Ad Astra ...

to the stars
V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 4 A U T U M N , 2 0 0 9

Congressman Moran Accepting Applications

to Service Academies Those selected will enter the
academies in June, 2010
Congressman Jerry Moran is accepting applications for nominations
to the United States Service Academies. The academies include the

KANSAS WING CIVIL AIR PATROL

U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York; the U.S. Naval
Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; the U.S. Air Force Academy in
Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in
Kings Point, New York.
Those selected will enter the academies in June 2010. Selections are
based on SAT or ACT test scores, class rank, grade point average,
school records, extracurricular activities, leadership potential, motivation,
recommendations and interview evaluations. Applicants must be legal residents of the
state of Kansas, at least 17 years of age but not past their 23rd birthday on July 1 of the
year of admission, citizens of the United States, unmarried, not pregnant and without
legal obligation to support children or other dependents.
If nominated by Moran, the applicants then must meet the individual admission
requirements of each academy. The academies will make the final decision on who will
receive an appointment of admission. Due to limited placement, Moran encourages all
interested candidates to also apply to the offices of U.S. Senators Sam Brownback and
Pat Roberts. Moran's application deadline is November 1, 2009. Interested applicants
should send a letter requesting application materials to:
Congressman Jerry Moran
Attn: Service Academy Selection
P.O. Box 1128
Hutchinson, KS 67504-1128

REMEMBERING INCREDIBLE PEOPLE

THE ED HILL EMERGENCY
SERVICES AWARD
The Lt Col Ed Hill Award was established to honor a pillar
of Kansas Wing Operations who was killed in an
automobile accident in October 2008 en route to a
mission.
Ed joined Civil Air Patrol in November 1995. He was an
aviation professional and became an icon in Kansas Wing
emergency services. His qualifications included nearly
every position from incident commander to mission staff
assistant. He held every pilot
qualification available in Civil Air
Patrol. Lt Col Hill had ratings in
several specialty tracks including
Operations and Safety. He served
as the Safety Officer at National Blue
Beret in 2003 and also earned the
Gill Robb Wilson Award.
At the time of his death, Lt Col Hill
served as the Kansas Wing Director
of Operations and Counterdrug Officer. He will not only be
remembered for the excellence with which he performed his
numerous duties, but also for his cooking at the Kansas
Emergency Services Academies. He will long be missed by
his friends and comrades.
In honor of our friend and fellow volunteer, this award will
recognize members of the Kansas Wing who exhibit
dedication and excellence in Operations.
PAGE 2

 
Encampment! 
Transforming Average  
Cadets into Superb  
Leaders 
By C/Lt Col Mitch Edwards
What is the military definition of
leadership? The military definition of
leadership is as follows: The art of
influencing and directing people in such a
way that it will win their obedience,
confidence, respect and loyal cooperation
in achieving a common objective.
This is just one of the many things that
cadets will learn at the 2009 Kansas Wing
Winter Encampment. Encampment is
being held from 26 December 2009
through 2 January 2010 at Kansas Wing
Headquarters in Salina, Kansas. Cadets
can expect to learn important life skills
such as how to work in a group, how to
make their bed, how to keep organized and
even how to manage their time. On top of
learning about emergency services and
aerospace education, cadets will be
exposed to numerous hands on activates to
stimulate their minds to aid in the learning
process. Cadets will walk into
encampment as cadets and emerge a week
later as leaders. This is a great opportunity
to grow. We are now accepting Basic
Applications (CAPF 31 with signatures
sent to Kansas Wing Headquarters). Come
and experience the event of a lifetime!

Questions can be directed to the Encampment

Commander, Maj Rick Franz at
kswg.cs@kswg.cap.gov or to the Cadet
Commander, C/Lt Col Mitch Edwards at
kswg.ccp@kswg.cap.gov.
 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 PAGE 3

Emergency Services Day at the Kansas State Fair

By Col Jerome Hanson
For the second consecutive year, the Kansas Wing
participated during Emergency Services Day at the Fair.
The event’s goal, created by the Kansas Adjutant
Department, is for the public to learn about the number
of Emergency Preparedness Agencies that serve Kansas.
Agencies that provide help during disasters in the state
were given the opportunity to answer the public’s
questions and provide them with information to help
citizens prepare themselves for times that they might
need help.
The participants from the Kansas Wing were Col. Jerome
L. Hanson, the Wing Public Affairs Officer; Capt. Danny
Phillips, the Wing Recruiting Officer; and 1st Lt. J.D.
Spradling, the Wing Disaster Preparedness Officer.

Lawrence Color Guard Members Present Colors for New Citizens

The Honorable John Lundstrum, Justice of
the 10th U.S. Circuit Court is flanked by
Lawrence Composite Squadron cadets
Makayla White, Stephanie Bayless,
Geoffrey Bayless, Micheal Bayless and
Spencer Kerfoot after participating in the
Court's Naturalization Ceremonies held at
the Dole Center for Political Studies at
the University of Kansas.
This marks the 7th year the Court has
asked the Lawrence Squadron to present
the colors and administer the Pledge of
Allegiance to the new citizens. This year's
proceedings saw 99 people from 33
countries become new American citizens.
Judge Lundstrum remarked how
important he views the cadets
participation in this event each year.
by Maj. Duane Filkins
International Air
Cadet Exchange
Comes to KC
By SM Gena Borden Left to Right – Chaperone Kevin Dekroes
(Belgium), Cedrick VanGoethem
Kansas City Composite Squadron (KCCS) proudly hosted (Belgium), Mel Thyberghien (Canada), Tim
this year’s International Air Cadet Exchange. This group Keymis (Belgium), Jordan Bailey (Canada),
KCCS C/Col Daniel Metcalf, KCCS
of individuals consisted of two Canadian cadets, two
Belgian cadets, and one Belgian escort. With this being
most of their first times to the United States, KCCS gave
them a variety of experiences that included a taste of
Kansas City, aviation-related activities, and a little
American culture.
A taste of Kansas City for our IACE group began on day
one with a historical tour of the Steam Boat Arabia at
The City Market; day two ended with a Kansas City
Royals baseball game; day three was The Plaza, Union
Station, and Crown Center in Kansas City, MO., event;
day four was spent at Worlds of Fun™ amusement park;
and day nine rounded out the experience with a tour of Left to Right, Top – Cedrick VanGoethem, Mel
the Merriam Kansas Fire Station where they were able to Thyberghien, Middle – Kevin Dekroes, Jordan
Bailey, Tim Keymis, Bottom – KCCS Cadets c/SrA
see the ladder tower in action. IACE also attended a Joseph Crockett, c/Amn Daniel Scarbrough, c/2nd
KCCS meeting to meet all our cadets and share Lt Grant Collison
differences in our programs. Part of the evening was
spent demonstrating and practicing drilling techniques
by KCCS and the Canadian cadets. There was an extra
send off reception on the last day where KCCS met for
cake, and then off to a pool party complete with
backyard barbeque pot luck.
Aviation activities began on the second day with
observation flights out of New Century Airport. On the
fifth day, the IACE spent time out at Forbes Field for a
tour of the 190th Air Refueling Wing, Kansas Air National
Guard facilities where they were given a close look at
the KC-135. Then it was off to visit the historical Air
Combat Museum at Forbes Field to view 33 different
aircraft, aircraft engines, and military aviation artifacts
all ranging from WWI to modern day. Day six was the
Amelia Earhart Museum in Atchison and a flight
simulator in Leavenworth.

The ninth day was spent at Smoky Hill
Air National Guard Range with a
public display of military aircraft that
took flight for an aerial gunnery
training show. Aerial displays
included AH-64 Apache, A-10 T
Thunderbolt, B-52, B-1, F-16, C-130
and an unmanned aerial vehicle.
American culture was fascinating to
our IACE team. There were many
firsts for the group including the
baseball game and the amusement
park. KCCS made sure they were
exposed to cultural experiences that
could only be made in America. IACE
was able to experience several
different fast food establishments and
retail stores in Kansas City. Krispy
Crème Doughnuts was one fast food
establishment where our IACE team
was able to see how the dough was
mixed, cut, cooked, and frosted. A
tasty sample at the end of the tour
was a special treat indeed. Cabela’s
was one of the retail stores that dis-
played vast differences in American
culture that ranged from the
taxidermy to the weapons that were
on display. There was never a dull
moment with the IACE group.
Including making new friends. Even
sitting in traffic gave a burn outs. In
the end, IACE left Kansas City in style
with a Hummer Limousine ride to the
airport.
The International Air Cadet Exchange
program was a learning experience for
everyone involved. The Kansas City
Composite Squadron would like to
thank everyone who put forth effort
to make this program a success. KCCS
was delighted to be involved with this
year’s event and is looking forward to
next year.
Not Your
Normal
Meeting!
by Capt Sammy Williams and 2nd Lt Pamela Morris
The Flint Hills Composite Squadron’ weekly meeting took a
different turn on September 22nd 2009. Colonel Tim
Hansen was alerted by LtCol Dennis Pearson that the
AFRCC was tracking an ELT signal near the Kansas City
metro area and requested opening an Air Force-authorized
Search and Rescue mission. Colonel Hansen opened an
incident base at Freeman Field Airport in Junction City and
the weekly squadron meeting becoming a real hands-on
exercise in Search and Rescue.
An aircrew and aircraft from the Topeka Eagle
Composite Squadron launched to search for the ELT
signal, and the New Century Composite Squadron
provided an Urban Direction-Finding Team (UDT) for the
ground search.
The Flint Hills Composite Squadron members comprised
the Incident Command staff with Colonel Hansen acting as
the Incident Commander and Maj Jeffrey Morris as the
Operations Section Chief. Capt Mark Lahan served as the
Ground Branch Director, Capt Linette Lahan provided
support as Finance and Administrative Section Chief and
2nd Lt Pam Morris served as the staff assistant. As cadets
and senior members arrived for the usual weekly meeting,
they were assigned various duties and a ground team was
assembled to conduct a search in the local area based on
the information being received from the AFRCC.
Just as the ground team, lead by Capt Sammy Williams,
was about to embark on their mission, the Incident
Commander received the information that the ELT had
been located in Clay County, MO. The aircrew located the
ELT in Missouri and notified the airport personnel, who
found the ELT and silenced the ELT. The aircraft and the
UDF team were recalled and the incident base shut down.
Flint Hills mission logs were completed to record the eve-
ning’s activities and squadron personnel conducted an af-
ter action review of the night’s events The exercise was a
real-time and real-life event and provided a opportunity
for hands-on experience for all the KSWG personnel
involved. Definitely not your normal weekly meeting!
 Kansas Wing’s Presence Felt
at National Blue Beret
By C/Capt Sarah M. Wildman

The world’s largest air show, AirVenture, hosted

by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was home to two dozen
Kansas Wing members for more than two weeks
this summer. National Blue Beret (NBB) is a
National Cadet Special Activity held by the Civil Air
Patrol to support AirVenture. The activity receives
its name from the blue beret members earn while
there.
Kansas Wing had the most members selected
to attend NBB this year, sending twenty-four. Most
of them served on staff, filling positions ranging
from Activity Director to Flight Leader.
This year, cadets were assigned to one of twelve flights. Two cadet leaders and one senior
member TAC Officer led each flight. Five additional cadets served as the Cadet Commander, Cadet
Deputy Commander, Cadet Administration Officer and two Cadet Public Affairs Officers. Each day’s
schedule rotated the flights through several different duty shifts and generally some free time.
During the air show week, each flight had at least one opportunity to go watch the air show. Flights
were also paired with two other flights on a Flight Night Out, a break for flight members from the
long days and a chance to spend time building better friendships with members from other flights.
While AirVenture is only a week-long air show, National Blue Beret begins the week before with
long days of Ground Team Member and Flight Line Marshaller training.
A typical day begins with wake-up at 5:30 am and lights out at
10 pm. The hours in between are filled with opening formation, HQ
duty, flight line marshalling along Runway 9/27, ES duty, Warbirds,
Ultralights, closing formation and other similar taskings.
HQ duty can result in cadets helping cook meals for their
fellow members, logging vehicles and personnel entering and exiting
the compound as well as doing general barracks housekeeping.
Flight line marshalling involves directing taxiing aircraft to their
designated parking spots after they land as well as directing aircraft to
the runway for takeoff during the mass departures. Flight line
operations with the EAA, CAP and the FAA are so smooth that it is
typical to have 100 aircraft takeoff in only 45 minutes during the mass
departures after each day’s air show is complete. Cadets and senior
members working the flight line have the thrilling opportunity to
witness and impact this spectacular achievement.
ES duty encompasses several different
activities. On an ES shift, cadets may handle
radio communications in the Communications
Shack on the compound, ride on one of two
golf carts assigned to ES in search of overdue
aircraft and activated ELTs, or sit at North or
South Tower logging each landing aircraft’s tail
number. Sorties and Finds are earned through
ES duty.
Warbirds and Ultralights are somewhat simi-
lar activities. Cadets on these shifts serve by
ensuring that unauthorized persons do not
enter the active taxiway and runway areas
located next to the Warbirds area and at the
Ultralights’ separate grass runway.
The unofficial motto of National Blue Beret is
Semper Gumby – “Always Flexible”. The many
schedule and tasking changes that can occur in
a given day at NBB require that members be
flexible and adaptable to the situation while still
serving with the highest degree of
professionalism and integrity.
A main highlight for every member of
the activity is receiving their blue beret
and St. Alban’s pin. The berets and
pins must be earned through displaying
and exemplifying the attitudes and
actions that define a Blue Beret.
Professionalism, integrity and service
to others are three of these defining
attributes. The berets are earned first, with the
St. Alban’s pins being earned separately.
Excitement and exhilaration fill the air on the
compound upon awarding of the berets.
The activity ends with a graduation
barbecue after the air show ends on Sunday. TO
Cadets and senior members return the R ATS ah
NG ar
CO apt S for
following day to their home wings and C/C man CFI
d
Wil ng her We
squadrons with memories of a lifetime, a new s i !
pas ckride ud of
h e r o
Blue Beret family and, hopefully, many lessons C all p
!
are her
in leadership, professionalism and service to
others to pass on to those around them.
 PAGE 8 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4

Joint NCR SAREX Salina and Ellsworth

Great Success Team up for Airshow
by 2nd Lt Pamela Morris
North Central Region of Civil Air Patrol combined 15 By Capt Cathy Mages
August 2009 for joint SAREX activities. The exercise
had multiple tornadoes touching down between
Phillipsburg and On 01 August 2009, the Salina and Ellsworth
Belleville, KS. Squadrons helped with traffic and crowd
Aircraft reported control as the Det 1, 184 Intelligence Wing of
multiple ELTs going the Smoky Hill Air National Guard Range
off in the area and held their Open House. The Smoky Hill ANG
damage reported to Range is the largest air-to-ground range in
the local infrastruc- the ANG. Over 6000 people showed up for
ture. Ground teams the one-day event. Those who attended
were tasked to take were given a show of power with bombs,
Damage Assessment
rockets, cannon fire from AH-64 Apache,
(DA) digital photos of nearby dams, airfields,
hospital, bridges, and power plants. Powercet, A-C10 (Thunderbolt), B-53H
(Stratofortress), F16C (Fighting Falcon), and
After a safety and SITREP briefing, a Ground Team B-1B (Lancer). Several members of the
from the Flint Hills Composite Squadron, led by
Kansas City Squadron were in attendance as
Major Jeffrey Morris, dispatched to check on the
towns and countryside in the area for damage part of their IACE experience with cadets
assessment. The from Canada and Belgium.
team used data
logging GPS
devices to track
GPS locations to
be matched up
with digital
pictures taken
along the route.
Capt Mark Lahan
drove the route
while Capt Linette Lahan kept the log of the sightings
and reported conditions. Cadet Hillary Kebbel
operated the DF and searched for any sounds of an
ELT along the route. 2nd Lt Pam Morris took photos
at each location to later be matched up with the data
logger GPS data. The Ground Team arrived at
Bellville’s airfield and Cadet Kebbel picked up the
sound of the ELT. While the ELT search was being
conducted on the ground, a CAP plane arrived over-
head and circled the area to land. The aircrew from
Wichita had picked up the ELT and DF’d to the same
location. The line search was successful in locating
the ELT. Photos of the location and the ELT ‘find’
were taken, and the Ground Team resumed their
tasking of checking for damage assessment along
the route.
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 4 PAGE
MEET THE COMMANDER’S
Captain Catherine Metcalf
Catherine E Metcalf, being a
Mary Kay consultant and a
new grandmother of twins,
putting on combat boots was
NOT something she thought of
herself doing. However,
because of her love for her
country, knowing she could
give back through CAP, and
her love for children and
wanting to help cadets, she
joined CAP in August 2003
AND put those combat boots
on.
She started as testing officer,
adding Administration Officer
soon after. Two years later
she, her CAP officer husband
and cadet son were asked to
help start a squadron. This
NOT being on her TO-DO list,
she allowed everyone to talk
her into it. Little did she know
what Kansas City Composite
Squadron would grow to be,
the friends she would make or
the difference that would be
made in cadets’ lives through
KCCS.
Like her cadet son, she didn’t
hesitate to further her career;
taking all the training she
needed for different officer
positions to help a new and
growing squadron. She also
started in Emergency Services,
becoming qualified as a
Ground Team Leader, Mission
Observer and Scanner, and Mis-
sion Radio Operator, just to name
a few.
She was so busy with the
squadron the first year her twin
grandchildren would call for an
appointment to come visit.
During her 6 years in CAP she has
attended 7 encampments, earned
a Master in Cadet Programs and
Administration, Senior in
Personnel and Technician in
Professional Development and
served in multiple duty positions.
She has multiple qualifications in
Emergency Services. Her awards
include Yeager, Loening, COP,
and has received the Command-
ers Commendation twice. She
also has attended Training
Leaders for Cadets and Unit
Commanders Course. And of
course many squadron and wing
events and activities.
Captain Metcalf enjoyed and was
proud to promote cadets as their
Deputy Commander for Cadets.
Her greatest joy was being able to
promote her own cadet son on
several achievements. Then she
was able to promote him to Cadet
Colonel, with NO crying allowed.
Last December, she was honored
with the Change of Command of
KCCS that put her in the position
of Squadron Commander.
Captain Metcalf totally believes in
the CAP program and enjoys
9
educating people about CAP and
promotes it every time she gets a
chance.
One event that Captain Metcalf
works hard on every year and is
very close to her heart is the
Wreaths Across America
program. She was honored to
attend the ceremony in
Washington, DC, two years and
witness first hand lying on of the
wreaths and the ceremony.
On a personal note, she is
married to Dan, who is a Major in
CAP. She has lived in the KC
area most of her life. Captain
Metcalf likes football – Go Chiefs
– and wrestling (high school and
college). She home schooled
Cadet Metcalf, is the mother of
three children and grandma of
three – her two oldest children
are married with the oldest son
and daughter-in-law having a 4
year old son, and daughter and
son-in-law having 7 year old boy/
girl twins. The twins are already
looking forward to joining CAP
when they turn 12. If you have
ridden with Captain Metcalf, you
know her favorite vehicle is a
Hummer and favorite plane is the
B-2. If you don’t know this, you
would soon find out.
 Kansas Wing
Civil Air Patrol

3024 Arnold Ave.

Salina, Kansas
67401-8105

785-825-0009
FAX 785-825-1116
june@kswghq.kscoxmail.com
donna@kswghq.kscoxmail.com

The Eyes of America's Skies

I am a Blue Beret! Follow me!