December 2012

National Association for

Search and Rescue
PAGE 2

FIGHT IN COLOR
PAGE 3

Awards and
Promotions
PAGE 5

Semper
Vigilans

PE AC HT R EE D EK AL B SEN IO R SQ U AD R ON
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

Integrity, Volunteer Service,

Excellence, and Respect

Even off the Grid, PDK Still Performs

17 Nov 2012-KPDK- Thirteen proved
to be the lucky number for the November SAREX when PDK expanded the
boundaries of its normal Mission Base
by flying 13 sorties for a total
of 13.6 hours on Saturday,
November 17.
The SAREX was run completely off the grid and without cell phones. All mission
directives were communicated via the CAP radio network using the
high frequency system. Running off the

grid required airborne repeaters so CAP

personnel could communicate without
using CAP fixed location repeaters.
While Mission base was powered only
by a generator, a team erected
an antenna and established a
remote radio base using two
car batteries. With a remote
communication base established, Mission Base Communications were successfully
transitioned to the remote base and then
back to Mission Base.

By day's end, the SAREX had trained

two new mission pilots, numerous personnel in various ES skills, and signed
off multiple final task qualifications -all while spending only 82% of the allocated budget.
One of the biggest accomplishments
during the exercise, according to the
Incident Commander in training, Lt Col
Roy Villers, was having a Mission Finance Officer to provide real-time tracking of all expenditures.

Bernard King Speaks at PDK

13 November
PDK: The
audience
laughed out
loud as the
Senior Members of the
Squadron
enjoyed Bernard King, Strategic Security
and Safety Coordinator of Kennesaw
State University giving a very entertaining and informative presentation on

Emergency Preparedness from a First responder perspective. Mr. King used his
skills as a lecture and educator to discuss
his experiences throughout his career.
Points were made on overcoming the volunteer objection, gaining buy in, little to
no funding and how to demonstrate the
need for funding through success. Mr.
King also discussed how Kennesaw State
University started with its own version of
an emergency response team as a foundation and now how C.E.R.T. is becoming

the focus of crisis management all across

the campus and beyond.
After the meeting, Mr. King joined the
members at the Downwind to continue the
discussions on Emergency Preparedness
and how our members could be better prepared. Several members took advantage
of Mr. Kings knowledge to network and
gain information concerning additional
Emergency Preparedness training outside
of the Civil Air Patrol.

Partner Profile

National Association
for Search and Rescue
cation programs.
3. Enhance preventative SAR proThe National Association for Search
and Rescue mission is to develop and grams.
4. Generate the resources needed to
provide professional credentialing
accomplish NASAR goal: instructors,
products and services for the search
and rescue community.. NASAR works evaluators, lead evaluators, responders, revenue, partnerships, training
to accomplish this mission through
strategic partnerships between volun- and course materials, and programs.
The National Association for Search
teers and staff.
and Rescue is composed of 132 instructors, 247 evaluators, 84 lead evalAs a volunteer training and certificauators, and 10,533
tion organization,
members,. As an inNASAR is keenly
ternational organizapeople-focused in
tion, it is imperative
all that they do.
that all volunteers
NASAR invites
and staff uphold the
members of the
highest ethical standcommunity to conards, speak in unity,
tribute their time,
and embody the valtalent and reues and beliefs of the
sources to help
achieve there mission. NASAR endeav- Association. NASAR business decisions
or to be responsive to their customers, and actions reflect shared core values.
volunteers, staff and the public at
NASAR Core Values
large.
Commitment to Integrity: NASAR
NASAR Impact Goal
strives to achieve and maintain the
The strategic impact goal of the Nahighest ethical standards; to deal hontional Association for Search and Res- estly with NASAR customers, voluncue is to increase the efficiency and
teers and staff; to be worthy of the
effectiveness of searcher efforts inter- trust placed in NASAR members, cusnationally by becoming the gold stand- tomers, volunteers, staff, law enforceard for search and rescue professional ment, and the lost and missing memtraining, education, accreditation and bers of communities who depend on
certification.
the responders NASAR trains and certifies; to be good stewards of the reTo do this :
sources entrusted to NASAR in order
1. Improve the quality and acceptance that they may achieve the goals; and
of NASAR training, educational and
to hold NASAR members morally and
certification products.
financially accountable.
2. Strive to increase the availability of
NASAR training, education and certifi-

Basics of Damage
Assessment

NASAR Mission

Damage assessment is a process to determine the

severity and magnitude of a disaster or other
emergency on the public and private sectors in
your community. It helps provide information to
the community about the extent of the damage.
Before developing a plan for your community,
consult any damage assessment plans or guidelines that your State or other governing bodies
may have already developed.
Damage assessment response teams are dispatched throughout the community to efficiently
and accurately quantify the damage and estimate
repair costs and impact on the community with a
focus on degree of damage in terms of habitability
and property value, as well as the impact on critical infrastructure and key resources (CIKR).
Teams may have to go out more than once if an
area is not accessible during the initial assessment
or if the need for further assessment arises due to
additional impacts to the area. The information
collected during damage assessment is used to
determine not only where to direct resources, but
also to determine if local resources will be sufficient to respond to and recover from the event or
if contracts and mutual aid agreements will need
to be activated and/or if State or Federal assistance will be needed.
Severity
Severity is a measure of the seriousness of the
effects of a hazard event. It can be measured by
factors, such as the number of people affected,
amount of capital lost, number of buildings uninhabitable, or impact to critical infrastructure and
key resources.
Magnitude
Magnitude is a measure of the strength of a hazard event. The magnitude of a hazard is usually
determined using technical measures specific to
the hazard. For example, the Enhanced Fujita
Scale is used to measure the magnitude of tornadoes so that there is a common language, such as
when someone refers to a tornado as EF-3. The
magnitude of hurricanes is measured by the Saffir
-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale which provides
consistency; thus, a category 3 hurricane is the
same regardless of location. Earthquake magnitude is measured with the Richter Scale, and intensity is measured with the Modified Mercalli
Intensity (MMI) Scale. All of these scales are
damage severity measurements based upon analysis of previous catastrophic events.

Fight In Color: Be
aware and win your
battles
by Staff Sgt. Shawn Rhodes
927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
10/13/2012 - MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE,
Fla. -- "When I saw that piece of garbage on
the road in Iraq, I knew I was about to die,"
said Tech. Sgt. Jason Knepper, a reservist
with the 927th Security Forces Squadron. He
currently serves as a combat arms noncommissioned officer in charge.
Knepper said that everything looked lethal on
his first combat patrol because he wasn't
aware and able to respond to threats around
him. The method the military teaches troops to
react to life-threatening situations like combat
is called the color code. It can be used by anyone who wants to learn how to be vigilant in
any situation. Instead of panicking when
something surprises you, do what the military
does - fight in color.
The color code system is used to teach warriors to be aware of their mindset on the battlefield and at home. Jeff Cooper, a Marine and
veteran of the Korean War, founded the system. Today combat troops learn it so they can
identify states of mind that help guide decisions. The system can be used to work up a
chain of colors, each representing a different
mindset, so you don't panic in a stressful situation. If you embrace this method in your own
life, you too can 'fight in color.'
White
White is the state of mind someone has when
they are unaware of their surroundings and
unsure about how to react if something did go
wrong.
"Every piece of garbage was a piece of fear,"
Knepper said.
If you panic on your commute because of a
roadblock, or didn't pay attention to the signs
for the last three weeks prior informing you the
road would be closed that day, you're living in
white. Combat veterans everywhere agree white is no place to be. Being startled by
someone speaking behind you is another indicator you're living in the most reactive state.
Yellow
After a few patrols and some experience,
Knepper found himself in a vigilant state
known as color yellow. He was aware of his
surroundings and potential threats. This is the
ideal state for a warrior to be in, because they

SAFETY:

Top 10 GA
Accident Causes

can assess a situation before deciding to react. If you know where the exits are in any
room you enter and aren't easily startled,
you're likely living in yellow.
Orange
When Knepper found himself travelling to a
shootout, he was in orange. In this state, you
know something isn't right about the situation
and you're ready to react. This is where you
make the decision for fight or flight. Because
this is the color where decisions are made,
most people spend the least amount of time
here. If the situation de-escalates, you drop
back to yellow. If you need to engage, you
jump to red.
Red
Pulling the trigger in a firefight, Knepper was in
red. Here, you're actively engaged in the fight
or conflict in your own life. You've made the
call and are engaging the threat, whether it's
an attacker or a car veering into your lane.
This is a hard state of mind to maintain and as
soon as the threat is neutralized, you should
drop back down the color chain to yellow.
Black
This was added to the color code, because
black is what happens when you panic and
jump from white to red. It's a situation you
don't want to be in, but people unable to utilize
the color code system tend to visit black often.
You're in a completely reactive state that is
mentally and physically exhausting. Not thinking logically, you are prone to make mistakes
that could cost you the fight. Staying out of
black by progressing through each stage of
the color code ensures you have the stamina
for victory.
"Using the color code system is the difference
between walking into a thug in a dark alley
and realizing not to walk down the alley in the
first place," said Knepper. "Being in the yellow
means being cognizant of your surroundings."
Many people walk while typing on their
phones, unaware of anything around them.
Knepper said that this is living in the white. If a
threat appears, people may not have time to
react.
"An example of people living in yellow are
those who keep their phones in their pocket
and eyes open," Knepper said. "Be aware,
and have a greater ability to control how a
situation escalates and avoid trouble before it
starts."

10 Weather
WINDSHEAR or THUNDERSTORM
Preflight Planning, Weather
Knowledge, Get Home itis
9 Mid Air Collisions
Traffic Pattern, Fly Ins, Glider Operations, Practice Areas
8 System Component Failure
Non Power Plant
Electrical Failure, Cabin Fire/Smoke,
Vacuum Pump Failure, Carbon
Monoxide
7 Fuel Related
Bad Gauges/A Good Watch, Preflight
Planning, Weather/Winds,
Fuel Management, Systems
Knowledge
6 Other
Instrument Approach Procedures,
Track and Altitude Flown,
Pilots Situational Awareness are Unknown
5 Unknown or Undermined
Self Explanatory, No Witness,
Recorders, Non-Volatile Memory
(GPS)
4 Low Altitude Operations
Pipe/Power Line Patrol, Crop Duster,
Fire Fighting, EMS Operations
3 System Component Failure
Power Plant
Single Drive Mags, Cylinders, Valves,
Cam/Crankshafts, Pumps, and other
components
2 Controlled Flight Into Terrain
Rising Mountainous Terrain, Dark
Night (Moonless), Cleared for the
Visual
1 Loss of Control
Environmental Conditions/Wind, Experience, Perceptual, Physical/
Sensory
The above list was compiled by the
FAA

17 November SAREX at

Peachtree DeKalb Airport

Awards & Promotions

B EHIND THE
U NIFORM

T HOMAS C HAMBERS
Major Jim Crone
Technician Rating in Professional
Development
Senior Rating in Recruiting/Retention
1st Lt Jerry Lewis Technician Rating in
Professional Development and a
Senior rating in Personnel
1st Lt Mike Mullett,
Promotion to Capt. on 01 Nov 2012
Captain Pat Ragin
Promotion to Major on 01 Nov 2012

Important
December Dates:
December 1
Civil Air Patrol
Birthday
December 4
Guest Speaker
Brigadier
General Charles
Campbell
NOTE:
Meeting will be at
Dobbins ARB
December 8
Cadet O Day @
PDK
December 9

Squadron
Christmas Party
@ 57th Fighter
Group

What is your profession? I am a Paramedic with 17 years of experience. I

23 November 2012 -KPDK While trying to relax and enjoy
spent most of my career working down
leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner, Captain Mullett received
a call from the Wing Alert Officer at approximately 2100 Fri- in Spalding, Pike, Lamar and Upson
day: an ELT was transmitting in south Georgia. Reliably,
counties working for both Spalding ReCapt. Mullet assembled a flight crew consisting of Captain Jeff
gional EMS and Upson Regional EMS.
Chiu as Observer and the DeKalb Composite Squadron's Rick
I have also worked at Grady and for
Sigman as the Scanner and UTD Ground Team member.
The weather called for an IFR flight, so Captain Mullet
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta on
filed an IFR flight plan and passed over KATL at 7000'. Detheir ground transport team.
spite their best efforts, they could not penetrate the poor visi-

ELT is no match for PDK Air Crews

bility of the clouds to locate the ELT. Captain Mullet and the
air crew came off station and returned home by 03:00 Saturday.
Captain Mullet was recalled to action early Saturday morning to help the IC assemble another flight crew. Major Pat
Ragin and Lt Colonel Charlie Cayce answered the call. After
the Incident Commander briefed the Saturday air crew, Major
Ragin and Lt Colonel Cayce launched at 1230L.
As the C182 headed south, the Saturday air crew was able to
focus on a different area than the air crew from the night before. Lt Col Cayce picked up the ELT on 121.5 and with the
clouds lifted, located the signal transmitting from a crop duster
on a dirt runway in Colquitt County. CAP regulations prohibit
landing CAP aircraft on dirt runways, so the aircrew flew a
low
approach over the suspected aircraft to ensure that the Becker
confirmed the ELT location. The Colquitt County Sheriff's
department was contacted and a deputy was dispatched to the
site. He contacted the owner of the crop duster, who
successfully deactivated the ELT.
PDK aircrews were the only ones to respond to flight crew
requests during the Thanksgiving weekend. The two air crews
working together to locate the ELT demonstrated the
professionalism, skill, competence, and proficiency of our
squadron.

Why did you join CAP and PDK in

particular? I have been in disaster response for the last 10 years with Ga-3
DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance
Team) under Dept. of Health and Human Services. I have been wanting to
do something a little different but still
be able to help out the community. A
friend told me about the Senior Squadron at PDK and that it was the busiest
squadron in the state. That perked my
interest because I have always loved
aviation and I can still help the community.
Do you have a wife/kids? I am
married but no kid's.
What hobbies do you enjoy? I

December 11:
Safety Briefing
Followed by the
Staff Meeting
December 15
Wreaths Across
America

HEADQUARTERS
PEACHTREE DEKALB (PDK) SENIOR SQUADRON enjoy playing the Bass guitar and
CIVIL AIR PATROL
wood working.
AUXILIARY UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
2000 AIRPORT ROAD, ROOM 227
Last Vacation spot? Destin Florida
CHAMBLEE, GA 30341

I look forward to meeting and working

with everyone in CAP, I expect I will
have a lot of fun.