(Top row)
Cadet Capt. David Johnson of the Red Wing Composite Squadron, a Ground Team Academy instructor, provides instruction in candidates for Ground Team Member 1 ratings.
(Second row) Cadets take the high ground to pick up an emergency locater transmitter signal using a portable direction finder.
(Third row, left)
The Mankato Composite Squadron’s 1st Lt. Steve A. Csizmadia and Cadet Airman Steven L. Csizmadia were among a number of family teams at the Ground Team Academy.
(Third row, right)
Certificates and badges presented to those who successfully completed the academy.
(Bottom row)
Lt. Col. Chet Wilberg, academy commander and Minnesota Wing director of emergency services, congratulates Cadet Sr. Airman Gunnar Bontjes of the Anoka Composite Squadron on successfully completing Ground Team Member 3 training.
(Photos by Capt. Richard J. Sprouse)
Capt. Richard J. Sprouse
Public Affairs Officer
Group 2
Minnesota Wing
MINNESOTA -- A couple of your friends have decided to spend the weekend hiking. It's a remote area with plenty of trails and waterways, and you expect they will have a great time.
Suddenly those thoughts are shattered when you receive a call that your friends are missing. Your mind starts racing and your heart is pounding.
Where are they? What if they're injured? What do you do?
If you were among the 80 cadets and senior members who recently attended the Minnesota Wing's annual Ground Team Academy at Camp Ripley, you possess the skills to perform search-and-rescue operations anytime, anyplace.
"There are so many things that can go wrong in any search and rescue mission. You never know what you may encounter,” said Lt. Col. Chet Wilberg, the wing’s director of emergency services and Ground Team Academy commander.
“That is the reason why Civil Air Patrol invests so much time and effort in properly training its members when the call comes."
After some classroom instruction on carrying out land navigation, tracking electronic locator transmitters, conducting a line search, working with search dogs and first aid training, the academy participants spent several days in the recesses of Camp Ripley's 53,000 acres honing their newly acquired skills under a variety of search and rescue scenarios.
Wilberg said the academy’s goal is to get everyone attending to complete one level of CAP Emergency Services training.
"Ground Team Academy is an intensive event designed to help prepare our members mentally, physically and technically to deal with life-threatening emergencies," he said.
Last year, the wing logged 103 actual or training missions totaling 14,929 personnel hours, 593 flights and 9,120 air hours.
"We teach our members to be proactive and think well ahead in a search- and-rescue situation so they can effectively operate in an ever-changing environment," Wilberg said. "The best way to improve lifesaving skills is to train harder and work smarter.
“No two rescues are ever alike, and CAP members should never take any rescue for granted."
Looking back, Cadet Airman 1st Class Katie Jents of the St. Croix Composite Squadron attributes Ground Team Academy to finding her niche in CAP. The academy, she said, “is so addicting that I want to come every year just because it is always so fun and enjoyable. GTA was where I first learned a lot about emergency services; it got me hooked, and now I'm the cadet ES officer of my squadron."
The Mankato Composite Squadron’s deputy commander for cadets, 1st Lt. Nate Stoeckel, agreed.
"I had a blast, and would highly recommend GTA to any member of CAP who plans on being an active participant. The staff was great, and Camp Ripley is a great training facility.
“I do plan on trying to get more people to go from Mankato next year,
Stoeckel said. “It's an easy way to get one level of training out of the way in one weekend. The level of training was also good because it required you to think, but it wasn't such that it was set up for failure.
“It opened my eyes to a few new things that I hadn't thought of before. Hearing the real-life experiences from the staff and how they dealt with them was most beneficial," he said.
Wilberg concluded, "We're ready to go on a search-and-rescue mission, anywhere, anytime. It's kind of like a life insurance policy.
“We pay the premium with training events like Ground Team Academy. We get our dividend on that premium every time we're called out on a mission."