A Simple Solution

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – Many years ago, on impulse, my wife and I bought a male Great Dane puppy. It grew into a very smart and loving dog, besides being quite handsome. Over the years, we had many of them; we even bred them when living abroad, where we had them running around free inside the fenced-in property – they were the best security system money could buy. The bonus was that they paid for themselves, because we showed them, won prizes, and sold the pedigreed puppies at a good price. As we simplified our life, eventually we got down to only one male, and after reaching 39" at the shoulders and 208 lbs., he died a couple of years ago. Then we had none.

One day last year, upon returning from a CAP encampment, my wife greeted me joyously, "We have a cat." "Sorry," said I, "you never have a cat. If it suits the cat, the cat will have you." Then I took a look. It was black, had a tiny voice and was small; I thought it had a lot of Burmese. She thought it was a female, and since it liked to make a peculiar little dance, she named it "Samba" after the Brazilian dance. But it turned out to be a male who had decided to abandon a neighbor's household (too many pets is my guess), and our neighbor was very good-natured about it. His name was "Bully Boo" and our neighbor even gave us its carry case.

It was a rather feral, full-clawed, outside creature, with a poor coat. Our relationship did not start out well; he bit me long and hard and I reduced his diet to water. At that time, when unsure of circumstances, Boo was downright wild and ferocious. In a few days I started feeding him again. Soon enough, he figured out what was best for him, and we made friends. One day, as a peace offering, he brought us a present to the back door, where he lives under the porch: a small green garden snake. He had chopped off its head and laid it neatly next to the body. My wife winced, but I congratulated him on his great catch and in a couple of hours it was gone; the head too. We fed him a good diet but not enough to satisfy all his needs. As a result, the garden was soon free of small animals. Also, his coat got fluffy and shiny.

There has been a drought lately, so small animals are probably hard to catch, since there isn't that much food for them. Or maybe our neighbors have increased the cat population and they've cleaned up the place. Anyway, last week, Boo brought another green snake. This one was a bit larger. Perhaps 18 inches, and he had it by the tail. By the time I got around to seeing it, Boo had lost patience and had started in on his meal, from the tip of the tail, without bothering to kill the victim. Maybe he thought that he might not be able to eat it all, and if he kept it alive, it wouldn't spoil when he wanted some more. I said "perhaps 18 inches" because I never saw it whole, so the size is an estimate.

When a feral cat is eating its hunt, you want to keep your fingers away; my wife retreated in horror and I just watched. Nature at work. The snake kept making tired wavy motions, attempting to escape, but Boo had it firmly fixed in his chewing mouth, as he worked his way towards the head. A microcosm of death and survival, a trade of gifts under the rule of brute strength. Not being poisonous, the snake had no defense.

Boo had a need, so he found a solution. The snake perhaps had seen the danger and tried to flee. Boo must have pounced accurately, the snake had been caught, and its fate sealed. At that moment, it was easy to feel sorry for the snake. But the snake itself is no angel. It has no teeth, so it needs to swallow its prey whole, digesting it inside its stomach. Boo was simply showing it how it must have felt to all those little creatures the green snake had eaten since birth.

Did Boo make this distinction? Can a cat actually reason this way? Or is reason reserved only for human beings? And are all human beings capable of the same line of reasoning? Are some human beings better able to reason than others? Generally, that's called intelligence. And, when it comes to relating well to others, animals, or the environment, it's called kindness and generosity.

The above places the adjective catty on a new light, doesn't it?

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Goodbye, Steve

Owen
(Lt .Col. Owen Younger, Commander)

NCAA Online Application, 19 November

• CAP responds day or night when planes are overdue and emergency locator transmitters go off. Its volunteers perform 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions, as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. In August, three members from CAP’s Oregon Wing – Capt. Scott Bakker, Capt. Tom Moore and 1^st Lt. James Metcalfe – were honored with the AFNORTH Commander’s Award for their rescue of a pilot who crash-landed his plane in the Cascade Mountains in southwest Oregon. Such rescues are typical for CAP, which was credited by the AFRCC with saving 90 lives in fiscal year 2008.

• CAP provides disaster relief during hurricanes, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, tornadoes and countless other emergencies. In September, aircrews from the Texas Wing flew 350 sorties to acquire more than 40,000 high-definition photographs to define the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike. CAP also performs homeland security and counterdrug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies.

• CAP plays a leading role in aerospace education and mentors nearly 22,000 young Americans through its cadet program. By partnering with 400 educators nationwide, CAP nurtures the talents of generations of the nation’s sons and daughters with cadet programs that stress leadership and moral responsibility and teach aviation and emergency response skills. One of Civil Air Patrol’s former cadets, Air Force Col. (and CAP Sr. Mbr.) Eric Boe, is currently piloting the Space Shuttle Endeavour during its 15-day mission to the International Space Station.

NASA's "Name the Next Mars Rover" Contest, 18 November

     DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – NASA has another new site. "Name NASA's Next Mars Rover" explains the terms and conditions of a contest open to all school children ages 5 to 18 who have been enrolled in a U.S. school during the current academic year.

For complete details, please visit http://marsrovername.jpl.nasa.gov/

Do visit this site, and take part in this exciting opportunity. Essays must be received by 25 Jan 09. The NASA selection committee will pick 9 finalists, whose efforts will be posted on the Internet in March 2009. The public will have a chance to rank these finalists as additional information for the selection committee in making their final decision.

The winning name will be announced in April 2009.

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Marc Ben-Meir

December Festivities

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – In the Christian tradition, the 25th of December is the day in which Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, was born in a stable in the little town of Bethlehem (a date that would have fallen on 23 Tevet 3762 of the Jewish calendar). Christians celebrate this day with great joy and the exchange of gifts. The Bible's New Testament is the revealed record of the life and promise of Jesus, who is believed to have redeemed humankind and made it possible to receive eternal life. The gifts exchanged on this day are meant as a token and reminder of Jesus' immense gift.

Jesus, of course, was a Jew, and the New Testament hadn't yet been written at the time of his birth. As a good Jew, he studied the Torah and observed Jewish laws and holidays. One of the latter was Hanukkah, celebrated on the 25th day of the month of Kislev. Just as the Roman calendar was deeply flawed (and brought into relative exactness by Pope Gregory XIII on 24 February 1582), so was the Jewish calendar – which has never been adjusted. Therefore, Hanukkah is a "moving holiday" because Jewish months don't correspond with Gregorian months. This year, it falls on 11 December.

Christmas, as a religious holiday, marks the beginning of the life that – to the believer – conquered death in spiritual and physical terms. As such, it is central to Christian worship. Hanukkah is also a celebration of religious freedom, marking the triumph of Judah ben Mattathias the Priest. His victory was so resounding that on the spot he became known as Judah Maccabee (that in Hebrew means Judah the Hammerer).

Judah led the Second Maccabee Revolt during the second century B.C., fought over the Seleucid Empire's Hellenizing of Judea and the prohibition of teaching and practicing the Jewish religion in any form. Antiochus Epiphanes, the Seleucid ruler, had desecrated the Jewish temple which, after Judah Maccabee's triumph, was cleansed and rededicated. Since the Seleucid army had greatly outnumbered the Jewish forces, the outcome was considered a miracle.

Once the temple had been purified, the Jews found only one day's worth of undefiled burning oil, although they needed to fuel the burning of a light for eight days in celebration and commemoration. Undeterred, Judah Maccabee ordered that the light be lit, and it proceeded to burn not for one but for eight days – a miracle. Hanukkah, in Hebrew, means dedication or induction. This was the first Hanukkah, and Judah ordered that it be celebrated every year on the same day. For future celebrations, a special menorah with 9 arms was created, the central one higher than the other eight, from which the light is taken to light each one of the lower eight candles, one light a day. This menorah is burned only on Hanukkah, which today is also called "The Feast of Lights," since menorahs are lit not only in the temple but also at the homes.

The traditional temple menorah, a seven-branched candelabrum, has been used for 3,000 years and is one of the oldest symbols of Judaism. First lit at the holy temple in Jerusalem, it is said to symbolize the burning bush that Moses saw on mount Horeb. Christian tradition has retained the temple menorah, commonly lighting a pair of them on the altar during the celebration of a religious service.

Especially in the United States, since Hanukkah falls approximately on the same day as Christmas, it has evolved into a gift-giving holiday as well, uniting people of different faith in celebration, even though these stem from diverse origins.

Happy Hanukkah.

Merry Christmas.

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Open Group III Staff Positions

Capt. David Medders, COS

Special Training Opportunity for Texas CAP Members

It is a fact that NIMS training is mandatory, but the ICS 300 and ICS 400 courses cannot be taken online. They must be taken in person at an approved location, taught by certified instructors. Many TXWG members who would otherwise be able to take these courses, at times cannot because of the cost, since they are taught in few places, mostly the large cities in Texas.

This is a Great Deal!

ICS training is available through the Governor's Division of Emergency Management. This program will reimburse CAP members for travel and living expenses incurred to attend mission-related training.

• Schedules and program details are available at www.preparingtexas.org

• Visit http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/ftp/dem/training/08trainingcal.pdf and read page 9 for information regarding reimbursement.

If in doubt, or if you have any other questions, please contact the Group III Emergency Services Officer.

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Group III Patch Available

Are you on Group III Staff? Wear the Group III Staff patch proudly. At $5.00 each, they are a bargain and show your commitment to Group III and the CAP program. (Click on the image for a larger view.)

Group III Coins Available      Our mint has delivered a batch of new Group III Commemorative Coins, and you may own as many as you wish, for $10.00 each. They make wonderful gifts for your loved ones ... or even yourself. (Click on the images for larger views of the obverse and reverse.) To purchase either Group III Patches or Group III Coins, please contact Maj Laurie Lancaster - laurielancaster@yahoo.com

Maj. Laurie Lancaster, FO

Wireless Connectivity Comes of Age

Today, we take the Internet – and its low cost – for granted. But it wasn't always that way. Starting from humble beginnings in 1969, to connect UCLA and Stanford Research Institute, it was backed by the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and, to show its non-military nature, it was decided to drop the D and call it just ARPANET. By 1981, 281 hosts were connected, and these were growing at the rate of a new host every 20 days. These hosts, of course, had clients, that were connected by internal networks. These internal networks weren't all run using the same network protocol, until Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) was accepted as the universal standard, which is a reality today.

When the ARPANET was interlinked with NSFNET, the term Internet came about, becoming synonymous with TCP/IP. Transmission speed at this time was pathetically slow – compared to today's Internet –, but it was faster (and more reliable) than a simple telephone connection. Also, it was far more secure. The nodes connected to the Internet must pay a fee for this service, and at first these were universities, government agencies, and large corporations that could afford the fee. This is when the business of being an Internet Service Provider (ISP) became profitable, as someone decided to pay the fee and then sold individual connection right locally. That fee, today, varies with the speed of access. From telephone access (very slow and practically free), through DSL (faster), cable (faster yet) and fiberoptic cable (the fastest).

For business, wired TCP/IP has been the standard for a long time. Wireless became an option for small workgroups, but it didn't work well for large numbers of computers. Now 802.11n, the latest wireless connectivity standard, is 10 times faster than current Wi-Fi offerings. In effect, wireless connectivity has made the grade. Here is the article with the details, as published in Network World, 27 October 2008.

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, ITO

Singing the New Monitor Blues

P.S. You might get to do this all over again when Microsoft automatically downloads the next security patch(es).

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, ITO

Capt. Vanessa Smith, PDO
 tx438pdo@yahoo.com 

From Pegasus Composite Squadron...

AUSTIN, TX – I've known C/2nd Lt. Ryan Pope for about three year, having met him soon after he had just joined the Civil Air Patrol. He was a quiet and well mannered very young man, proud of his uniform. He stood tall, was easily engaged in conversation, and was obviously attentive to his surroundings. My wife and I sat at the same table with him and his family at a Wing Conference a year or two ago. When he hit upon a topic that he liked, he was disarmingly enthusiastic, plunging into the conversation with everything he had. I saw that he had a natural ability to notice details. "He'll make a good writer some day," I thought. Well, today is the day.

It turns out that he reads voraciously, preferring books to magazines. Also, he likes computer games. But don't jump to conclusions, now. The young man in question is no book-worm. He likes to use his mind and is not afraid of making a prolonged effort to learn something worth-while. You see, Cdt. Pope also plays the classical violin, and rather well, too. He has played the Masters: Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven, Paganini... He is a kindred spirit, who finds challenge and solace in music, that universal language that reaches all.

It is with immense pleasure that I welcome C/2d Lt. Ryan Pope as the newest Cadet PAO in Group III. It is my hope that he will write often, sharing his thoughts, hopes, feelings and impressions. As I edited this newsletter, listening to his literary voice has been both a surprise and a pleasure. Welcome, Cdt Pope!

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

National Headquarters Has a New Website

Eventually, the familiar www.cap.gov will be replaced by the new www.gocivilairpatrol.com - a great step forward.

Navigation is easy, alluring, encouraging the visitor to explore the world of CAP membership, the missions, the excitement and the many opportunities that are there, for the taking, waiting just for you.

Content is sharp, well-chosen, calculated to inform without overwhelming, with plenty of graphics elements. On the Internet, multimedia is a reality, and CAP has followed the example set by the armed services. Take a good look at this website, and you'll see that it's bound to succeed.

Right off the bat, on the www.gocivilairpatrol.com home page, there are images with PLAY written on them in white lettering. Hover the pointer over an image and it darkens, as the word PLAY changes to a rich yellow. Click on it, and the film clip loads at the left, ready to go, under the heading of EVERYDAY HEROES, EVERY DAY. Could you resist that? Could a potential cadet walk away from it?

There's something for everyone here. Flying. Search and Rescue. Land Navigation. Cadet Competition. Communications. You name it. Cadet activities are highlighted. Emergency services are well covered. Pilots, clergy and educators are singled out for special information. And in case you thought the young were not being catered to, notice the recruiting play at the bottom left corner of the screen, "i want to join the civil air patrol" - as if it had been texted.

The video clips, by the way, are a great possibility as public service announcements. Some TV stations have a policy of broadcasting PSAs for non-profits such as CAP. PBS stations, as a rule, will air them readily.

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Flying the SR-71 Blackbird

ADDISON, Texas – When I arrived at Beale AFB, California in June of 1974 to start flight training in the SR-71, I knew instinctively I was about to embark in a completely different world of flying. The secrecy of its worldwide reconnaissance mission and unique flying characteristics appealed to me, and weighed heavily in my decision to leave the F-4 Phantom for the SR-71. Over the next seven years, I was fortunate to be crewed up with Don Emmons, my RSO (Reconnaissance Systems Officer) in the back seat. The SR-71 program required us to fly only as a formed crew. If either one of us were sick or injured, for all practical purposes, the other member was grounded as well.

About the author

Honor

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. "I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I'll get a short nap," I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of ten soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. "Where are you headed?," I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. "Chicago - to the Great Lakes Naval Base. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, then we're being deployed to Iraq."

After flying for about an hour, a flight attendant announced that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be some time before we reached Chicago, so I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time.

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. "No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to Chicago." His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. "Take a lunch to all those soldiers." She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. "My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you're doing it for him."

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, "Which do you like best - beef or chicken?" "Chicken," I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of the plane, returning with a dinner plate from first class. "This is your thanks."

After the meal, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. "I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this." He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the flight captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he wasn't looking for me, but he was looking only at the numbers on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, "I want to shake your hand."

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, "I was a soldier and a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot." I was embarrassed when the passengers applauded.

Later I walked to the front of the plane to stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

As I entered the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. "It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God bless you."

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.

It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, tacitly wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life." That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.

Anonymous

Did You Snopes-ed That?

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – If you say that there's no such verb as "Snopes" you'd be right, but it might be only a matter of time until there is. Look what happened with "Google" now that everybody is "Googling" away... and in time they'll just be "googling," once the term has become entrenched in the vernacular.

In the news business, the time-honored rule of authentication demands that you publish nothing that you can't get confirmed by at least a second source. Sort of a "safety in numbers" concept. The problem with this is that the world is increasing in complexity, and there's a limit to how many subject matter experts you can have access to. There are plenty of them around, of course, but will they talk to you? Will they even listen? And getting your grandmother to say, "Oh yes, dear, that's true," just won't do.

Today, a dear friend sent me an e-mail with photos of an F-15C breaking up in mid-air, apparently during straight-and-level flight. The stunning sequence showed how the nose-cone separated from the rest of the airplane and the pilot ejected. Incidentally, when you pull that "eject" lever, the mechanism that shoots you away from the cockpit couldn't be simpler. An explosive charge or rocket motor opens the canopy and turns your seat into an impromptu cannon ball, so off you go into the (hopefully safer) blue yonder – high enough off the ground for your parachute to open before you reach the ground. Even if your aircraft has lost all hydraulics, avionics and power, the eject device is supposed to work, and most of the time it does.

The gullible side of me looked at the photos and thought, "neat." But right on its heels, my alter ego, that diabolical doubter that demands proof and more proof, whispered snidely into my ear, "How many pilots go around snapping photos of perfectly good planes flying along, just in case they might break up in mid-air?" "You're right," I agreed with myself (trust me, the argument is best put to rest quickly), as my fingers typed the URL: www.snopes.com and I started my search for proof... or disproof.

The idea is to type enough information so that Snopes will know what you're looking for. My friend's message had enough text to give me something to search for, so I typed, "F-15C mid-air breakup Nov 2007" (without the double-quotes, of course). The search brought up a single item with a short description and the following link http://www.snopes.com/photos/airplane/f15crash.asp

Once again, my hot news item turned out to be a clever ruse, a mere recreation. Sometimes, mind you, these Internet-traveling messages are plain fakes, but in this case at least it was based on fact, and the photos had been taken from a video created in the laboratory specifically to study the event.

So here's some advice. If you want to keep your reputation as a responsible and honest writer, learn how to "Snopes" soon – though some times you might have to "Google" first to find a reference that is close enough to what you're looking for, because unless you have some detail, "Snopes"-ing won't work very well.

On second thought, "Snopes" will have a hard time entering the English language as a verb, unless it drops that final s. "Snoped" and "Snoping" are far easier on the tongue than "Snopesed" and "Snopesing."

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Meditations on Veterans' Day, 11 November

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – As a small child in Argentina, barely out of kindergarten, a distant war seeped into my life. The newsreels brought the thunder of cannon, the terror of dive-bombing, the sinking of huge war ships, the plodding crowds of displaced people escaping from one terror towards another, the endless swarm of triumphant tanks and infantry rolling over the hills and valleys of Europe. Ruling powerfully over this chaos were Hitler and Mussolini. Britain, France, Holland and Belgium were the victims.

In school, I was learning about old wars without much detail (that would come later). Studying the 1810 war of independence from Spain was largely composed of singing patriotic songs. The "war of the triple alliance" in which Paraguay had opened hostilities and fought against Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay from 1864 to 1870, was just a string of battle names to us; our teachers didn't tell us that it was (and still is) the bloodiest war in Latin America. At the time, of course, America was resolving its own issues between the North and the South, as American blood was being spilled on the fertile fields that had enriched the land. For us, the children of Argentina, the war with Paraguay was personalized because it counted with a famous casualty: the son of the president of Argentina, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, who had been and remained a school teacher all his life, and was beloved of all children because his presidency had been marked by school building. Paraguay fought long and hard but lost, and Argentina and Brazil won about 55,000 square miles of territory.

My grandfather, who died after I was born but before I could get to know him, had been an Argentine naval officer, a status I grew up dreaming to achieve. World War II was over before I was old enough to apply to the Naval Academy, and poor eyesight kept me from doing so anyway. Then I came to the United States and my immediate future was set, as I got my greetings from the President of the United States and my "friends and neighbors" to report for induction into the U.S. Army. I served on active duty, then the reserves as I returned to civilian life. Sixteen years after leaving the Army, the military came back looking for me; they needed linguists.

I retired from the Army after having served with distinction in a theoretically bloodless Cold War. It had its casualties, of course, but these were hardly known to the common man. The desperate (and nameless) Germans trying to escape to the West by climbing the Berlin Wall and dying in a hail of machine-gun fire have been immortalized by Hollywood – but these were Germans, not Americans. It wasn't well known that Americans, too, had died in secrecy and loneliness, caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Everyone thinks that he or she is the cat, until learning that the other one was the cat all along, a hopelessly tardy and useless bit of knowledge that invariably requires payment in blood. Your blood, of course.

I had started out in the infantry, before the Army had a military intelligence corps. But experience taught the Army the value of knowing the enemy better than the enemy knew us, Military Intelligence became an Army branch of service in 1962, and I was destined to be drawn into that select world. There, I learned a lot, swore never to tell more things than I cared to know about, and made (and lost) many friends. The Navy has had its silent service for almost a century now: the submariners. The Army created its own too, and its members called it just MI. Glory comes hard in the Army's silent service, because when you earn great praise for having done something about that which no one can reveal, it's hard to find a way to give you an award. I got a few. I probably earned many more that I was never cleared to receive. But it didn't matter to me; I knew I'd done what was needed.

In the Army, it was jokingly said that it took 9 support soldiers to keep 1 combat soldier in the field. There were many support personnel working to keep that one soldier supplied, informed, and as safe as possible. I took my chances, as everyone else did, but through no fault of my own I was never deployed. After being an accomplished practitioner, I had become an excellent trainer – many of my students were sent into the fray, where they acquitted themselves very well. In the end, most of us retired, the survivors of both combat and non-combat. A few of my friends left the service before retiring. And some others live only in my heart.

Not all veterans are military retirees, yet all veterans have done their share, run their risks, and helped build and shore up our peace. The Romans, at the height of their empire building, reveled in their Pax Romana, which they maintained for nearly 150 years. We can think of our Pax Americana, about a third of that, after which American blood was again being spilled systematically on distant soil.

Today, my brothers and sisters in service suffer in the intense heat of the desert, and the cutting cold of frigid nights, under the terror of sudden suicide attacks, in the loneliness of a wretched life of danger away from family, friends, and peaceful surroundings; fear and ever-present dust are their constant companions. Theirs is the glory, too, unsung, enduring, selfless and honorable. May each one live a long and healthy life.

Veterans' Day is supposed to be an occasion for celebration and rejoicing in honor of our veterans. Please remember what actions, dangers, and sufferings have led to that honored status of veteran.

And never forget the families, especially those who have lost a son, daughter, husband, wife, parent...

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

There is no such thing as a free lunch

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – Increasingly over the past year, you may have noticed that your phone rings, you answer it, and there seems to be no one there. After a slight pause, someone with a nearly incomprehensible accent greets you with a degree of politeness bordering on irony. It is hard to pin down the accent – Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, or even Nepalese. Given the relatively primitive communications in Bangladesh and Nepal, it's probably Indian or Pakistani, in that order. I say Indian first because that is the more populous (and better educated) country.

"My name is Ralph," says the caller, though you suspect it might well be Rahul or Rajiv instead.

Now that you've let this stranger into your life, you're subjected to the forced formality of  the greeting of the day (sometimes a "good morning" when it's late afternoon where you are) to which the caller adds, "How are you today?" and, "Is it a nice day for you today?" and even an incongruous, "Is the family well?" The caller knows who your are, and calls you by your first name as if he were your friend (even though all your friends speak perfect idiomatic American English, yet the caller does not). None of this is a good start, reinforcing the falsity of the premise, the self-interest behind the pseudo amity, the sham cloaking of the call's real purpose.

"Cut to the chase," I respond some times. This baffles them, as the expression obviously wasn't part of their crash course in cold-calling English as a second language, but they try to regain the upper hand by plunging right into their spiel. This changes the scene as if a new backdrop had fallen instantly over the stage, as your caller plunges right into a printed page with a tone of voice and speed of delivery (break-neck) that are now totally different. The mock chumminess is gone. The intruder is all business. His claws are unsheathed, hovering over your unprotected flesh. The meal is served, and you are the meal.

The thread of the "once-in-a-lifetime, wonderful business opportunity" changes from time to time. Lately, it has become, "You have been selected to receive a totally-free $300-dollar gas certificate, redeemable at any gas station in your country." (Sounds good, right? The accent, though, calls for "petrol" instead of gas, with Colonial English cadences. And notice "your country" instead of "the country.")

"Is that so?" I ask. "Yes, indeed," the caller is definitely warming up, "and all I need is your address so I can mail you the certificate."

"There is no such thing as a free lunch. What's the catch?," I said yesterday. Caught off-guard, he replied, "$4.98." He must have been a beginner.

"Bye," said I, as I hung up and rid myself of this unwelcome intruder who had tried to worm his way into my life. The scam (in common with all such ploys) works on greed. You pay $4.98 and get $300.00 in return. A bargain, right?

If you believe this nonsense, "to cover hand-delivery expenses," you'll be asked to pay the $4.98 right away, by credit card, spelling out the name on the card, carefully reading out its number, and even disclosing "the 3 little numbers on the back of the card."

Fall for this, and your ID will have been stolen.

If I'm in the mood, I might go through the whole thing, giving out a wrong address, misspelling my name, and providing wrong numbers. But remember, Visa numbers start with a 4; Master Card with a 5. The numbers are four groups of four digits each (16 in all). And "the little numbers on the back" that the caller wants are just the last 3. Have fun. Snuff the rat that has picked you for a snack.

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Flag Manual, 23 November

The Military Salute Project has released a comprehensive United States Flag Manual, saved to this website in PDF format.

Using information from a variety of published sources, the Flag Manual covers the history of the flag itself, the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, the National Anthem, display and use of the flag by civilians, order of precedence of flags, military funeral flag presentation protocol, flag protocol for national cemeteries, United States flags for the funerals of veterans, how to fold the United States Flag, origin of flag day, the military salute, the POW/MIA flag, flags of the states and territories, and a variety of related subjects.

An entire page is devoted to the listing of official documents from which the information was obtained. Here is the organization's website: http://home.att.net/~militarysalute3/

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

Thanksgiving Day, 27 November

DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas – History is rich in wars, carefully recorded by the winners to favor the winners' point of view and denigrate the losers'. In fact, it could be said that history is composed mostly of wars, with brief interludes of peace. In retrospect, these prove to have been preparations for the next war. During these peace interludes, we are all happy that sanity has been restored (albeit temporarily), and lovingly go on with our private affairs, including having children, some of whom are destined to become the combatants of tomorrow's war.

Then, there are the children of yesterday's war. Few human conflicts have been so horrific as WWII, where the concept of total devastation was put to the ultimate test, and the warring powers seemed to throw out even the tiniest shred of decency in pursuit of their campaigns and quest for victory. The military suffered, the civilian population suffered even more, and those unfortunate enough to become prisoners of war in far lands suffered the most as many were massacred rather than released to return home.

Death is quite final, but for those who didn't come back, the suffering didn't end with them. As the dead were put to rest, they left an inheritance of misery and anguish that couldn't be mitigated, created a vacuum by their absence that could never be filled, and inspired a current of reform and ethical outcry that lives on in their descendants. Those at home who learned of the cruel fate that their relatives had suffered at the hands of the enemy banded together for comfort – and in some cases political action.

Recently I stumbled upon a website created by a British organization, the Children of Far East Prisoners of War (COFEPOW), started by the descendants of those who didn't return. Those Britons lucky enough to trickle back home gathered in the Far East Prisoners of War (FEPOW). You will find a lot of information about the plight of the POW, all posted in the clear at http://www.cofepow.org.uk/

One story caught my eye, that of the members of the Royal Artillery who were forced to build a Japanese air strip in the "island paradise" of Ballalae in the Solomon Islands, a bypassed outpost of Japanese occupation. It is posted at http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/stories_pilgrimage_ballalae.htm as written by Beryl Canwell, a member of the organization. As I read what was being said, I realized that much was being left unsaid, but implied. The suffering of the POWs in the 1940s contrasted sharply with the festive air of the islands' 1990s. The brutality of captivity, suffering and death were ever-present in the narrative. The knife plunged in the heart of the surviving relatives remained and could not be removed; only answers can do that, but there are no answers, just memories – some hazed over by time and suffering.

I compared the suffering and uncertainty of others with the relatively minor inconveniences of my own life, the futile struggle for survival that ended in total annihilation for those brave Royal Artillery soldiers, the agony of separation and deprivation suffered by all, the ultimate horror of being reduced to the non-status of a load-bearing manual laborer in spite of having enjoyed the benefit of a fine European education, the disintegration of the body yet not of the mind and soul. What complaint did I have that could come even close to all this?

What do we know of suffering and privation, all of us pampered citizens of free America? What do we know of the fight for survival, the uncertainty of existence under the rule of despotic guards, the hopelessness of having lost all dignity and autonomy and lacking even a simple weapon for self-defense? The agony of having no rights at all? What do we know about the loss of everything, in some cases even honor itself?

On this Thanksgiving Day, I said a fervent prayer for the military, present and past, and included the innocent civilians caught in the madness of war. I asked for compassion towards POWs and non-combatants. I prayed for peace and prosperity. I prayed for understanding and the triumph of sanity.

I hope it was enough. 

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, Editor

In Memoriam Lt. Col. Steve Manley, 27 November

DALLAS, Texas – In the late evening of 27 November 2008, my dear friend Lt. Col. Steve Manley passed away at the Dallas Veterans' Administration Hospital as a result of lengthy complications from previous surgery. His son Phillip, a reserve Marine, was by his side, as were many of his friends.

We knew him as the Inspector General of Group III, Texas Wing. Universally liked and respected, he was the ultimate mentor, helping subordinate units to prepare for and successfully pass inspection. His performance had been so good that he was selected the Group III, Texas Wing 2006 Senior Member of the Year.

His progression in the Civil Air Patrol describes his approach to duty and life. After joining in June of 2003, he achieved Level 3 status in 2007, earning the Loening Award. By that time he was rated Senior in the Inspector General and Cadet Programs career fields. He was also rated Technician in the Aerospace career field. This reflects his attitude towards obligation and honor – his life was one of service and duty.

Steve served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam war, something he talked about to the few. He and I both knew that we shared the hardships and sorrows of friendships made and friends lost, of danger and uncertainty, of brief moments of triumph and long periods of boredom and anguish, and loss, always loss. Steve served the typical 5-year stint in the Navy, four of which were spent overseas, mainly off the coast of South East Asia. He left the Navy with a service-connected physical disability.

Upon returning to civilian live, he served as a Travis County deputy sheriff, then worked as an investigator for a large corporation. Upon his assignment to a Special Investigations Unit he moved to Dallas, where he later started his own private investigations service. He was very accomplished and passionate about his trade and was among the best in the country, though over the past year he was unable to work because of his increasingly severe medical condition.

His final decline was precipitous and unexpected. When it became apparent that he would soon lose his struggle for survival, the Texas Wing Commander, Col. Joe R. Smith, obtained the approval of the Southwest Region Commander, Col. Joseph Jensen, for petitioning the National Board to promote Steve from the grade of Captain to that of Lieutenant Colonel – the highest allowed. Sadly, although the promotion was approved within the day, it may have come too late for Steve to realize the honor that had been bestowed upon him, since his condition had deteriorated and he was intermittently unresponsive by then.

During his final days, Steve had flashes of consciousness and looked around at those with him, motioning with his hands to signal awareness, since he was unable to speak because of the respirator that assisted him. And he always smiled. That's another trait of Steve's that never abandoned him – generosity or, as Steve always taught his son and daughter, "God first, family second, friends and the rest will fall where it may." And when he gave his friendship it was for ever.

There is a great brotherhood of blood and tears, of suffering and hope, of opportunities taken or lost, of life truncated or fulfilled. Steve and I have been part of those experiences and are members of that bunch. From the beginning, we recognized that in each other, and respected it. In this wide kinship, we help each other for the moment, but for the long haul each of us has only oneself to rely on, and one's memories. Yes, there is another side to, "Thanks for the memories."

I have a place in my heart for all those friends I've lost, and Steve has entered into it. There, he will live on, in their company.

Capt. Arthur E. Woodgate, SWR DPA

Monthly Safety Briefing

Each Squadron is required to provide both a flight safety briefing and a ground safety briefing each month. The Sentinel, the national CAP Safety newsletter, should be briefed as a minimum. Briefings need not be lengthy presentations - a 10 to 20 minute talk (and optional group discussion) is enough.

Maj. Jeff Yevcak, formerly the Randolph AFB safety officer who was also the Randolph AFB liaison officer to CAP, kindly offered the following for the month of November, should you want to use them at your own squadron.

December Flight Safety Briefing (MS Word document)

December Ground Safety Briefing (MS Word document)

Recurring Reports

Editor

The reason for the season is...

12/28/2006 - TYNDALL AFB, Fla -- There are countless amazing stories about St. Nicholas that were told and re-told by sailors as they traveled all over the world.

The real St. Nicholas was a devout man who was well known as a defender of the downtrodden. He was born in a Greek village, in what is now southern Turkey, probably around 260-280 AD.

As a layman, he astounded people by being popularly elected as Bishop of Myra (modern day Demre, Turkey). He was a man of strong convictions who lived out the qualities he believed his Lord was calling him to. This included a generous desire to help those in need.

He is chosen as the special protector or "patron saint," more than any other saint in a great many classes of people, cities, churches and even countries.

Stories about St. Nicholas describe him as a man who embodied love, loved God and cared for people. He was ready to help in any way he could; he truly loved his neighbors as himself.

One story records how a poor man was afraid his three daughters would be sold into slavery at his death because he was too poor to afford a dowry for them to attract a husband. Mysteriously, as their socks and shoes dried by the fireplace, a bag of gold flew in and landed in the shoes solving the problem for one daughter. Then, again mysteriously, it happened two more times.

St. Nicholas was famous for such large acts of compassion. Thus, in celebrating this tradition, we hang our stockings by the fire in hopes that St. Nick will stuff them with a little "love."

When he was formally immortalized as a "saint" after his death, his life was celebrated every Dec. 6th as families followed the many traditions of serving and helping the unfortunate. They would also wait for the presence of St. Nicholas to make an appearance bringing favor in many forms, not the least of which is gifts.

When you vary the pronunciation of his name, "SaintNi Cholas" you get Santa Claus. And so, his legendary life lives on.

From my own perspective of faith, I see St. Nicholas as a follower of Jesus, who exemplifies what "real" love is. Jesus' birth, which is celebrated as "Christmas," is connected with the life of St. Nick in our contemporary version.

For a period of time, the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Boston actually banned Christmas for political reasons - it reminded them of England and religious reasons, it was too secular and materialistic and it had no real biblical rooting as the actual birthday of Jesus.

This Puritan avoidance of an official Christmas holiday became a formal ban on May 11, 1659, but was repealed after only 22 years.

As Dutch, German, Anglican and Catholic settlers arrived in America in greater numbers, they brought with them their Christmas traditions as a central part of their religious lives because they wanted to continue their old traditions in the New World.

Eventually, the December 25th celebration of Christmas was joined with the December 6th St. Nicholas gifting holiday at the insistence of the Dutch settlers.

This combination eventually evolved into our modern-day December 25th official holiday that has inspired most of the world.

With all these complex historical events, we can ask, "What is the 'reason for the season?'"

Let me suggest that the reason must be love - the kind of love needed for a vibrant and enriching Christmas best associated with charity, the type of charity that Christians believe God showed in giving his only Son to the world, the type of love so powerfully manifested in the life and stories of St. Nicholas, who generously cared for the poor and needy.

For this Christmas, in the words of his master the Lord, may we all "Go and do likewise!"

Chaplain (Capt.) David Black, 325th Fighter Wing

Aviation & more

Safety

US Decorations Rack Builder – All military, auxiliary, and civilian decorations

CAP Cadets Join Gladewater Halloween Carnival, 25 October

GLADEWATER, Texas – Six cadets from the Gladewater Corsairs Composite Squadron, Group III, Texas Wing of Civil Air Patrol participated in Gladewater’s 2008 Halloween Carnival at the end of October. Cadets kept busy during the day helping set up the various booths that would be manned during the carnival that evening. They also assisted in parking, providing security for a medical helicopter that arrived during the carnival, and clean-up activities after the carnival had ended. An unexpected chore came to a successful conclusion: cadets located three lost children and reunited them with their parents.

In addition to helping out with the carnival, that evening the squadron ran a booth of its own. The cadets had constructed a game using a cardboard box and balsa wood gliders. The purpose of the game was for the contestants to fly a glider from a fixed point, attempting to get it into the box that was labeled Hangar at Gladewater Airport. The children who managed to land the glider in the “hangar” were awarded a candy prize. The point from which each flight was launched depended on the age/size of the contestant.

1. 2. 3. 4.

[1] Tin Man at the stick. [2] Wizard of Oz characters visit the squadron booth. [3] Dorothy tries her luck. [4] C/2nd Lt Jarrod Alexander hard at work at the hot dog eating contest.

Everyone enjoyed the game, as the cadets made certain that each and every child who played the game won something. Our “airport” was so popular that we had to restrict the number of times each child could play. So many children were returning for additional flights, that we thought we might not have enough candy prizes to give out. However, city employees made several deliveries of candy to our booth, so there were always prizes to award until the end of the carnival.

During the course of the evening, C/2nd Lt. Jarrod Alexander entered the hot dog eating contest. Although jestingly threatened with serious reprisals if he did not win, our cadet placed second in the contest. Surprisingly, he said he was hungry about 45 minutes after the contest ended.

Squadron members participating included Capt. Harold Parks, 1st Lt. Farrell Alexander, C/2nd Lt. Jarrod Alexander, C/Amn Austin Cheatham, C/Amn Victoria Jones, C/Amn Matt Brown, C/Amn Rebekah Alexander and C/Airman Basic Tommy Word.

(Capt. Harold Parks)

Gladewater CAP Cadets Participate in Gilmer Air Show, 1 November

GILMER, Texas – On 1 November 2008, a number of cadets from the Gladewater Corsairs Composite Squadron attended the air show held at Gilmer Airport. Our intention was to man a recruiting booth in one of the hangars while enjoying the show.

We had been invited by both the Gilmer High School JROTC and the Tyler squadron to join them at the air show. As the JROTC unit was set up outside and the day was to be quite sunny, we elected to go inside a hangar, next to the Tyler squadron. 'Our" hangar is a museum or sorts, and there were many interesting things to see while waiting for “customers.” During the course of the day, many people came by the booth and some of them showed interest in the CAP program.

In spite of early morning fog, a large number of aircraft arrived. They were directed to various parking locations depending on whether they were simply attendees or were part of a static or airborne display. Interesting aircraft on display included a B-25, a C Model P-51 and a D Model P51.

Although we had not intended to work anywhere other than our booth, a show official in charge of security approached us with a request. It seems that the crowd was larger than anticipated, and more security personnel were needed. He asked if some of our cadets could provide security for show visitors. We would not be marshalling aircraft but, rather, keeping the crowds away from taxiways whenever aircraft were moving. Of course we were more than happy to help, and C/Amn Victoria Jones and C/AB Matt Brown trooped off to help. They remained in that position nearly all day, and returned tired but happy to have been of service. Throughout the day, we made certain that they had water and food, and got periodic breaks too.

The Gilmer Air Show did not disappoint. The P-51s had a nice program worked out, and a group of five T-34s performed an impressive formation flying routine. My personal favorite was an aerobatic routine performed in what appeared to be a Piper Super Cub. The pilot did some very remarkable maneuvers with his airplane but surprised all after landing.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[1] A North American P51D Mustang, the hottest and longest-range fighter plane the Allies had on D-Day, 6 June 1942. [2] An earlier model North American P51C. [3] A North American B-25 "Mitchell" bomber, similar to the planes that bombed Tokyo on 18 April 1942, America's first victory in the Pacific Theater. [4] C/AB Tommy Word foreground and C/Amn Tori Jones in background performing crowd control. [5] C/AB Tommy Word on left and C/Amn Tori Jones on right after helping park an Aeronca L-3 liaison airplane. [6] C/2nd Lt. Jarrod Alexander on left and C/Amn Rebekah Alexander on right at the squadron's display.

After the plane was parked and the engine shut down, a woman approached the airplane pushing a wheel chair. Imagine our surprise when the pilot slowly extricated himself from the aircraft and literally flopped into the chair. The man who had just given the crowd a pretty amazing aerobatic show could not use his legs. His aircraft was specially modified to be operated solely by his hands. In spite of his handicap, the man's aerobatic routine had been very, very good on its own merits. It is truly amazing that he could perform like that without using his legs.

In addition to the fine flying which we witnessed, it was great to hear these big engines purring and roaring, depending on what the planes were doing. The B-25 made a lot of flights during the day, so we got to see the engines smoking, shaking and banging on start-up. Soon they would put out a great roar when taking off, then come back barely ticking over as they parked.

P-51s have their own kind of crackling sound on take-off and fly-overs (I’ll take that over a jet’s roar any time). It is great that some of these old aircraft are still flying and, better than that, coming to a local airport where we can see, touch, and smell them, as we marvel at them.

All in all, it was a great day. We got to meet and greet a lot of nice people, and had a chance to explain the CAP program to them. Seeing, feeling, touching and simply being near these historical treasures was wonderful, and we can't wait to do it again.

Members participating included Capt. Harold Parks, C/2nd Lt Jarrod Alexander, C/Amn Rebekah Alexander, C/Amn Victoria Jones and C/AB Matt Brown.

(Capt. Harold Parks)

The Squadron in the News, 2 November

GLADEWATER, Texas – The Longview News Journal published this article in their "Newsmakers" section, Sunday, 2 November. This is wonderful for the squadron, because it shows the community where we are and what we do.

We've found that getting the local paper to publish articles about the squadron is a great boon to recruiting and helps a great deal in spreading the news about CAP and what we do. The community now recognizes the squadron's name, and CAP's too, and our members feel better about themselves. It has given the squadron a new lease on life.

(Capt. Harold Parks)

Squadron Cadets Promoted, 17 November

GLADEWATER, Texas – On our squadron meeting of 17 November, three Gladewater Corsairs Composite Squadron cadets were promoted: Austin Hollinshead to Cadet Staff Sergeant, and Rebekah Alexander and Matt Brown to Cadet Airman.

Each cadet had to satisfy requirements in Leadership, Physical Fitness, Moral Leadership and squadron activities. In addition to the above, Cadet Staff Sergeant Hollinshead was required to pass a test on Aerospace Education. He was also presented with the Wright Brothers Award, signifying his completion of the first of four phases in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program. Cadet Sergeant Hollinshead is now a cadet non-commissioned officer, and will assume the position of Cadet Flight Sergeant in our squadron.

1. 2. 3. 4.

[1] C/Amn Brown being pinned. [2] C/Amn Brown presented Certificate of Promotion. [3] C/Amn Alexander presented her Certificate of Promotion. [4] C/SSgt Hollinshead being pinned.

During the ceremony, Sergeant Hollinshead and Airman Brown had their new insignia of rank pinned on by their parents. Airman Alexander was not in uniform, having arrived at our meeting directly from a school activity. In her case, she was handed her new rank insignia along with her Certificate of Promotion.

(Capt. Harold Parks)

Music and the Civil Air Patrol, 24 November

LONGVIEW, Texas – The power of music can be seen and heard in the history of the world, from earliest Biblical writings – when King David played his harp to influence the troubled soul of King Saul – to modern warfare when Hitler used the music of Wagner to stir the masses in Germany.

The Greek philosopher Plato said in his Republic that those who are responsible for leading and protecting a nation must be trained in music as well as physical fitness and certain academic skills, because to omit music would leave a man unresponsive and insensitive to others, and specifically he would be uncivilized, violent, and ignorant.

“….no one anywhere in the world lives without some form of [music]. Surely, then, it must have power and meaning, a great deal of which must affect the military.” (Captain James Conely, “Music and the Military”, Air University Review, March-April 1972)

Hitler used the power of music at Nazi rallies, and often played Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” to stir the people to fight for his cause. In 1968 in Vietnam, while General Creighton Abrams was listening to the music of Mozart, he commented to a reporter, “You know, I seem to find the patterns and solutions to the problems of this war in music.”

Music has always played an essential role in keeping up the morale and emotional stability of our fighting forces, now and in the past.  One can now earn a degree in “Music Therapy,” where music is used in the healing arts for physical and emotional well-being. This therapy actually

“…began after World War I and World War II, when community musicians of all types, both amateur and professional, went to Veterans’ hospitals around the country to play for the thousands of veterans suffering from both physical and emotional trauma from the wars. The patients’ notable physical and emotional responses to music led the doctors and nurses to request the hiring of musicians by the hospitals.” (www.musictherapy.org )

Thus it has been confirmed that music benefits the listeners, but the musicians are also influenced by the music they play.

Perhaps these are some of the reasons why music is taught at the Air Force Academy, the only American service academy to offer music courses both as electives and as partial fulfillment of certain academic majors.

As a musician and founder of an educational music program in Texas’ Panola County, aptly named “Project String Power,” I was not surprised to learn that many musicians I knew were also involved in Civil Air Patrol activities; they, the same as I, recognize the values and skills learned from applying themselves to musical training. Music is a universal language, transcending all cultural and language barriers, and as Berthold Auerbach said, “Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Music is as much for the performer as for the listener, because it benefits both. 

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[1] Teachers and students of Project String Power student string orchestra. (L-R, back row) Martyn Popey, Brianna Gwinn, Nathan Scott, Rebekah Corley, Will Spanial, Abigail Stone, Sarah Richie, and Sarah Corley. (L-R, center row) Nancy Spanial, Charlene McMillen, Kyria Baker, Joyce Hughes,  Amy Allison, Jane Reynolds, Bailey Bullock, Montana Baker, Maestro Leonard Kacenjar, and Caroline Scott. (L-R, Front row) Alex Braun and Sydney Gee. [2] Lt. Col. Amy Allison, USAF (Ret), a violinist. [3] C/Amn Will Spanial, violinist, a member of the Gregg County CS. [4] Trumpet soloist Mike Scarlato with the Marshall Symphony Orchestra. [5] Charlene McMillen (left) with Nancy Spanial, both cellist. [6] Solo tenor Mark Johnson is a captain in the Civil Air Patrol, member of the Tyler Composite Squadron and past squadron commander (2005/2006). (Photos: #1-3, Rudy Martinez;#4-6, Robert White, BSA Scoutmaster, Troop 268)

There is a direct correlation between the skills learned in musical training and the CAP core values and missions. In November 2008, two of us from Gregg County Composite Squadron had the opportunity to play cello and violin in a concert with the Marshall Symphony. Cadet Airman Will Spanial performed with the orchestra in the first violin section, and I had the privilege of playing in the cello section, seated beside seasoned and professional cello players from the Ark-La-Tex area. Behind me came the clear brass section, with a resounding trumpet solo performed flawlessly by Mike Scarlato, who began taking trumpet lessons at the age of 8 and went on to become a member of the United States Marine Band. Mike’s wife, Deborah, was a member of the Barksdale Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, in 1995-98 when her son, also a trumpet player, was a cadet there. Deborah Scarlato told me that skills learned in trumpet lessons helped her son as a cadet, especially “practice in patience, leadership, and confidence; as well as cooperation and camaraderie skills developed when playing with an ensemble and working as a unit.” 

During the intermission at the symphony, I was excited to see the familiar faces of the Niedrauers in the audience, a well-known family that is active in the Tyler Composite Squadron. They told me that Mark Johnson, one of the tenor soloists in this performance of Beethoven’s “Fantasy in C minor for Piano, Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 80,” was their former squadron commander, and is still a CAP captain and a member of the squadron. Later I asked him about his musical training and how it related to the Civil Air Patrol, and he said,

"Music study and performance require developing and using a skill set that is very similar to that needed in aerospace – especially piloting an aircraft. One must learn to concentrate fiercely, block out all inappropriate distractions, and yet be very aware of the immediate surroundings. On top of that, one must be able to take the appropriate action immediately, almost without thinking, based on extensive previous training. This works whether performing on stage as part of an ensemble or on final approach flying the aircraft, minding other traffic, and listening to the tower. It gets more complicated as a CAP pilot in command, where you need to respond to input from both the Scanner and Observer, often while maneuvering at low airspeed and altitude. Music training, too, requires absorbing, processing and responding to multiple appropriate inputs, while screening out distractions.

"I transferred into CAP from the USCG Auxiliary, where I held the ratings of Skipper and Air Observer. Eventually, I became a private pilot and a CAP Mission Pilot.

"CAP cadets, too, profit from musical training, since it is quite intense, prolonged and very regimented. It can also be tough physically. As a Texas teenager, I carried the bass drum in the marching band during numerous practices and games, in 100+ degree weather. I'll guarantee that PT is easier than that. A few essential skills are needed to ‘survive’ as a musician or work Emergency Services. By studying music, cadets learn the value of intensive, module-based training that results in an almost automatic skill set they can call upon at any time in order to get the job done.

"There is a direct parallel between musicians working together on a demanding piece that is difficult to perform and CAP's training and mission ops in ES and Aerospace. In baseball, you can strike out two out of three times and still make a million dollars a year; but that doesn't work in music performance. As a pilot, what would happen if I made only one out of every three landings without an incident of some kind? So the concepts of Integrity of character, Excellence of training and execution and Respect for one's fellow members translate directly from music to aerospace – and really to all of CAP. Then, pride in our work leads us to do all this for the community, state and nation, as volunteer citizens in honorable service."

Another “Project String Power” violin student who performed with the Marshall Symphony that night was Lt. Col. Amy Allison, USAFR (Ret.). “Music changes my mood, my outlook. When frustrated, you can play music and it changes how you deal with problems”, Amy said.  I asked her how she thought music related to the core values of the Civil Air Patrol. She told me that as an RN in the Air Force, when she had medical missions to complete, they were almost like a “musical production.” “We had to plan it, then we were ‘onstage’ and we had to perform. When everything was ready, the mission was accomplished. You had to practice and be persistent, be prepared, and do the job right. I can sum it up in three words: Plan, Prepare, and Perform.”  

Amy observed that communication and timing are critical in performing as part of a symphony orchestra; you are not playing a solo, but must play in harmony and perfect timing as part of a team of players. This reminded her of her experience working as part of a unit in a medical evacuation team, and how it was dependent on timing and communication between the combined forces of the Navy, Army, and Air Force.

Lt. Col. Lowell E. Graham, USAF, (Ret) understands the concepts of the influence of music in the military. Formerly Commander/Conductor of the United States Air Force Band and the senior ranking musician in the entire Department of Defense, he now serves as chair of the music department at the University of Texas at El Paso.

In a recent article in the American Music Teacher periodical, Lt. Col. Graham discussed music and its role in the United States Air Force.

“To be effective and reach the largest audience, all tools of technology and communication must be employed. Each and every performance displays the core values of the USAF – integrity, service and excellence.”

Graham went on to explain how music is a tool of influence, useful in the military:

“USAF musicians connect disparate peoples by establishing commonalities on an emotional level – not intellectual. This is the real strength and reason for music in the USAF. The better the musical product (performance), the more influence is projected. There also is a concept of "transference." Simply put, if one sees and hears a performance (any medium) by a USAF musical organization, the listener will associate/transfer the excellence of that performance with the quality of work being accomplished by the entire USAF. Of course, this concept applies to a variety of situations and work environments.

“Many tangible things take place in this process. Certainly, there is enhanced morale of listeners (troops), family and friends that equates to esprit de corps and retention for the USAF. With the "tingle factor" in place (a great performance), music inspires. This inspiration influences parents, relatives and certainly encourages youth to serve their nation. Inspiration takes many forms, but quality leads to trust – ‘If it is this good, how good is everything else?’ (Lowell E. Graham "Music in the military: it's about influence". American Music Teacher. 19 Nov. 2008. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2493/is_3_54/ai_n8579135  )

Another area of influence specifically involves officer training. A former professor of music at the USAF Academy, Captain James H. Conely, Jr., tells us that one of the benefits of music is that it is an experience of vastly different creative ideas. Those with musical training learn to cope with diverse patterns of thought and situations, and can respond intelligently to ideas alien to their own. He further states,

“The ideal officer is surely one who, among other attributes, thinks creatively, is flexible, understands that there may be different ways to do the same thing and that sometimes one way is not necessarily better than another. Again, music is not the only means toward achieving these qualities, but clearly its potential can be very real and significant.”

Certainly the abilities acquired in developing one’s skill in playing a musical instrument can be applied to other areas of  learning: self-discipline, self-control, persistence, patience, working together as a team, striving for excellence… all these contribute to a CAP member’s ability to develop integrity, respect, excellence, and volunteer service, to better serve the community, country, and fellow man.  Clearly, then, music does have power and meaning, and perhaps Plato was correct when he said that, “Those responsible for leading and protecting a nation must be trained in music.”

(2nd Lt. Nancy Spanial)

Sophomore Year, 3 November

LUBBOCK, Texas – After over a year in college, I feel more comfortable with my surroundings. Do I feel wiser? Yes. Smarter? Maybe. I don’t feel as up-tight and on-edge as during my freshman year, so I can enjoy the college experience much more. A big help has been better time management. It is very easy to get caught up in after-school activities, and that can be a terrible trap. So I offer this as an update going into my second year here, regarding college, Air Force ROTC, Texas Tech football, and my new CAP squadron.

First, my time in the classroom hasn’t changed much. I’m taking more business classes, and that's good since that’s my major, but I hate taking the lab sciences because they seem totally unrelated to business. At the moment, my philosophy is, "Don’t waste my time and don’t waste my money." I wish I could take just the business classes I need in order to get my degree, along with the required core courses such as English and Political Science. But maybe there's a reason why I have to take the lab sciences, so I work hard at them too.

As an Air Force ROTC cadet I wear my uniform on Thursdays and Fridays. These days are great, as some CAP members might have experienced already. The general public treats us far more respectfully than when we're not in uniform. When I’m in uniform, doors get held open for me, people get out of my way with a smile, and nobody sits next to me in class (the more leg room the better, and some classrooms are pretty compact). I’ve noticed I get more of a reaction when I’m in BDUs. I also feel really good when I present a professional image that reflects well upon the Air Force, and that I love.

Sadly, this semester, Warrior Spirit Week (the traditional exercise in which we must try to capture the upper-class cadets) was done away with, for reasons I’m not allowed to discuss. This semester's version of WSW was just a big scavenger hunt, and we found it really hard to get motivated for it. There was little bonding of flight members, which is an essential part of the ROTC program, and there wasn’t any planning, strategy selection, or plan execution. We felt it was way below our level of achievement. The good news is that the new WSW was such a massive failure that the plan is to bring back the traditional WSW next semester. I'm looking forward to that already.

In case you haven’t noticed, Texas Tech is having its best football season in team history. I’m writing this on the Sunday after Texas Tech beat Texas. Wow, that was one heck of a game! Hopefully, this winning streak will continue and end up in a BCS bowl. I was on the field with five minutes to go in that game. Not because I decided to rush the field but because I was working the game as part of the AFROTC team. All I did was make sure people didn’t smoke, and I helped them find their seats. Our detachment gets money for doing this, so it’s a great fund-raiser; 20 cadets at a time work the game, and we all take turns. Last year I worked two games without problem, but this year it was the opposite. I had to put up with some very objectionable language. It would seem that some people think they own the stadium and feel they have special privileges. Enough said about that. Another duty at the game is escorting the referees off the field at half time and at the end of the game. This is super cool. It’s awesome, going onto the field. The UT games posed a different challenge: thousands of rushing college students that made it much harder. I had to go find my assigned ref, and then escort him through the waves of pushing-shoving college students, making sure that nobody harmed him physically. I felt like a Secret Service agent, and the mission was successful, since no refs were injured. There is a change in the air, as we're full of the team spirit; it's a great feeling.

Last, but not least, I've transferred to the Lubbock Composite Squadron TX-293, where I can help reorganize their cadet program. They will actually help me in return, since AFROTC Field Training is coming and my being able to march the flight around will be critical to completing it successfully. Hopefully I’ll be able to help the CAP cadets as much as my previous flight commanders helped me at Pegasus. I see a lot of potential in my new CAP squadron - they are on their way to success already.

That's what I’ve been up to, just past mid-way of my sophomore fall semester. And I guess you've noticed. I’m loving every minute of Texas Tech and Air Force ROTC.

(C/SSgt. Evan Petrosky)

The Squadron in the News, 30 November

TYLER, Texas – The Tyler Morning Telegraph published a short article about the Civil Air Patrol's 67th birthday, citing several recent examples of CAP's service to the community. Being published in the local paper has certainly helped the squadron with recruiting and retention.

Please visit the paper's website for the article.

(Lt. Col. H. (Butch) Ragland)