The primary purpose of this SAREX was to conduct training and execute a practice search and rescue exercise and urban direction training. The SAREX was very timely as many needed ground team member training Sr. Mbr. Wayne Mowery of Osprey trained the cadets on the ground team tasks and signed off their checklists. He did an excellent job of delivering the information which was well received by the cadets. Cadet Bennett Kauffman said, “It was really fun. It was a lot of information and since it was active it did not feel like a classroom.”

The cadets were working together studying their task books in the hallways
and meeting room at the Martin squadron. You could feel the excitement in the building as they prepared to embark on the ground team search for an ELT. In addition, two members were working on their mission scanner tasks. Maj. Bob Goodman, commander of the Towson squadron, was directly involved and worked with 2nd Lt. Randy Davis and Sr. Mbr. Gary Walden.

Maj. Chris Roche of the Martin Composite Squadron led the ground team on a search and rescue mission which put their training and skills to use. Towson Cadet 2nd Lt. Max Adler said, ” We got a lot of the necessary training done in the field. We were also able to locate the ELT at Gunpowder State Park. It was a very productive day and Maj. Roche is a great trainer and leader.”

Gary Walden recently transferred to the Towson squadron from the Upper Montgomery County Composite Squadron and serves as the squadrons administrative, personnel and finance officer for Towson. He is an outstanding addition and immediately took over these roles and added the structure that was needed. He updated records and personnel folders throughout the day. Gary even provided water, sodas and power bars for all working participants.

Maj. Patricia Filipiak, commander of Osprey squadron, stated, “The Cadets of Osprey and Towson squadrons performed well in spite of the heat. While training, we monitored each other for the effects of heat. The cadets learned the techniques involved in using the ES equipment and the value of hydrating. Taking safety seriously aided us in performing the mission and not becoming the mission."

“We accomplished a lot today and so many officers and cadets benefited,” said Maj. Goodman. “ We are very proud of our cadets and officers and the skills learned and were excited to see them put this training to use. We feel that we are better prepared in the event of a real life mission. We are really becoming a self sustaining squadron.”

Towson has grown significantly in ranks during the past few months with many new cadets needing training to qualify for ground team. Towson now has 50 members and Osprey has 27. A total of 25 members participated in the exercise.

Civil Air Patrol, the official auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force, is a nonprofit organization with 58,000 members nationwide. CAP, in its Air Force auxiliary role, performs 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 72 lives in fiscal year 2009. Its volunteers also perform homeland security, disaster relief and counter-drug missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. The members play a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to more than 23,000 young people currently participating in CAP cadet programs. CAP has been performing missions for America for 68 years.

More than 1,500 members of CAP serve in Maryland. Last fiscal year wing members flew 42 search and rescue missions and were credited with 31 finds. For more information, visit www.mdcap.org

The Towson Composite Squadron meets weekly at the Towson Armory.  For additional information, please contact Maj. Bob Goodman at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

The Osprey Composite Squadron meets weekly at the American Legion Post #38 in Dundalk, Md.  For additional information, contact Maj. Patricia Filipiak at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .