Patrol is an auxiliary unit supported by the U.S. Air Force for search and rescue. The CAP is trained to search for downed aircraft and missing people, they also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The 179th Airlift Wing has been supporting CAP professional military development training for cadets and senior leaders for more than 30 years. The cadets meet every Sunday at the base and senior leaders twice a year. Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt) James Farriss acts as a liaison from the base and orchestrates the local CAP events on the 179th AW.

CMSgt Farriss said "The crew of SKULL71 did an awesome job navigating the weather last Friday and found smooth air for the orientation flight for the CAP members. Our Crew for SKULL71 was aircraft commander Lt. Col. Siwik, Copilot Capt. Loughrin, Navigator Lt. Col. Dunlap, Flight Engineer Tech. Sgt. Cales, Load Masters Senior Master Sgt. Brake and Tech. Sgt. Ray. The aircrew were very personable and made the cadets all feel very comfortable, especially the first time flyers. The cadets were incredibly excited to get to fly with the Ohio Air National Guard.
Our local CAP unit, Mansfield 177th Flight, trains young men and women here locally at the 179th Airlift Wing and is always looking for new members. It's a group of dedicated volunteers that work hard to support the state and local communities. The state of Ohio CAP Wing currently has 700 senior members and 600 Cadets with 9 aircraft designed for search and rescue and disaster relief missions.
If you would like to attend one of our meetings in Mansfield, you will need to e-mail the Squadron Commander, Major Jason Kaufmann, ahead of time at with your contact information."

If you have any general questions about The Civil Air Patrol, we welcome you to visit the CAP website at:

www.gocivilairpatrol.com
http://oh177.ohwg.cap.gov/
jason.kaufmann@ohwg.cap.gov

Cadets enjoyed the opportunity to explore the C-130H cockpit and cargo areas, try on flight crew gear and helmets, and talked one-on-one with the crew. The aircrew, assigned to the 164th Airlift Squadron at the 179th Airlift Wing, shared their deployment experiences and talked about their service to the United States. The final highlight of the day was the "Herc-y Wave' as the aircraft briefly tilted its wings, 'waving' goodbye as it headed back to Mansfield-Lahm Airport.
Cadets had many comments regarding the flight, stating: "I enjoyed every second of it!" and "This is the best day of my life!" Some newer cadets had never flown before or been on an aircraft, which solidifies the importance of the flight. The O-Flight is an excellent show of support from the 179AW and helps foster the partnership between the Air National Guard and the Civil Air Patrol. Both carry on the mutual mission of serving the country, developing the nation's youth; accomplishing local, state and national emergency/humanitarian missions and to educate citizens about aviation and space.
The Civil Air Patrol's 279th Composite Squadron would like to thank the Command Staff and Flight Crews from the 179th Airlift Wing and the 164th Airlift Squadron for this opportunity.