Air Force officials give Civil Air Patrol a technology boost

  • Published
  • By Angela Pope
  • AFNORTH Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  When Air Forces Northern officials need an aircrew to fly a search and rescue mission, run counterdrug support or play the bad guy, they frequently call on the members of the Civil Air Patrol, who are always more than eager to lend a helping hand.

In an effort to make the job easier and more efficient for CAP responders, AFNORTH officials have given the organization five Geospatial Information Interoperability Exploitation Portable go kits. The GIIEPs feature self-contained communications equipment and other hardware that allow for real time and near-real time full-motion video, digital imagery and in-flight chat capability with federal, state and local emergency operations centers.

"These kits will be a highly beneficial addition to CAP's existing mission toolkit," said Maj. Anthony Beresford, Alabama CAP Wing chief of staff. "The ability to transmit geo-referenced video imagery in flight shortens response times, while situational awareness is greatly improved by automatically updating aircraft and ground teams on the Google Earth map at the command center."

Each GIIEP consists of a laptop, handheld cameras and a cellular air card, which provides wireless connectivity to the aircrew. The kit fits into two small cases, is easily transportable and can be shipped across the country when members of a CAP wing need it. Since the kits don't require any aircraft modification, they can be used in any CAP aircraft.

The kits will be maintained by officials at CAP national headquarters and will be shipped to CAP wings as needed for missions.

"During hurricane season, the kits will be sent to wings along the coast," said Lt. Col. Chris Sabo, Air Force auxiliary plans and programs chief. "During the spring, we'll send them to states that are prone to flooding. And if necessary, we'll send the kits out west during fire season."

The benefit of these kits will be significant, Colonel Sabo said.

"Previously, the aircraft would have to land somewhere, find an Internet connection and transmit the imagery to the emergency operations center they're supporting," the colonel said. "Now, the imagery is streamed live to the EOC while the plane is still in the air. This enables the decision makers to get the information much sooner and decide where to place their resources."

Saving that kind of time potentially means many more saved lives, but the equipment is more than just a means of better operability. It's also a show of gratitude, said Brig. Gen. Christopher Coates, Continental United States North American Aerospace Defense Command Region deputy commander..

"AFNORTH is providing this equipment to the Civil Air Patrol because of the outstanding relationship the Air Force has with their volunteer organization," he said.

The sheer amount of time CAP members devote to AFNORTH is proof of how tightly these two organizations work together.

CAP is a nonprofit, volunteer organization. In its Air Force Auxiliary role, CAP members perform 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and were credited by the AFRCC with saving 113 lives in fiscal 2010.

In FY 2010, CAP wings around the country logged 20,761 flight hours over the course of 9,445 sorties in direct support of AFNORTH, according to Mark O'Brien, the CAP liaison officer at Tyndall Air Force Base.

"(The Air Force auxiliary) is one of the most readily accessible mission partners the Air Force, and AFNORTH can leverage for civil support, disaster relief and homeland defense missions," General Coates said.

AFNORTH officials are as happy to give the GIIEPs as CAP members are to receive them.

"This equipment enhances CAP's ability to perform its important missions," said Brig. Gen. Charles Carr, CAP national vice commander. "We salute AFNORTH for its generosity and support in helping our 61,000 members nationwide to be better prepared to meet emergency services and disaster relief mission aerial imaging requirements."

The GIIEPs, purchased from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, were presented to CAP officials at their national headquarters at Maxwell AFB, Ala., Jan. 26