CAP Efforts Continue in Louisiana and Mississippi

FEMA funding allocation to CAP for relief operations exceeds $400,000

Members have completed 115 flights and 41 ground missions, logged in 3,672 hours of volunteer time

September 07, 2005

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS – The Civil Air Patrol, the Air Force’s all-volunteer auxiliary, has been allocated up to $428,000 in federal money to assist Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has allocated up to $228,000 to be spent by CAP in Louisiana and $200,000 in Mississippi.

On Wednesday, more than 100 CAP members continued door-to-door search and rescue operations in Mississippi. CAP pilots also flew two of the auxiliary’s Gippsland GA8 Airvan aircraft to Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss., to assist with the transportation of Department of Defense officials at the request of 1st Air Force, located at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

To date, CAP members have logged 115 flights, carried out 41 ground missions and put in 3,672 hours in support of Hurricane Katrina relief operations.


CAP volunteers carry out relief operations in Mississippi

Members go door to door helping victims of Hurricane Katrina

September 06, 2005

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS – CAP National Vice Commander Brig. Gen. Rex E. Glasgow said today more than 100 volunteer CAP members are canvassing homes in Hancock, Pearl River, Jackson and Stone counties in southern Mississippi to conduct search and rescue operations and disseminate supplies to Hurricane Katrina victims at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Glasgow spoke by cellular phone Tuesday near the Mississippi Wing’s headquarters at Hawkins Field Airport outside of Jackson.

“The counties we’re working in have a population of more than 130,000, and are four of the more affected areas,” Brig. Gen. Glasgow said. “It’s where the majority of the damage is here in Mississippi.”

According to the general, 107 CAP members began Monday walking door-to-door and making sure the residents -- who have dealt with massive flooding, power outages and fuel shortages since Aug. 29 -- are doing alright.

“We're knocking on every door and asking if the survivors are OK and if they have had any contact with the outside, and we're making sure they know where the food and water distribution points are,” Brig. Gen. Glasgow said.

The general said CAP members are also disseminating water and MREs (meals ready to eat) to ensure residents have enough provisions to survive. He also said the job is an immense one, and he could not put a timetable on completing the mission. He also stated that the delivery Monday of 30,000 pounds of relief supplies to hurricane victims in Mississippi was very successful.

CAP members were canvassing homes Monday when they came upon a woman who’d been stranded in her house since the hurricane hit. Her electricity had gone out and she needed it for her required life support equipment.

“She’d been laying there for days. We called in the emergency medical technicians and got her help, and helped her get evacuated. Those are the types of things we’re doing,” Brig. Gen. Glasgow said.

Brig. Gen. Glasgow described a scene of total devastation further south. “Houses are flattened and debris scattered everywhere -- and that’s for several miles along the state’s southern coast,” he said.

CAP National Commander Maj. Gen. Antonio J. Pineda spent much of Tuesday with Glasgow overseeing CAP’s relief efforts in Mississippi.

“Many of our volunteers here are living in tents like soldiers, putting their own needs behind the needs of disaster victims. It’s that giving spirit here -- typical of the sacrifice of our volunteers -- that impresses me the most,” Maj. Gen. Pineda said.


CAP volunteers complete 113th flight in support of Katrina relief efforts

Ground teams conduct search and rescue operations, distibute relief supplies

September 06, 2005

NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS -- Members of the all-volunteer Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, are conducting ongoing emergency operations in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Hundreds of members are supporting Hurricane Katrina relief operations by carrying out air and ground search and rescue missions, flying transport flights for city, state and federal emergency management officials, and shooting aerial damage-assessment photos using CAP’s satellite-transmitted digital imaging technology.

To date, CAP members have flown 113 sorties for a total of 318.5 hours of flight time and have contributed 3,192 hours of volunteer time in support of the hurricane relief effort.

In Louisiana:
On Sept. 6, CAP members flew aerial reconnaissance missions over Baton Rouge to capture SDIS (satellite digital imaging system) images of nursing homes;
On Sept. 5, CAP members flew aerial reconnaissance missions above St. Bernard Parish, the city of Slidell, and New Orleans nursing homes;
On Sept. 5, CAP members flew transport missions from Gulfport, Miss., to Baton Rouge, La.; from Lake Charles, La., to Baton Rouge; and from Dothan, Ala., to Baton Rouge;
On Sept. 4, CAP members conducted aerial surveys of higher education facilities for the Louisiana Board of Regents;
On Sept. 4, CAP members flew aerial reconnaissance surveys of potential landing zones for the Air National Guard;
On Sept. 4, CAP members conducted reconnaissance of the Interstate 10 causeway for the Air National Guard;
On Sept. 4, CAP members transported 23 evacuees in three vans from downtown New Orleans to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport;
On Sept. 3, CAP members flew aerial reconnaissance to assess potential landing zones for the Air National Guard;
On Sept. 3, CAP members conducted aerial reconnaissance of the Interstate 10 causeway for the Air National Guard;
On Sept. 3, CAP members conducted aerial surveys of higher education facilities for the Louisiana Board of Regents; and
On Sept. 3, CAP members conducted aerial reconnaissance in search of evacuees. Seven people were rescued.

In Mississippi:
On Sept. 6, CAP members captured SDIS aerial images of the Highway 90 bridge;
On Sept. 6, CAP members captured SDIS aerial images of southern Mississippi airports for the Mississippi Department of Transportation;
On Sept. 6, CAP members with Mississippi and Florida wing ground teams based at Pascagoula, Miss., surveyed Jackson County;
On Sept. 6, CAP members with the Alabama wing ground team based at Wiggins surveyed Stone County;
On Sept. 6, CAP members with the Texas and Pennsylvania wing ground teams based at Stennis Space Center, Miss., surveyed Hancock and Pearl River counties;
On Sept. 5, CAP members flew to Pascagoula and to Stennis Space Center to transport Mississippi Emergency Management officials;
On Sept. 5, CAP members flew aerial reconnaissance between Gulfport, Miss., and Jackson, Miss.;
On Sept. 5, CAP members with Mississippi Wing and Florida Wing ground teams at Pascagoula surveyed Jackson County;
On Sept. 5, CAP members with the Alabama Wing ground team at Wiggins surveyed Stone County;
On Sept. 5, CAP members with the Texas Wing ground team at Stennis Space Center surveyed Hancock County;
On Sept. 5, CAP members with the Pennsylvania Wing ground team at Stennis Space Center surveyed Pearl River County;
On Sept. 4, CAP members transported satellite phones, maps and equipment to Pascagoula;
On Sept. 4, CAP transported a CAP pilot from Hattiesburg, Miss., to Jackson for a high-bird relay;
On Sept. 4, CAP members transported medical supplies to emergency facilities;
On Sept. 4, CAP members conducted four missing person surveys;
On Sept. 4, CAP members transported tetanus vaccines to Naval Air Station New Orleans;
On Sept. 3, CAP members flew high-bird communications support for ground teams;
On Sept. 3, CAP members flew an aerial survey of an airport to assist preparation of a forward mission base;
On Sept. 3, CAP members repositioned ARCHER-equipped Gippsland GA-8 Airvan aircraft following an Army Corps of Engineers damage-assessment mission; and
On Sept. 3, CAP ground teams conducted local searches.