CAP hurricane relief operations continue in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama

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, Mississippi and Alabama. Hundreds of CAP members are supporting Hurricane Katrina relief operations by flying damage assessment, emergency official transport, search and rescue, and emergency locator transmitter silencing missions.

In Mississippi:
On Sept. 1, CAP members supported the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration by surveying airport runways and building damage assessment;
On Sept. 1, CAP members supported the state’s Army Corps of Engineers by assessing power station damage;
On Aug. 31, CAP members flew two Mississippi Department of Transportation engineers over major east/west highways for damage assessment;
On Aug. 31, wing ground teams, at the request of the CAP National Operations Center, conducted a successful missing-persons search for four people;
On Aug. 31, CAP members performed an ELT search and silence mission at the request of the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. Twenty-one CAP volunteers responded in five aircraft. They flew 11 air sorties and carried out two ground missions. The mission was successful; and
On Aug. 30, CAP members flew two bridge engineers over Interstate 10 for damage assessment.

In Alabama:
On Sept. 2, CAP members flew two members of the Army Corps of Engineers from Vicksburg, Miss., to New Orleans for a levee survey;
On Sept. 2, CAP members flew Alabama State Board of Insurance members to survey the state's Gulf area; and
In addition, the Alabama Wing is providing ongoing assistance to the emergency management agencies in Baldwin and Mobile counties.

In Louisiana:
On Sept. 2, wing aircrews carried out aerial photography missions for the Louisiana Nursing Home Association;
On Sept. 2, wing aircrews flew aerial photography missions in the Hammond and Thibodaux areas for the State Board of Regents;
On Sept. 2, wing aircrews flew the LSU Hurricane Team for aerial observations;
On Sept. 1, CAP members completed a flight for the Department of Environmental Quality